NR 609 7.1 Onkyo Receiver "died" after 2.5 years (heavely used)

[PicodeGallo]

When it comes to "high end," that's where receivers end and separates begin. It's very difficult to find an all-in-one solution. Typically, these companies focus on quality over quantity. They are always a bit behind in the cutting-edge technology department.

That said, there's a massive difference between a receiver's amp stage and a dedicated amplifier. A well designed amplifier can drive big loads, kind of like a diesel engine compared to a 4 cylinder--both will get you down the road, but when you need to pull a big boat, guess which one wins? Receiver amps are considered "high power", while quality dedicated amps are "high current." This is the difference in why a 60w dedicated amp can drive low impedance speakers/loads very well with low distortion and the same 150w receiver cannot. As you progress up the quality tree, you'll hear such things as amplifier 'speed.' This is what is referred to as the ability of an amplifier to control the speakers and replicate sound with near perfect linearity, meaning reduced distortion, quick transients, and no 'overhang' of notes. To sum it all up, the difference in receivers and dedicated amplifiers is staggering--it's not always the speakers. You'll only know how good your speakers truly are when you can drive them properly.

 

[NiHaoMike]

When the HDMI board goes, does it just not do audio over HDMI or does it stop working altogether?

I rarely recommend running HDMI through a receiver as that can add lag. Instead, I recommend having the monitor/TV plugged directly into the PC and then using S/PDIF for audio.

A common problem with amplifiers/receivers is PSU and/or power stage MOSFETs blown due to being pushed too hard. It also doesn't help that many receiver manufacturers don't know proper power electronics design and end up with a power stage that runs unusually hot at idle. You can weed those out by checking the demo units at the store.

What I would like to see is a digital amplifier designed specifically for use with PCs, cheap but good quality with USB control (and optionally audio over USB) and leave most of the DSP details to the PC.

That said, there's a massive difference between a receiver's amp stage and a dedicated amplifier. A well designed amplifier can drive big loads, kind of like a diesel engine compared to a 4 cylinder--both will get you down the road, but when you need to pull a big boat, guess which one wins? Receiver amps are considered "high power", while quality dedicated amps are "high current." This is the difference in why a 60w dedicated amp can drive low impedance speakers/loads very well with low distortion and the same 150w receiver cannot. As you progress up the quality tree, you'll hear such things as amplifier 'speed.' This is what is referred to as the ability of an amplifier to control the speakers and replicate sound with near perfect linearity, meaning reduced distortion, quick transients, and no 'overhang' of notes. To sum it all up, the difference in receivers and dedicated amplifiers is staggering--it's not always the speakers. You'll only know how good your speakers truly are when you can drive them properly.

It all comes down to through hole IPMs/MOSFETs vs. surface mount HVICs/MOSFETs. The surface mount MOSFETs are faster due to less parasitics and HVICs are even better as they integrate the gate drivers on the same piece of silicon. One of the best HVICs out there is the TI TAS5631B. (Datasheet for the curious: http://www.ti.com/lit/gpn/tas5631b ) The best designs will vary the supply voltage with the volume setting in order to get the full resolution at lower volumes.

For really high power subwoofers, IGBTs are used. They're slower than MOSFETs (irrelevant for a subwoofer application) but can switch far more current.

 

[Ivy]

I can't imagine the Emotiva having "twice as good of sound", thats probably more on your speakers than anything.

Excuse me, i never said that the Onkyo had bad sound, from all the devices out there in the same price range it probably got the best "overall sound" capability. The issue simply is, the Onkyo tends to go boom because of insanely short living parts. Its simply bad build quality but the general sound capability isnt to bad, thats why i decided to get one of them, years ago. Sure, its no match for true audiophile demand, but its still able to perform at a OK level. The strong spot is the gaming/movie processing capability (modulation of sound effects), at that spot its pretty solid. The speakers are old stuff i got from a broker with 120 W sound capability and they are able to whitestand the Onkyos amp power, so they are in no way bad or brick-le, im not a wise geek but at the same time im not stupid and i know whats able to fit and what not. You may not notice the bad build quality issue because you may rarely use it or you may not use speakers that are able to truly stress the receiver... i dunno.

