I found virtually the same fault in a cheap, broken Sony DH190. Due to a drop, probably, two traces near the standby power transformer were cracked, but in a slightly different location than in yours. I bridged them with wire and fixed? the receiver. The defect showed under the painted stripe and was obvious visually and tactiley. I could see a raised line under the white paint, and felt a ridge there. The crack went to the edge of the board. I used solid wire to overlay the broken traces. It's a cheap product made to fill a slot at the bottom of the Sony line, so they cut every cost they could and this is how it shows up. The weight of the transformer will always tend to crack the board when dropped. There are many ways to add bracing and support to reduce the likelihood. This is a really clean, simple design that is easy to work on and I like it, but it won't take physical abuse like being dropped due to the weak main PCB. So don't drop it. I dd not pay much for this because it was not working, and it cost me nothing but time to fix. So overall, very satisfying. This is a mature product, about three years old at this time, and I suspect Sony will not update it. They will release its replacement instead, and probably in the next six months. That has been their pattern, a 2-3 year new product life for consumer audio products. [Edit: OOPS, I found another two major board cracks! These were next to the two larger caps, again probably due to a sharp drop. These breaks were on the positive power trace, so I used solder braid to overlay it and voila! she is working fine. The cause of these faults is impact damage, but the real cause is that the main board is simply too weak for supporting the heavier components mounted on it in this real world where drops are inevitable in shipping. The heaviest components are the standby power transformer and the two 6600MFmain filter caps. The PC traces were broken adjacent to these components. I believe the PC board is paper epoxy, not fiberglass epoxy, and it is quite thin. This material is very cheap, and holes can be punched in it rather than drilled, so manufactured bare board cost is low. It's typically used in consumer products, never seen it in computer or industrial products. If you have one of these broken, visually inspect the bottom of the board carefully for broken traces.]
Boy, do you think that's at least a 2 ounce copper weight board? We've been making industrial grade electronics for over 50 years. I don't think I've ever had a trace failure like what is being described. Our thinnest boards are 0.062" with 2 ounce copper, and both those parameters go up from there, depending on the application. I understand this is consumer grade, but most products, made by reputable companies, should be able to handle the rigors of shipping.
I actually have this model and have had no issues whatsoever. Of course, I haven't dropped it either. I have a pair of Wharfedale EVO 4.2s and a pair of Linton Heritage hooked up to it. Sounds great and works fine. Your mileage may vary...
Same I had mine for about 2 years to mine is a newer version. of this same exact model number same everything. except the circuit board is made of a harder material. so they must have had a couple people that had this.
I just bought one at Goodwill for 4.99 because it wouldn’t power up. I found this video, opened up the case low and behold - it two cracks on the motherboard in the exact same spot. It actually came with the box and there’s a slight indentation on one part of it - so, yeah.. exactly the same scenario.
It's not a design flaw. It's just that the idiot who sold it to you dropped it. I can't imagine the height it would take to drop a board and break it like that. On the flip side, a few months ago i found a Harman Kardon AVR354 7.1 receiver parked on a dumpster, so of course i grabbed it to see what was wrong with it. Had no power when i plugged it in, so i checked the fuse on the power board and it was blown. Replaced it and it works perfectly. Score.
Since uploading this a year ago , do you know if anyone from Sony has gotten word of this, or if any revisions have been made in the newly manufactured versions?
Unfortunately, it’s March 2024 and the display flaw remains an issue. I neglected to set it up right away so I’m outside the 30 day return window on Amazon and now have to fight to return it. I guess I shouldn’t rely so much on the Sony name.
I just got one yesterday, I plugged it today and I have the same problem, the green led turns on but the display doesnt work. I'm returning it right away!
I just bought one and all the functions are working. This is April 2023. Wow. I hope this quality control error was rectified by the time I bought mine. (it does ''pop' when I power up.) Regardless, I'll be careful not to knock it abour. Thanks.
