First noticed the problem while watching a DVD. Ruled out changing layers and other usual suspects. Then it began happening while watching analog cable television. It manifests as an approximately 25 db level dropoff lasting for between 5-15 minutes at a time. Since I have not been able to locate comparable issues anywhere else on the forums I wondered if anyone else had experienced this type of issue?

That's not something I've heard of people encountering with the 950, and it's something that my 950 never did when I had it. Might be worth a call to Outlaw.

bc,

I noticed the same problem a couple of times over the past 2 years. I thought there might be a grounding problem or my speaker terminals might be shorting out. But after I turned the 950/7100 off and on again the problem went away. I'm don't remember what source I was using at the time since it last happened several months ago.

Ron

After 16 months of sonic bliss, I noticed a peculiar audio deterioration from my 950/7100 combo. It first started with radio dropout. Then, my front channels + sub no longer produce any sound. Audio coming from the rear and surround are muted. Before that, I also noticed that digitally processed audio sounds "better" than the bypass mode. I tried all the tricks in the manual including removing the volume knob and pressing on the small button. Still no luck. I isolated the 7100 and found there's nothing wrong with it. Matter of fact, I'm still using it with my Creative Zen Sleek, just to keep me by while my 950 is with Outlaw, as advised by Steve. The only quirk I don't like about Outlaw service is that it will take them 4 to 6 weeks(!) to fix it. That's 4 to 6 weeks without my sonic sanctuary.

I do hope they fix it sooner and inform me what went wrong and how I can prevent it from happening again (if possible).

I don't know if it's ok to trade up to probably a 990 or 970...

That's a real bummer, testtone - hopefully Outlaw can get you fixed up quickly and back in business.

outlaw service is top notch, and well worth the wait. i know you miss it, but you will be very happy in the long run...

Steve called today from Outlaw to start troubleshooting by phone.

Typical suspects discussed included electrical damage due to lightning, brown outs, surges, etc. Then he asked about what else I had on the circuit (it's dedicated). From there we moved onto lighting. First, whether the room contained any halogen or flurescent lighting (nope). Second, whether we had a dimmer switch (yes, mechanical infinitely adjustable).

More probing revealed that the dropoff seemed to be limited to center channel dialogue which triggered his initial diagnosis of an intermittant center channel interconnect. The Rx is to swap out the suspect cable and see if that solves the problem.

Funny how intuitive a diagnosis is when you're posting after-the-fact.

However, since I have not verified this fix as of yet stay tuned for more details...