This post is specific to the Pioneer SP-SB23W, also known as the "Andrew Jones Edition" soundbar. Andrew Jones being well known in the audiophile engineering industry for superb audio designs. My reason for stating this is if you are looking for an inexpensive 2.1 channel TV soundbar, this one rivals many 5.1 systems -- and without littering a room with speakers (sub-woofer is wireless, can be hidden anywhere). As a 9 year old device, they should be pretty cheap on the used market -- perhaps dirt cheap if no audio-out. Bought mine off of Craigslist cheap.
So here's the problem and associated fix:
- PROBLEM: No audio output. For about a year the issue could be overcome by power cycling the unit a couple times. This was my hint it may be electrolytic capacitor related. Since it never failed to produce the low pop noise on power-up, I suspected the problem to be related to the audio amp circuit.
- TEST: Checked every electrolytic cap across all 3 boards. To my surprise an out-of-spec cap was found on the power supply. The 470uF/50v cap measured between 660-700uF. ALSO: my DVM cannot measure the range for the 4700uF/35v caps on the audio amp board, so I considered those to be of unknown condition.
- REPAIR: Ordered 3 replacement caps (includes the 2 I could not measure) from DigiKey:
NOTE: I only took one photo of the electronics and did not record component IDs, however the above details are plenty for locating the caps on these small boards.
In closing, BadCaps has saved me a lot over the years, so this is my first chance to pay it forward, as they say.
So here's the problem and associated fix:
- PROBLEM: No audio output. For about a year the issue could be overcome by power cycling the unit a couple times. This was my hint it may be electrolytic capacitor related. Since it never failed to produce the low pop noise on power-up, I suspected the problem to be related to the audio amp circuit.
- TEST: Checked every electrolytic cap across all 3 boards. To my surprise an out-of-spec cap was found on the power supply. The 470uF/50v cap measured between 660-700uF. ALSO: my DVM cannot measure the range for the 4700uF/35v caps on the audio amp board, so I considered those to be of unknown condition.
- REPAIR: Ordered 3 replacement caps (includes the 2 I could not measure) from DigiKey:
- one 470uF/50v P/N: 493-17364-ND @ $0.88 ea
- two 4700uF/35v P/N: 1572-1499-ND @ $3.14 ea [Warning: these are slightly too wide but fit IF not fully seated, therefore another P/N with smaller diameter is recommended (length is not a concern)]
NOTE: I only took one photo of the electronics and did not record component IDs, however the above details are plenty for locating the caps on these small boards.
In closing, BadCaps has saved me a lot over the years, so this is my first chance to pay it forward, as they say.
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