Yamaha PSR S950 Volume/amp issue

[PetrVirag]

Hello Everyone, new to this forum and also new to yamaha psr s950 line. I know 10 years later right. I recently just got the s950 for my kids and they love it however we have noticed that if the volume is more than half way up the sounds just shut off for about a second then returns. We then turn the volume down a bit and everything works fine. I also noticed that if I load new set of styles from other keyboards it does the same even on lower volume settings and its annoying. My only solution is to go over the master EQ settings and turn the lower frequency down then everything seems fine. Should I be concern is this a potential issues that will worsen?? any help would be appreciated.

[GregB]

Hi PetrVirag,

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your S950 purchase!  Sorry you're having trouble with your keyboard.

Questions, to help with diagnostics: when the sounds "just shut off" for about a second, does the sound go away completely or are there some high frequency sounds still present?  And does it happen to both speakers at exactly the same time?  If you "pan" the voices (using the mixer screen) to one side, and then the other (and turn the volume up a bit to compensate), does that change the behavior at all?  If you listen closely, does  the left or right speaker sound somewhat distorted compared to the other side?

- Greg

[PetrVirag]

Hello GregB

thank you for you response, and I apologize for the long reply. What is happening is when I play a style at a certain volume and when the bass hits both speakers completely turn off for about a second then turn back on I also hear a click sound coming from the right side of the keyboard similar sound like as if the keyboard just turned on and finished loading there is that click and the main screen pops. This is the best way I can describe it, the only solution that I found is to turn the bass frequency down on the main EQ settings then I can play styles loudly, from recent complaint's Ive heard about this keyboard speakers that they are very boomy which is true but i like the boomy bass. Other than that I am tempted to open the keyboard and go over the main logic boards and see if there are any issues that could potentially be causing this.

Mind you that when i purchased this keyboard from second hand it was in a horrible condition and I've basically rebuild this keyboard but I will be uploading this little project of mine in another posting with pictures. 

If anyone had the same experience with this it would be helpful to know what the solution was, this way i can save some time or order the necessary parts before i start digging into this.

[Toril S]

Check the power adaptor also. If possible, try a new one.

[PetrVirag]

thanks for that, I might try that. Im also going to try to connect to an external PA system to see if this continue. Is there any way to turn off the internal speakers?? other than plugin a head phone jack?

[PetrVirag]

Hello Everyone, its been a while since I updated this post. So I wanted to share some of the findings with the s950. I purchased a new power adapter from Amazon with the same specs however the issue still remained but further more the s950 completely turns off randomly after playing the keys for 10 seconds, I even got an error message on the LCD which made me conclude that its beyond my capability to repair at this point.

Being who I am, I thought that since this s950 is so freaking old it just needs some internal TLC and I mean taking out each logic board and give it a nice clean down and re-solder any loose connections etc.. since I have some basic skills might as well right. After I took out the main power supply and the main brains of the s950 I managed to mess up the main ribbon cable that feeds to the LCD screen. (the ribbon cable at the very tip are small exposed copper wires that need to make the connection to the board) well somehow I managed to bend them and it was just impossible to put it back together. But thats not the end....

After I replaced the ribbon cable and cleaned all of the boards the issue still remained, and it actually turned out to be one of the main chips of the main boards, which one?? I still have no clue but some youtube videos with the same exact error message leads me to believe that its one of them. The replacement of the main board is around $400-$500 with shipping and I just dont see the value anymore. Maybe one day I can revisit this and only buy the chip replacement... one day.

Inclosing, I think the s950 had ran out of its life which is sad to say however I did purchase this for my kids as they are still learning to play and now Im thinking to get the SX700 for the boys, since I now own a brand spanking new Genos which Im very happy with they would enjoy the sx700 as the little brother to the Genos.

Just wanted to say thank you to all that had too their time and post suggestions on the post to help me out. Much appreciated.

Regards, Petr V.

[overover]

Thank you for your feedback, Petr!

Too bad you are having such big problems with your S950. If it's reasonably stable for a while, you could run the internal Test program. This may give you hints about certain errors. Instructions for using the Test program can be found in the S950 Service Manual, which you can download via the following link:
>>> PSR-S750-S950_ServiceManual.pdf

By the way, the S950 does NOT have the option to turn off the internal speakers in an internal menu (like on newer models). So the only option would be to put a plug in the headphone jack.


Best regards,
Chris

[travlin-easy]

Actually, you can turn off the internal speakers by merely inserting a 1/4-inch dummy plug into the headphone jack, which is how I used to play my S-950 for more than a decade. Mine lasted through thousands of music jobs, performed flawlessly 7 days a week, 365 days a year and often, up to 3 jobs a day. I recently blew an internal speaker, which is rare, but replaced it and everything still works just a great as the very first day it came out of the box. It is a workhorse keyboard, and I absolutely love all of the wonderful features.

Now, I have access to a repair guy who can often replace individual parts on a board without replacing the entire PC board. He is located in Southern Pennsylvania. If you wish to have his contact information, you can PM me and I will be more than happy to provide it for you. Additionally, he makes house calls for pro musicians who reside a reasonable distance from his home.

Good luck,

Gary