Its totaly normal that a audio device in the price range of almost 4 times higher got a much better sound.... not a Onkyo issue, its simply not a matching class. Do you think a 550 $ Onkyo can pull out the max sound capapility possible? Foolish to even expect it... sound devices of max quality is extremely hard to build... its almost a artistic work. A cheap chinese-part piece is in no way able to achieve the maximum possible, its impossible to achieve max quality by cheap parts. I guess a audio equipment able to be close to the max possible will even be able to perfectly imitate the sound of a real thunder (so it may sound the same at a range of several miles) and may cost several hundred 1000 $. so i would start to save up on cash... But you can still ask a chinese-cracker company if they are able to build such a device for the price of a few sandwiches... surely unrealistic.

But i have to say, im not a audiophile geek, a average sound may make me happy already. So its not to hard to make me happy, all i need is a properly working device with good "average" sound, nothing special. My ears arnt top level... my eyes are better than that (so take care, i may see your crude words... but may miss the sound). The Onkyo is probably the only 4k receiver with "suitable" average sound, not a special sound, im not even sure i got the required ears but all i know is that i do value a good sound (gaming too) and that i enjoy good music.

When the HDMI board goes, does it just not do audio over HDMI or does it stop working altogether?

I rarely recommend running HDMI through a receiver as that can add lag. Instead, I recommend having the monitor/TV plugged directly into the PC and then using S/PDIF for audio.

Not exactly sure what you mean but the channels are separated as far as i know so, HDMI will not produce any lag. Fact is, my HDMI picture channel (pass through) was still working properly, but my sound is totaly gone. That counts for SPDIF too, all the sound stopped working. It doesnt matter the source input, sound simply died. My gaming system was connected over SPDIF all the time, the other devices used HDMI but there was no noticeable difference in sound quality. So, yes the HDMI pass through is still working but all the audio died. Prehaps when i reboot the Onkyo 20 times in a row, and several system hangs (from Onkyo) it may work for some time, even hours, and then it may all of a sudden stop working. The Receiver is now heavely unstable... sure some critical internal parts have almost died and are now in the progress of fading.

But ultimately its just headache, not even sure i get a free repair, and im not willing to throw away a audio device every 2.5 years, thats hilarious. I will call Onkyo as soon as i am in the correct mood. Everyone supporting a 2.5-year lifetime mentality, i will support them with a free stroke of my willow rod for every single CAP that have died.



I will now study one week in a row on what to do with the current situation and how to get a suitable sound device.

 

[Alaric]

Tell me a "high end" manufacturer able to provide the same stuff a Onkyo receiver is able to execute but with much higher quality!

That's an easy one. Onkyo makes it. Here you go. http://www.integrahometheater.com/ Mostly because Onkyo's stuff that is badged Onkyo is going to be the consumer grade products. Integra is their "enthusiast" grade stuff. But they are competing with manufacturers like Marantz , Denon , etc.. And Marantz puts a hurtin' on Onkyo/Integra in the sound quality department.
You can probably find this http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/P...?CatId=AVReceivers&SubCatId=&ProductId=NR1605 at a better price than suggested retail ($699 USD) and I would expect a much longer lifespan than two years. The warranty is five years , and I've never had any trouble with my Marantz gear purchased in 2006.

 

[EarthDog]

Bad luck is bad luck... I have had Onkyo receivers go for YEARS. Sucks... but bad luck is bad luck.

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

I'd suggest taking a look at Pioneer's high end stuff, too. I was looking at Onkyo back in 2009 last time I was in the market for a receiver and ended up with a Pioneer VSX-919AH instead. It has significantly outlasted the warranty with no signs of any issues. It needed a firmware update to fix some remote control related issues, but that's all. Once in a while I think about upgrading it, but that never lasts long... it's been too good to me, and I don't really need any features it doesn't have at the moment.

I have a friend who runs a car audio shop. His personal preference is to use Pioneer before anything else... he claims they rarely let him down for build quality and have been consistently good for decades. If my receiver is any indication, he's right.

That said, if I were in the market today, I'd probably look at Marantz. I wanted one of theirs in 2009, but they were solidly out of my price range back then.

 

[PicodeGallo]

Great posts by Alaric & Oklahoma Wolf. As I also mentioned, take a look at the high end stuff from Pioneer, Onkyo, Yamaha, Marantz. It sounds like a receiver is what you want. Without looking at other brands, I'm pretty high on Yamaha. Their quality has improved lately. I did spend some quality time with a flagship Yamaha and put it through its paces. I was very impressed. Of course, for $4,000, I had better be!

