[julie_m]

It looks like a UK machine, labelled in English as 240 V. So that means we probably can forget about the sound carrier issue. The problem then could be in the audio playback or RF modulator circuits. There is a third possibility: a mis-set switch or control. It's just about within the bounds of probability that Philips might have provided an audio muting switch or level control, or a switch to select an external audio source; some of the early VCRs were designed with some exotic features that were rarely if ever used, and were removed from later models without fuss nor fanfare At least on a machine of that age, it will be an actual switch, as opposed to an item in an on-screen menu. Look for any concealed knobs or switches.

Are there any sockets around the back? Maybe there is an audio/video out, probably on a DIN socket -- Philips loved DIN sockets -- that you could wire to the TV's SCART input and bypass the RF modulator and TV tuner altogether. Is there a switch near them, that might be for selecting an external audio source? (Any 5-pin, 180-degree, "A-type" DIN socket is almost invariably an audio in/out connection.) Pictures would help.

If you have some sort of modulated analogue RF source (such as another, known working VCR or a games console with an RF adaptor) try tuning one of the recorder's channel presets to its frequency and displaying on the TV what the VR2022 recorder is about to record (this is known technically as "E-E passthrough" -- short for "electronic to electronic" -- mode). Can you get sound then?

In the worst case, you will have to try to follow the audio signal from the head with an oscilloscope. A service manual would be a great help here, though you can just about do it "blind".