I have a Sony DD 5.1 receiver, which for some reason on occasion randomly stops playing the rear right and left channels. What I mean is, it will start out on 5.1, and then after awhile I might hear a click from the receiver and the surrounds will basically shut off. This is not the cause of the source, as I dont get the surround with my DVD player, my cable box, or even when I do a test tone...however, the receiver still indicates that Im getting 5.1 and to all channels. Anyone know what might be causing this?

Sounds to me like either a cable is loose or a speaker connection is loose and being affected by vibrations in the soundtrack.

Recheck all connections to be sure that they are clean and tight.

Yeah, I should have mentioned that, I have checked all the connections, everything checks out. One other thing, I havent been too keen on the electrical wiring in this apartment...I used to have a coaxial digital cable going from the cable box to the receiver, and whenever the air conditioner came on, the receiver would reset and Id get a short audio dropout. I corrected this problem by switching to an optical cable, but I wonder if this might be related (the same clicking sound both times).

Well I am not sure what to tell you.

If only the rear channels stop playing I would suspect that it is cable related either at the receiver end or the speaker end.

If a similar thing happens when your air conditioner runs then you likely have too many things plugged into the same circuit. I am not sure why switching from coax to optical would have made any difference.

As far as the clicking sound I have heard this before when something is shorting and the amps protection circuit clicks on. Check the speaker cables at the receiver end to be sure that not even a single copper fiber from either side is touching another cable. Sony tends to jam its connectors very close together on the backs of their receivers.

No, just checked the speaker wires, they check out. Today I turned it on and it was taking forever to recognize the cable audio input, whether it be coaxial or optical...it had no problems recognizing the DVD audio input though...maybe thats an issue with the cable box. Someone on another board suggested getting a UPS, which Im thinking I might do. I have a not very expensive surge protector plugged in over there right now, but I could see a UPS helping to rectify any irregularities in the amount of power coming into it (I have a UPS set up with my computer and have had no problems at all with irregularities in power).

You are much nicer than I would be. If it is an issue with the box I would get your provider to replace it, not try to find a way to work around it.

i had a aiwa receiver that used to do the same thing. i would watch a movie, then hear a loud pop. after that, the rear right speaker wouldn't work. aiwa couldn't tell me anything about it, so i eventually ended upo trashing it and getting a different receiver.

Well all I have done since the initial problem is put my receiver on top of my DVD player so it can get more air as I originally wondered if it was too hot, and I rebooted my cable box. So far, no problems that I can tell. I am going to probably pick up a better surge protector though...one built for home theatre equipment rather than the one I have that is made for a computer setup.