While I love the quality of high-end, I'm not above getting equipment to get the job done. I'm currently planning on buying a cheap ~$400 receiver for its pre-amp capabilities, kind of similar to what you are wanting. I will use my own amp, as the receiver will nowhere near do my speakers justice, and would likely lead to amp failure anyway. Good luck on your search!

 

[Adragontattoo]

Onkyo doesn't make a good product. Their stuff always fails.

citation needed.jpg

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=553082

My thread from 2008, that I ended up buying an Onkyo Receiver from. It has been in use pretty much since I got it and still works fine. A refurb Onkyo from 2008 that still works doesn't seem like a bad product or a failure to me.

I use it now in the "workshop/office" because I upgraded the main and bedroom receivers.

 

[Alaric]

I have had Onkyo receivers go for YEARS

On that very subject , I'm about to pass on a 25 year old Onkyo receiver (stereo) to my daughter. Got it for $9 at a thrift shop! It works perfectly , after a good cleaning. 25 screamin' watts per channel! LOL

 

[Ivy]

I was updating the title with the correctly specced Onkyo receiver (its in my signature but people may not read it) because prehaps Onkyo may own "better" products but not in the "mainstream-consumer-category"; although my receiver isnt exactly mainstream but still pretty "affordable consumer grade" with a effective price tag of around 550+ $ (cheapest offers of course). Mainstream is usualy lower than 500 $ and usualy not even 7.1 channel, rather 5.1 or so.


Entire matter isnt that easy, and the power output is rated by class: Class A, B, C, D
Power rating of Class D is much lower than the rating at class A. I dunno why they use such a intransparent consumer hostile "spec" rating. Prehaps in order to create lack of transparency. But it seems like just a few receivers would be able even to deliver 30 W of Class A rating, most of them are rated as class D. Just to say how complicated it becomes when no insider-knowledge. Most high end receivers are sold very hidden and barely available to the public, so its even hard to find a "Integra shop dealer" in my country, a thing almost impossible. So those manufacturers are locking theyr high end products away from the public on purpose and the details specs is rarely known. Prices are locked away too... its just totaly invisible and providing intransparency is the key in order to have lack of consumer-friendly attitude.

But what can be said, the true high end is barely worth it, because as higher it gets as higher the "multiplicator", 2 times better = 4 times more pricy... and so on. But im not looking for a "high multiplicator", all i am looking for is to have a product with GOOD CAPs, so i wont have a device go boom every 2.5 years, im not a audiophile looking for the most expensive unit, i just want a hassle free average player with good build quality.

I was actually fine with the sound capability of the NR609 but i am NOT fine with the general build quality.

They cant just build affordable receivers at all cost, a good brand is in need of a proper image and in term theyr receivers start burning every 2.5 years (hardcore use) then its not gonna do them any good reputation. In that term they rather may have increased the price by 100 $ in order to get better CAPs (looking at the amount of CAPs inside, i think they can replace whem with tantalum CAPs at a difference of 100$), and not always trying to compete with price.

Of course, in theory i could pay someone in order to make a "super CAP" modification but it somehow feels messed up when a customer will have to overhaul a cheap design just because a manufacturer wants to save up on manufacturing cost and it will even damage theyr brand image... thats no good!

On that very subject , I'm about to pass on a 25 year old Onkyo receiver (stereo) to my daughter. Got it for $9 at a thrift shop! It works perfectly , after a good cleaning. 25 screamin' watts per channel! LOL

Yeah... the very old legacy stuff from Onkyo was build with REAL quality and it was a "legendary brand", one of the few real music-companys, its not comparable to the chinese-cracker junk the japanese company is using nowadays. Its sad because its surely hurting theyr image. But its even beyond my worst level of "bad imagination" that theyr new products can die in only 2.5 years... and it wasnt a manufacturing failure, simply bad quality. Take it or leave it, it seems like im telling the hard truth.

I'd suggest taking a look at Pioneer's high end stuff, too. I was looking at Onkyo back in 2009 last time I was in the market for a receiver and ended up with a Pioneer VSX-919AH instead. It has significantly outlasted the warranty with no signs of any issues.

That said, if I were in the market today, I'd probably look at Marantz. I wanted one of theirs in 2009, but they were solidly out of my price range back then.