Okay, seems to me the biggest issue is if the unit would survive an accident especially a drop. The sound, operation, design etc etc is not so much of an issue. So if I am a person just brought this unit, I would open it up and do an inspection. Also add some dampening non conductive materials in the area most subject to mechanical failure and close it up, make sure everything works and call it a day and start to enjoy it. Note: don’t physically abuse it either. Not sure if any of my amps at home would survive such a drop, especially the vintage gears ‘cause they weight a ton but my class D little desk top unit, don’t have much to it may flare much better 😊
I just got one and have the same problem. But I am not sure I want to go through all this as I am within the return period. At the same time I am also conflicted as it will probably end up in a land fill if I return it.
a very good job of troubleshooting. I understand your point but must ask, what other brands are built any stronger ? I would bet they are all very similiar. i have bought electronics and had them UPS'ed to my home. outside of box is perfect yet guts of item are broken. no idea how much abuse the item you bought took, but it obviously took a pretty good hit. to me, not a deal breaker for an item that wil spend its life sitting on a table.
Glad you didn't lose $40 dollars for gosh sakes! It probably fell off a truck or was stolen. I have one of these I gave $150 for and it's been worth every penny. I use it in a bedroom for a simple two channel system. I hooked up two Polk OWM3s mounted high on the wall routed with line outputs through a Polk PSW10 subwoofer. A great Bang for the Buck system. I had an old Technics direct drive turntable and a Philips DVD player to round it out.
Thanks for posting this. It's not surprising that a receiver of this price isn't a tank. It's not like I keep my STR-DH190 on a down pillow, but I handle it with mindfulness of its construction. I like it and want it to last. Its value proposition goes down the drain if it breaks because it was handled too roughly.
HI mate; interesting video, very usefull. I have similar problem with my DH190.. Do you know if is possible to obtai the Service manual for this model, and if is so, where ?. Thanks !!
@@kappandrew1 Good news !!, the DH190 is alive again !, I follow your steps, soldering each way with wrapping wire. At the first attempt, the receiver don't turn on.....mmmm,,,, checking each component in the power suppley section, a transistor (SMD) that drive the main relay was burned. I replace ir with a BCC337. Connect again every cable and TURN ON every function !!. Thanks by your video, was very, very usefull !
Is it possible that someone disassembled it, but left out the supports for the board? If not, it looks like you have a thin (like 0.050" or 0.062") pc board that's very long in one direction and narrow in the other. The use of such a board is okay but it needs to be supported and then it would survive for decades. Of course a good drop of even the best quality electronics can cause havoc. Try dropping your HDTV and see what happens. I like Sony hifi, but I'd probably pass on this one and get the Yamaha 2 channel receiver. I own a used STR-DE197. It's wonderful but in FM mode, sometimes makes a farty sound out of the right channel. No issues with a CD player or my bluetooth adaptor. Quick story, I bought my brother a JVC receiver in the eighties. It arrived unscratched, but looking through the vents on top, the main power transformer's laminates, near one corner, were touching and pushing thru the cover. Long story short, the unit must have been dropped and the chassis bent near where the heavy transformer was mounted. So it happens. Things get damaged in transport. Are these things design flaws? Maybe not always, but they could be flaws in the "transportation system" used or flaws in the packaging materials or means, used. A $100.00 receiver is not a MIL-SPEC device. If it were, it would cost $5,000.00 or more. Good video. Helps to show the Achilles Heel of this receiver.
Nope, had three come in for service this fall. All of them had the board cracked. I haven't come up with a good fix yet. For now I'd suggest avoiding the 190! Last week one came in and I just sent it back out... didn't even bother to open it.
After watching it I decided to try my luck and bought one off ebay. No power. CAme dented and the transformer's contacts torn off the board. Soldered and now it powering on and switching inputs on display. No BT pairing (mostly a reason for purchase besides testing my luck haha) , no FM.. And not turning off - goes to StandBy and then returns to On... Oh well... I'm done with experiments I guess. Thank you for you video though. It felt good when it powered on haha.
Because of your vide I bought a new, inop, open box unit off ebay. My problem was an open a bad standby transformer. I paid more for the Transformer than I did the unit.
So you got it up and working? I have one sitting in my death pile right now. I was going to give it a go on attempting a repair. If one could figure out a quick repair for these, there’s lots of money to be made!
