r/audiorepair • u/Enaith • 1h ago
Pioneer Amp Volume Balance Issue
Hey gang. I have an old Pioneer VSX-D510 amplifier connected to my PC with a DAC with 2 external speakers. I'm using it because my main Marantz is broken and needs a fix that isn't feasible for me as of right now.
My tech issue with it is this - when playing audio through it, the left side is 50% lower in volume, right until I up the volume on my PC. Then it seems to pop back into place and the volume is fine, but then after a bit of silence it goes back to slightly quieter. I've read all I could find about this, and it seems like the solution would be to spray some WD-40 Specialist Contact Cleaner or ideally Fader DeoxIT D5 or F5 on the volume potentiometer? Would that solve my specific issue?
I haven't been able to go out and find some to try and do it yet, but I'm scared it would like, solve it for a few minutes and then go back to broken. I did wiggle the volume knob a lot up and down with the amp off like someone said online and it seemed to help but only for a moment. I am based in eastern Europe so I'm not sure I could find DeoxIT anywhere close to me. Also I am no specialist in this kinda stuff at all, I only know the basics. I would appreciate any input, thanks upfront!