Regarding Pioneer: They are using a Onkyo HCPS (Onkyo got a good HCPS), although the general design is not related to Onkyo, they still use theyr own design. Thats not bad, Pioneer was always using parts of other manufacturers and was refining them to even higher levels, it was same for the Panasonic Plasma TVs, they was refined by Pioneer and the outcome was one of the best TVs every build.

The old and discontinued Pioneer SC-2022 7.1 AV would be available pretty cheap around 650$ but its most likely better at build and sound quality than the Onkyo NR 609. The main CAPs are electrolytic 15000 uF (bigger than the ones used inside NR 609, not sure the rating but its branded as "Nichigon*"), but most of the small CAPs are "solid CAPs", so they are already some improved quality compared to Onkyo. Big electrolytic CAPs arnt a issue and it makes sense to use them, because they have highest capacity from all CAPs and arnt prone to fail, but small electrolytic CAPs are generally inferior junk that should be replaced by solid CAPs, it makes no sense to use them because there is better options available. Thats the stuff Pioneer was doing regarding the SC-2022 so it seems like they know the deal.

*Nichigon http://www.nichicon.co.jp/english/index.html seems to be a japanese brand, it doesnt matter the rating, a japanese CAP will always last twice that long compared to a "no name chinese-cracker".

Trying to investigate the stuff used on the NR609.
Well there is so many users across the net with failed NR609, another example: http://www.avforums.com/threads/onkyo-tx-nr609-owners-thread-part-3.1628858/page-15
Short time after the warranty has ended... badaboom!

Hard to find capacitor infos and other parts, although a failed HDMI board doesnt mean no CAP failed, a board can be full of CAPs.

 

[freeagent]

Out of the thousands, or hundreds of thousands they have made, I would imagine they made a couple of good ones

My bud has the NR 809, it was the big daddy at the time I think, and it has had its board replaced twice. The second time was just outside of warranty, but the shop he got it from was nice enough to give him a new one. 2 boards in 2 years. He doesn't work it hard either.

I bought a NAD, its been decent so far.

 

[NiHaoMike]

While I love the quality of high-end, I'm not above getting equipment to get the job done. I'm currently planning on buying a cheap ~$400 receiver for its pre-amp capabilities, kind of similar to what you are wanting. I will use my own amp, as the receiver will nowhere near do my speakers justice, and would likely lead to amp failure anyway. Good luck on your search!

Way overkill to use a receiver as a switch. There are loads of cheap and good HDMI and S/PDIF switches out there.

 

[PicodeGallo]

Ivy, no one here can offer you up the perfect product. It doesn't exist. All we can do is share what we know, and from there, it's up to you.

1. Power output/rating via Class A, B, & D are the most commonly used. They all have their own purpose, but does NOT completely represent quality. Class D is not inferior, however it is the most power efficient & creates the least amount of heat--they are commonly used in subwoofer designs because they require very large amounts of power, which burns a lot of electricity and generates a lot of heat in inefficient designs. Heat is wasted power (physics 101). Class A is actually the best 'sounding,' however it is highly inefficient and produces tons of heat, that's why you rarely see Class A amps over 30-50w per channel. The vast majority of amplifiers in any device is Class A+B. At very low levels, amplifiers operate in Class A, but when pushed harder, they operate in Class B to save power and reduce heat. Heat is bad. Heat kills electronics.

2. "True high end is barely worth it." This is a highly subjective statement. I have been lucky enough to know the owner of a specialty home electronics shop. In that shop was a Martin Logan + B&W showroom that he allowed me to listen to at my leisure. Now that my sound arrogant by the owner, but considering the equipment value was well over $300,000, you can see why--and this was only a 2 channel system with no subwoofer. The B&W speakers alone were $100,000 a pair. It was quite amazing to listen to and seemed to defy laws of some sort, the kind one wouldn't know existed. But was it worth it? I guess it depends on how much money you have. The bottom line is that it's difficult to convince someone in words just how much better equipment gets not only in terms of quality, but sound quality as well. You just have to experience it for yourself.