How can a High Quality audio company like Sony let this model out of the factory with this serious issue? In my opinion, and I may be mistaken, but I have had a few Sony audio products and I honestly don't think the Sony of today is no where near as good as Sony in the 70's and maybe the 80's. I bought a brand new Sony Cassette Deck in 1998, and I was very disappointed with the sound quality when you record, and it had a very cheap feel to it, so I took it back to the store.
I agree… I love Sony. These units in working condition sound freaking awesome! But, cost cutting and bad design can lead to things like this. Maybe this was just an oversight. But… they have been building circuit boards so long, you’d think they know that support would be needed under that transformer.
I used to work on electronics assemblies for fighter jets; they are built to survive high-G environments (thus their exorbitant cost). Modern smart phones are, to a lesser extent. Home audio components aren't, so it seems harsh (based on one teardown) to declare drop-induced damage a "design flaw."
Umm really ? Its literally a dirt cheap product with excellent sound and your only issue is that if someone tosses it hard on the ground, that it may break? Well why dont we take 10 different receivers and drop them. I bet something will break on each in one way or other.
Not correct, go out in the marketplaces and look for “parts repair” modern receivers. This one comes to the top of the list. It’s a design flaw… look into one and compare it to others and you’ll find all sorts of corners were cut… and, it sounds “acceptable”, not excellent… get out of Best Buy and go to an audio shop…
@@kappandrew1 Sure, it may be more succeptible to drops, but my point is its still a drop and trust me, if it was an issue of it bouncing around in its properly packed box, there would be thousands being returned when taken home and found doa and I bet its not like that. Also went on FB marketplace, set the search circle as broad as could go and I'm not finding in the listing a single one of these listed as parts of dead.
You're clueless. Here is a blind test between this $100 Sony and a $1,100 NAD C 368 ua-cam.com/video/3mxuaO3Tpps/v-deo.html That channel has videos comparing it to Cambridge Audio, Denon, Marantz.... and they sound nearly identical.
Great video, actually this is a very similar failure that I had to deal with on my 80s Sony TC-D5, which is (supposed to be) a rugged take-anywhere field recorder - the board snapped right at the transformer. Had to run a jumper for that. I guess Sony has a bit of a "If it's broke, don't fix it" mentality. As a side note, I do use one of these receivers and it has bulletproof so far, still sad to see corners being cut by such a revered brand - even for such an inexpensive unit.
Boy is that sad looking, especially the thin PC Board. By contrast my SONY TA-F3A & TA-2650 are magnificent both in build and beauty! You pay for quality and the builds today are fast, mechanized, and sloppy. These things should not be tossed around, handle with kid gloves.
Are receivers designed to be dropped? This is almost anything that doesn’t have a properly isolated board. They are fragile. Just wait until you hear about vacuum tubes! Lol.
The Sony MBA's know how many of these units will fail due to harsh handling during shipping and get it to a point the savings on a thin circuit board outweigh by far the cost of warranty and reputation damage. It's unquestionable science.
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](/img/n.gif)
I found virtually the same fault in a cheap, broken Sony DH190. Due to a drop, probably, two traces near the standby power transformer were cracked, but in a slightly different location than in yours. I bridged them with wire and fixed? the receiver. The defect showed under the painted stripe and was obvious visually and tactiley. I could see a raised line under the white paint, and felt a ridge there. The crack went to the edge of the board. I used solid wire to overlay the broken traces. It's a cheap product made to fill a slot at the bottom of the Sony line, so they cut every cost they could and this is how it shows up. The weight of the transformer will always tend to crack the board when dropped. There are many ways to add bracing and support to reduce the likelihood. This is a really clean, simple design that is easy to work on and I like it, but it won't take physical abuse like being dropped due to the weak main PCB. So don't drop it. I dd not pay much for this because it was not working, and it cost me nothing but time to fix. So overall, very satisfying. This is a mature product, about three years old at this time, and I suspect Sony will not update it. They will release its replacement instead, and probably in the next six months. That has been their pattern, a 2-3 year new product life for consumer audio products.
