TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
The CARVER MA202R is designed and built to provide years of trouble-free performance.
Most problems that occur can usually be solved by checking your setup or making sure that the
audio and video components connected to the amplifier are on and fully operational.
, contact your CARVER Dealer for help.
If the
problem persists
No Sound (from one or more speakers connected to the MA202R)
Speaker cables may have come undone. Turn off your system and check the cables, and tighten
the amplifier and speaker binding posts.
Damaged audio cable.
The preamplifier volume level is low for the channels concerned. Recheck the preamplifier
calibration procedure.
A preamplifier Mute switch may be on, or an external processor loop or a tape monitor loop is
engaged.
Check that your preamplifier or source is running the correct surround sound mode. Maybe it is
set for 2-channel stereo when you were expecting 5.1 surround sound.
Check in case any missing channels have been turned off in a preamplifier setup menu. For
example, the center amplifier channel will not receive a signal if the preamplifier has been set to
“Phantom”
The AUTO/ON switch on the MA202R might be in the ON position but the power switch is off.
Check the power switch.
A fuse within the unit may have blown.
The level on the MA202R is turned down.
The amplifier shuts down unexpectedly
Check that the positive and negative speaker wires are not shorted together.
Make sure that no speakers are shorted internally. lf you have an ohm-meter, disconnect the
speaker wires and measure the resistance between the speaker’s positive and negative terminals.
lf the reading is less than 4 ohms, you may be using speakers with too low a nominal impedance
OR they could be electrically shorted. Measure all speakers and check their impedance
specifications.
If you have connected speakers in parallel, the overall impedance may be too low. It is
recommended that you rearrange the speakers in a series wiring configuration to increase the
overall impedance, thus taking some of the load off the amplifier.
Make sure that the amplifier has good ventilation and is not overheating
Poor Bass Performance From Full Range Speakers connected to the MA202R
Make sure that your preamp does not have the bass (tone control) level turned down.
Many surround preamplifiers have controls which can direct all the bass to subwoofers or let your
main speakers play the full range. Make sure that the preamplifier has been correctly set. lf you
are not using a subwoofer, set the speaker options to “Large” where possible.
Check that the speaker wires have been connected correctly. Make sure that the positive of each
speaker connects to a positive output of the MA202 amplifier, and the negative of each speaker
connects to a negative output of the MA202 amplifier. lf one speaker is wired incorrectly, then
it will be “out of phase” with the others resulting in poor bass performance.
Turn-on and turn-off thumps
Plug the amplifier into an un-switched AC outlet, and use the AUTO position of the turn on swit
ch at the back of the amplifier. This will allow the amplifier to turn on and off silently.
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