3. You seem to want it all, but you just don't want to pay for it. Well, I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. There are sacrifices to be made. When I got into this hobby over 20 years ago, that was one of the first things I learned. Back in the 50's through the 70's, and even a bit past that, manufacturers DID make quality stuff. No longer is the case. I hate it just as much as you. But there are options. There are still those who don't wish to compromise. The sad part is, it doesn't really cost that much to radically improve a design or its quality. As a matter of fact, the tried and true designs have been around for decades. However, the small manufacturers that build this great stuff need to put food on the table and stay in business too...hence the higher prices. If Onkyo can save $20 per unit, but sell 1 million of them, that's $20 million saved. Cost cutting made simple which equates to higher profitability. And that $20 would have bought you far better caps than what is currently used.

4. But there's more to it than just caps. What makes you think it was the caps that failed? When my Sony receiver died the second time, it simply stopped working. It wasn't the caps at all. After a $5 shopping spree at Radio Shack to replace a couple of output transistors, a friend of mine got it up and running rather quickly. When it broke down the 3rd time, I knew it was the caps because I heard hissing and whining through the audio, which is the sound of dying capacitors. Caps don't last forever. You can also replace them yourself. I currently have an incredibly awesome amp from the 80's that's dead because it needs to be recapped, along with a few other improvements, but it will cost me $$$. One day, I will get it fixed.

I wish I could offer up the perfect solution for you. I really do. But you just have to do your homework and make a compromise. Decide what it is you really want and go for it.

 

[NiHaoMike]

There's a saying "the manufacturer will do anything it can get away with to save a fraction of a cent per unit, but the user will gladly pay many percent more for a superior product." If you want the best, DIY is the way to go, but soldering those surface mount components can be tricky, especially the HVICs with the thermal pad. For the PSU, top quality 48V PSUs are commonly available for cheap (used) from the telecom market.

 

[Ivy]

But finally it doesnt matter what i pay, when initial cost is 600$ and i pay 1000 $ the company use the worst CAPs they can get. When the initial cost is 800 $ the company is using slightly better CAPs but it will cost 2000 $. So your so called "Im not willing to make them swim in a lake of coins", isnt fully valid. Besides, i already told my limit for receiver is 2K $, if they cant build a receiver having high endurance using 2K then i feel sorry for the bad economy or lack of the correct production plant. I can totaly understand that good material costs spicy coins but the the coin should be able to achieve good material at the level of common sense. Not in a way like this: Slightly better material = +1k $, and for every little bit better than that another 1K $, its not a wonder that the economy is nowadays a junk market because of the wrong mentality.

Of course CAPs arnt everything, its actually just one of many parts, but its the part most prone to fail so its easyers to investigate and nailing it down. Other stuff only a expert would be able to judge. Yet, most companys arnt even using good CAPs, even if they got the highest "visibility" of any part.

What we do is, we separate the users into:
Trashstream: ~90% of all devices: 100-500 $
Mainstream: 5% of all devices: 500-1500 $
Middlestream: 1% of all devices: 1500-6000 $
Superstream: 0.1% of all devices: 6000+ $
Custom designs: (build on request, or special use): 0.0001% of all devices: 50 000+ $.

Should be pretty accurate that way, of course numbers are guessing i dont care accuracy,... its no hardcoded price, its simply the result of the industrys mentality.

It would be better to finish that junk and just bring down the ugly Middle and Superclasses in price but raise the price of trash and mainstream in order to put higher quality parts inside. If they sell lesser trash and mainstream doing so, just raise the price another time, no one need trash price and no one needs luxury classes with prices out of common sense. Trash and Maintream is the stuff that tends to die in a few years of 24/7 use. Middle and Superstream is above common sense, its good quality but it doesnt truly reflect material price it seems. Of course custom solutions are different, but they dont use standart (mass produced) parts or anything common.

Its a truly screwed up situation and it simply cant reflect materials used, its a pure speculative view... they charge the stuff the consumer is willing to pay, but apparently Image and Ethics isnt important. Ultimately how will a customer know that they get a fair priced and good product? Always need someone ripping the devices apart and making a "police commander" inspection?! Just hard to find such a inspection. Im sure its by design, because everyone "bad mouthing" a company will not get any free "devices" for test purpose and most of the inspectors wont be able to buy them all without support. Thats a corrupt attitude. (they pay in order to get a good image/review)... people can call it how they feel like but for me thats corrupt.