[Edit: OOPS, I found another two major board cracks! These were next to the two larger caps, again probably due to a sharp drop. These breaks were on the positive power trace, so I used solder braid to overlay it and voila! she is working fine. The cause of these faults is impact damage, but the real cause is that the main board is simply too weak for supporting the heavier components mounted on it in this real world where drops are inevitable in shipping. The heaviest components are the standby power transformer and the two 6600MFmain filter caps. The PC traces were broken adjacent to these components. I believe the PC board is paper epoxy, not fiberglass epoxy, and it is quite thin. This material is very cheap, and holes can be punched in it rather than drilled, so manufactured bare board cost is low. It's typically used in consumer products, never seen it in computer or industrial products. If you have one of these broken, visually inspect the bottom of the board carefully for broken traces.]
Boy, do you think that's at least a 2 ounce copper weight board? We've been making industrial grade electronics for over 50 years. I don't think I've ever had a trace failure like what is being described. Our thinnest boards are 0.062" with 2 ounce copper, and both those parameters go up from there, depending on the application. I understand this is consumer grade, but most products, made by reputable companies, should be able to handle the rigors of shipping.
I actually have this model and have had no issues whatsoever. Of course, I haven't dropped it either. I have a pair of Wharfedale EVO 4.2s and a pair of Linton Heritage hooked up to it. Sounds great and works fine. Your mileage may vary...
Do you know how to set the "timer" off ? Mine shuts down every 20 minutes or so ...
I own one, and it's been nothing but fabulous for the last two years. For the price point, it's amazing. Don't listen to some "Jimmy" blowing smoke.
Same I had mine for about 2 years to mine is a newer version. of this same exact model number same everything. except the circuit board is made of a harder material. so they must have had a couple people that had this.
Also he probably shipped it which could equate to it.
Same 2yrs and still going strong
I just bought one at Goodwill for 4.99 because it wouldn’t power up. I found this video, opened up the case low and behold - it two cracks on the motherboard in the exact same spot. It actually came with the box and there’s a slight indentation on one part of it - so, yeah.. exactly the same scenario.
It's not a design flaw. It's just that the idiot who sold it to you dropped it. I can't imagine the height it would take to drop a board and break it like that.
On the flip side, a few months ago i found a Harman Kardon AVR354 7.1 receiver parked on a dumpster, so of course i grabbed it to see what was wrong with it. Had no power when i plugged it in, so i checked the fuse on the power board and it was blown. Replaced it and it works perfectly. Score.
I bought one in June 2023. It works fine.
I bought one of these receivers in an auction, that wasn't working. And it had this exact problem. Thanks for the video. I now have a working DH190.
I had one and it was working fine, the built in bluetooth is a big plus, sound wise - it is entry level
Don’t drop it! Lol. The one I had was awesome! Sad I let it go…
Since uploading this a year ago , do you know if anyone from Sony has gotten word of this, or if any revisions have been made in the newly manufactured versions?
Unfortunately, it’s March 2024 and the display flaw remains an issue. I neglected to set it up right away so I’m outside the 30 day return window on Amazon and now have to fight to return it. I guess I shouldn’t rely so much on the Sony name.
I just got one yesterday, I plugged it today and I have the same problem, the green led turns on but the display doesnt work. I'm returning it right away!
I just bought one and all the functions are working. This is April 2023. Wow. I hope this quality control error was rectified by the time I bought mine. (it does ''pop' when I power up.) Regardless, I'll be careful not to knock it abour. Thanks.
Okay, seems to me the biggest issue is if the unit would survive an accident especially a drop. The sound, operation, design etc etc is not so much of an issue. So if I am a person just brought this unit, I would open it up and do an inspection. Also add some dampening non conductive materials in the area most subject to mechanical failure and close it up, make sure everything works and call it a day and start to enjoy it. Note: don’t physically abuse it either. Not sure if any of my amps at home would survive such a drop, especially the vintage gears ‘cause they weight a ton but my class D little desk top unit, don’t have much to it may flare much better 😊
I bought 2. One in 2020 and the other in 2022. Both work fine with no issues.
I just got one and have the same problem. But I am not sure I want to go through all this as I am within the return period. At the same time I am also conflicted as it will probably end up in a land fill if I return it.
a very good job of troubleshooting. I understand your point but must ask, what other brands are built any stronger ? I would bet they are all very similiar. i have bought electronics and had them UPS'ed to my home. outside of box is perfect yet guts of item are broken. no idea how much abuse the item you bought took, but it obviously took a pretty good hit. to me, not a deal breaker for an item that wil spend its life sitting on a table.
