XV-5050 sound problem

[orb85750]

I have an XV-5050 that mostly works, but many of the patches have moderate to extreme distortion that basically sounds like heavy white noise. On the other hand, some patches sound pristine. Any thoughts regarding what the problem could be? It does not appear to be effects, because I've tried turning them on and off, which hasn't affected the problem. (But I don't have a deep knowledge of the effects, I simply turned them off from the menu on screen.) Thanks for any insights you might have,

[harmonizer]

I'll offer some blind guesses on things to try:
1) Plug headphones into the headphone jack on the front, and see if you still hear the distortion.
2) do you still hear distortion when you press in the volume knob to cause the XV to create a test sound (as opposed to pressing keys on a MIDI controller)?
3) Do you hear still hear distortion if you press in the volume knob, and listen via headphones connected to the headphone jack on the front?
4) If using an amplifier connected to 1/4 inch output jacks on the back, try tests where your amplifier connects only to the L or the R output jack.
5) By any chance are you connecting the output of the XV to the guitar input on a guitar amp?
6) You mention patches as opposed to performances. Patches make for a simpler test.
7) Do you have any SRX expansion cards installed? If yes, and the other tests do not lead you to a solution, consider removing the expansion cards to see if it helps.
8) I think the first patch in bank A of Patches is an acoustic piano sound. How does it sound?

[AncientGeek]

Where are the affected patches? Are any patches in banks other than bank US affected?

[orb85750]

Thanks, yes, it's kinda crazy. All the banks have bad patches and good ones. The problem occurs at the outputs and the headphone jack, with and without midi. No expansion cards are installed. Bank A patch #1 piano sounds like a thunderstorm along with a piano.

[AncientGeek]

I have heard of one of these with a similar problem. Was fixed by reflowing most of the solder joints. Presumable it was just one or two flaky joints.

[orb85750]

Thanks, you mean with a pencil-type soldering iron?

I have heard of one of these with a similar problem. Was fixed by reflowing most of the solder joints. Presumable it was just one or two flaky joints.

[AncientGeek]

Thanks, you mean with a pencil-type soldering iron?

Probably a very fine tipped one under magnification, depending on the lead pitch of the components involved, and using lots of no-clean flux. I don't have the service manual for this model, so I'm limited as to what advice I can give, but if you have no experience with surface mount components it's probably best not to attempt it.

Is it possible that there's been any liquid spilled inside? If so, this may well have caused the problem. Close inspection of the board with a magnifier might give a clue.

Good luck, and do let us know how you get on.

[harmonizer]

I find it really odd that *any* Patches can ever sound clean, if some Patches have massive distortion. I myself consider this a far-fetched suggestion, but here goes:

Does Patch PA:019 play with clean or dirty sound?
Does Patch PC:005 (Trombone) play with clean or dirty sound?
Does Patch PD:015 (pp Harmonium) play with clean or dirty sound?

On my XV:5050, PA:019 uses only Tones 3 and 4 - you will see only the green lights for Tones 3 and 4 lit up, when you switch to Patch PA:019.

Patches PA:001 and PA:002 use only Tone 2.
Patch PC:005 (Trombone) uses only Tone 1.
Patch PD:015 (pp Harmonium) uses only Tone 4.

If none of the patches I have asked about here play with a clean sound, can you name some which do play clean on your XV:5050 ?

[orb85750]

Thanks for your offers of help. I decided not to attempt a repair, since nothing was visually obviously wrong with the unit and the seller ultimately was willing to take it back. Many of the sounds were completely clean. For example some string sounds were perfect and crisp, while other strings were atrociously distorted. If working correctly, the XV-5050 seems like a great low-cost unit with tons of high quality patches.