Fact is, the true "trashing" has started around 5-10 years ago, previously there wasnt much trash when it comes to "audio-hardware" because it was simply not a market available to the trash market and companys was not willing to enter such a market. Nowadays... mentality changed and its hard to separate the true quality from the trash because its becoming slowly invisible whats "true quality" and what not.

but considering the equipment value was well over $300,000, you can see why--and this was only a 2 channel system with no subwoofer. The B&W speakers alone were $100,000 a pair.

Well thats custom class for the very rich of us, its not anything mass produced, probably not even some "limited series", such as 1000 pieces or so. Sounds like everything "done by handcraft" at a custom level. Sure, congrats on that, but 99.999% are unable to have such equipment, understandable. But the price is speculations, its simply worth the price someone is paying for it and of course there is enough of people having several hundred K $. Especially when there is just a handful of such equipment they are willing to pay it.

But it got nothing to do with mass produced or limited-series audio devices. Even those can be build with good or bad quality, its not impossible. Of course "limited" is relative term, usualy when there is lesser than 10k pieces i consider it a limited series (and i actually own such limited series hardware). Above 10k is usualy a mass produced issue.

 

[NiHaoMike]

The more experienced DIYers can build a top quality amp for well under $500. Soldering the HVICs (and if used, a DSP in a BGA package) will require a pretty good investment in tools and a professional PCB service to make the board, not to mention experience in actually designing PCBs for power electronics and modern logic. Still worth it for those who want to go high end on a budget.

You can also look at using evaluation boards if you don't want to build from scratch. Not cheap but they are very high quality. (They don't compromise on performance because evaluation boards are designed to showcase the product so the customer will choose it over a competitor's product.)

 

[Mpegger]

If only Heathkits of this kind were still available (or ever made).

Btw, my Onkyo TX-SR504 was purchased new around a year after its initial release (around 2006-2007), also because I needed a decent amplifier for my computers 7.1 setup. Still going strong, and most definitely has many, many hours on it.

 

[Ivy]

Its not only bad luck, there was so many people with failed NR 609 and that device isnt much older than 2 years (release was around 2-3 years ago), dunno whats going on, i am heavely investigating the matter. Ok it could be the HDMI board but i have to find that board first and investigate if that is a circuit/processor or whatever issue.

Surely you are lucky, lot of bad CAPs located at the SR504, no good device at all, but dunno if you use it 24/7, probably only a few hours a day. Simply cant compare it to hardcore users, but those parts are probably made for people who arnt using a receiver for central stage PCs i guess, its mainly for people hearing a "bedtime-voice", so they are able to sleep better.

On the SR 606 Onkyo used fluid electrolytic SMD baby CAPs covered by a "solid state mantle", so it looks like a "true solid CAP" but its a junk electrolytic. Old trick but it still works, and it does nothing to the general quality of the CAPs, they probably just want to fool customers. Once they die they may still crack open the head of the CAP, can clearly be seen by the "cross shaped scratches", so they are able to "bulge" without causing a explosion (in most terms... it can still explode in ur face). They attempted to replace it and a lot of success doing so.

Really, companys should get a lesson in ethics, because when greed becomes theyr whole focus it will only cause destruction in long term.

 

[Alaric]

This may be a silly question , but , have you checked all the fuses ? There are frequently fuses inside audio gear (amplifiers). I hope it's something simple like that. If not , I hope Onkyo will goodwill the repair. Your frustration level seems (understandably) high and I'm hoping for the best outcome for you. If you should find yourself having to replace it , I would take a good look at Marantz. In the price range you stated , Marantz will have most , if not all , the bells and whistles , and sound quality way beyond the Onkyo. Marantz is part of D & M Holdings , which consists of Denon , Marantz , and McIntosh. While no guarantee of quality , that's a pedigree worth investigating.
Best of luck to you.

 

[NiHaoMike]

Nowadays, the usual approach is a fuse on the mains input and overload protection inside the output stage and PSU controller. For the most part, fuses are simply too slow to be able to protect semiconductors from a short circuit. In particular, the overcurrent detection inside modern HVICs are able to react within a few tens of nanoseconds, which when combined with the inductance of the output filter makes the design very robust. The PSU is electronically protected against overloads just like a PC PSU.

In designs that use the main PSU converter to supply logic and auxiliary rails, there may be fuses or fusible resistors to provide overcurrent protection for those rails. However, it's much more common nowadays to use a small converter for standby as well as logic and auxiliary rails, with the main converter having a variable output voltage.