Glad you didn't lose $40 dollars for gosh sakes! It probably fell off a truck or was stolen. I have one of these I gave $150 for and it's been worth every penny. I use it in a bedroom for a simple two channel system. I hooked up two Polk OWM3s mounted high on the wall routed with line outputs through a Polk PSW10 subwoofer.
A great Bang for the Buck system. I had an old Technics direct drive turntable and a Philips DVD player to round it out.
Thanks so much! Taking it to a repair shop (I only hope repairing it isn't too expensive). I have two just like it that are great. no problems.
Thank you for this! I was debating on this today & I see how many are on eBay for that reason. Wow!
Thanks for posting this. It's not surprising that a receiver of this price isn't a tank. It's not like I keep my STR-DH190 on a down pillow, but I handle it with mindfulness of its construction. I like it and want it to last. Its value proposition goes down the drain if it breaks because it was handled too roughly.
I’m gearing up to do another one. Since October I’ve had three come in that had this exact issue. The user has simply moved it…
a friend just gave me a sony str-dh540, which works great..hope it was designed a little better..
Great consumer advice. Appreciate the video!
Already bought one and its amazing so far,almost don't switch it off.
HI mate; interesting video, very usefull. I have similar problem with my DH190.. Do you know if is possible to obtai the Service manual for this model, and if is so, where ?. Thanks !!
Nope, they really don’t publish them anymore. It’s really built to be disposable… sad days
@@kappandrew1 I must to do reverse engineering....... jajaja
@@kappandrew1 Good news !!, the DH190 is alive again !, I follow your steps, soldering each way with wrapping wire. At the first attempt, the receiver don't turn on.....mmmm,,,, checking each component in the power suppley section, a transistor (SMD) that drive the main relay was burned. I replace ir with a BCC337. Connect again every cable and TURN ON every function !!. Thanks by your video, was very, very usefull !
Is it possible that someone disassembled it, but left out the supports for the board?
If not, it looks like you have a thin (like 0.050" or 0.062") pc board that's very long in one direction and narrow in the other.
The use of such a board is okay but it needs to be supported and then it would survive for decades.
Of course a good drop of even the best quality electronics can cause havoc. Try dropping your HDTV and see what happens. I like Sony hifi, but I'd probably pass on this one and get the Yamaha 2 channel receiver. I own a used STR-DE197. It's wonderful but in FM mode, sometimes makes a farty sound out of the right channel. No issues with a CD player or my bluetooth adaptor.
Quick story, I bought my brother a JVC receiver in the eighties. It arrived unscratched, but looking through the vents on top, the main power transformer's laminates, near one corner, were touching and pushing thru the cover. Long story short, the unit must have been dropped and the chassis bent near where the heavy transformer was mounted. So it happens. Things get damaged in transport. Are these things design flaws? Maybe not always, but they could be flaws in the "transportation system" used or flaws in the packaging materials or means, used.
A $100.00 receiver is not a MIL-SPEC device. If it were, it would cost $5,000.00 or more. Good video. Helps to show the Achilles Heel of this receiver.
Nope, had three come in for service this fall. All of them had the board cracked. I haven't come up with a good fix yet. For now I'd suggest avoiding the 190! Last week one came in and I just sent it back out... didn't even bother to open it.
After watching it I decided to try my luck and bought one off ebay. No power. CAme dented and the transformer's contacts torn off the board. Soldered and now it powering on and switching inputs on display. No BT pairing (mostly a reason for purchase besides testing my luck haha) , no FM.. And not turning off - goes to StandBy and then returns to On... Oh well... I'm done with experiments I guess. Thank you for you video though. It felt good when it powered on haha.
Had one and sold it. Had no issues for my purposes. However, I never could get the Bluetooth to work.
Hello. What number microfarads are the main power filter capacitors please?
I’d suggest looking up the mfg spec sheet
Excellent discovery.
Because of your vide I bought a new, inop, open box unit off ebay. My problem was an open a bad standby transformer. I paid more for the Transformer than I did the unit.
