From: @noway.com   
      
   This is a great piece with one little problem. Often, when switching the   
   unit on, the left channel is out, no sound. Turning the volume up always   
   kicks it in. Often the volume has to be turned up severely to accomplish   
   this so I tried doing it with the speakers switched off. Switch off   
   speakers, turn volume up to max, turn volume down to min, switch   
   speakers on, turn volume up a bit and the sound is back in both   
   channels. In addition, after getting both channels to work, after 10 to   
   20 minutes, give or take 5, the left channel goes out again.   
      
   This behavior lead me to suspect the volume switch, so I flooded it with   
   switch cleaner and worked it, but to no avail. Problem persisted. Next I   
   checked all the cold solder joints and found one that was loose. I hot   
   soldered ALL the cold solder joints. Problem continued. Today I used   
   some cables to switch the PRE OUT channels into the POWER IN channels,   
   left to right and right to left. The next time the problem cropped up it   
   was still in the left channel. This is telling me that the problem is in   
   the left main amp section.   
      
   Given the behavior described above I can only guess that a rise in   
   voltage in the main amp produced by turning up the volume with the   
   speakers turned off somehow corrects the condition causing this problem,   
   but at the moment I don't know what this condition might be. I assume   
   that with the speakers turned off there is not a lot of current flowing   
   in the main amp when the volume is turned up, but that the voltage is   
   increased. As I write this, a dawning suspicion presents itself and that   
   is: the problem might be with a transistor, as they are voltage regulated.   
      
   Next step is to open up the unit and do a visual inspection, hook it up   
   to a pair of speakers and turn it on and attempt to compare voltages   
   along the signal path of right and left channels of the main amp when   
   the problem crops up.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)