So you got it up and working? I have one sitting in my death pile right now. I was going to give it a go on attempting a repair. If one could figure out a quick repair for these, there’s lots of money to be made!
Hi... Is it Class AB ou Class D? Thanks
It's class "junk"... don't buy one!!!
Mine is a newer version of this unit same model number the board is a harder material. And my unit did not have this fault.
How can a High Quality audio company like Sony let this model out of the factory with this serious issue? In my opinion, and I may be mistaken, but I have had a few Sony audio products and I honestly don't think the Sony of today is no where near as good as Sony in the 70's and maybe the 80's. I bought a brand new Sony Cassette Deck in 1998, and I was very disappointed with the sound quality when you record, and it had a very cheap feel to it, so I took it back to the store.
I agree… I love Sony. These units in working condition sound freaking awesome! But, cost cutting and bad design can lead to things like this. Maybe this was just an oversight. But… they have been building circuit boards so long, you’d think they know that support would be needed under that transformer.
CAN-tinuity with the Sodder 🤷🏻♂️ what language are you speaking ?
Lol Brit get out
He is speaking complete and utter soddery 😂
I used to work on electronics assemblies for fighter jets; they are built to survive high-G environments (thus their exorbitant cost). Modern smart phones are, to a lesser extent. Home audio components aren't, so it seems harsh (based on one teardown) to declare drop-induced damage a "design flaw."
Umm really ? Its literally a dirt cheap product with excellent sound and your only issue is that if someone tosses it hard on the ground, that it may break? Well why dont we take 10 different receivers and drop them. I bet something will break on each in one way or other.
Not correct, go out in the marketplaces and look for “parts repair” modern receivers. This one comes to the top of the list. It’s a design flaw… look into one and compare it to others and you’ll find all sorts of corners were cut… and, it sounds “acceptable”, not excellent… get out of Best Buy and go to an audio shop…
@@kappandrew1 Sure, it may be more succeptible to drops, but my point is its still a drop and trust me, if it was an issue of it bouncing around in its properly packed box, there would be thousands being returned when taken home and found doa and I bet its not like that.
Also went on FB marketplace, set the search circle as broad as could go and I'm not finding in the listing a single one of these listed as parts of dead.
I'm not sure why this receiver got a lot of praise... it sounds horrible even when is working properly LOL
You sound horrible even when working properly 😂
If this sounds horrible I can't wait until I get a good amp! Have any recommendations?
Rubbish.
You're clueless. Here is a blind test between this $100 Sony and a $1,100 NAD C 368 ua-cam.com/video/3mxuaO3Tpps/v-deo.html
That channel has videos comparing it to Cambridge Audio, Denon, Marantz.... and they sound nearly identical.
@@johnny1980nsDenon PMA-600NE or Yamaha AS-301, AS-501.
Great video, actually this is a very similar failure that I had to deal with on my 80s Sony TC-D5, which is (supposed to be) a rugged take-anywhere field recorder - the board snapped right at the transformer. Had to run a jumper for that. I guess Sony has a bit of a "If it's broke, don't fix it" mentality. As a side note, I do use one of these receivers and it has bulletproof so far, still sad to see corners being cut by such a revered brand - even for such an inexpensive unit.
Boy is that sad looking, especially the thin PC Board. By contrast my SONY TA-F3A & TA-2650 are magnificent both in build and beauty! You pay for quality and the builds today are fast, mechanized, and sloppy. These things should not be tossed around, handle with kid gloves.
Are receivers designed to be dropped?
This is almost anything that doesn’t have a properly isolated board. They are fragile.
Just wait until you hear about vacuum tubes! Lol.
good
for a hundred bucks, get another one.
I’d suggest avoiding them and getting the onkyo… just a recommendation
Riiiight. A team of Sony engineers... probably the top in the hi-fi industry, and you are going to say this is a design flaw. HAHAHA!
No you're right, a tech giant would never cut corners on a budget unit.
The Sony MBA's know how many of these units will fail due to harsh handling during shipping and get it to a point the savings on a thin circuit board outweigh by far the cost of warranty and reputation damage. It's unquestionable science.