Sansui nostalgia

[The Grand Wazoo]

I love Sansui stuff of a certain age - the build quality is excellent. Watch out for the later models where they changed their logo from the word in a green or red rectangle to this one or variations of it:



I don't expect you'll have any trouble driving those speakers or finding cable connectors to suit.

[Rare Bird]

I love the early 70's Sansui. I use a 'SR-2050' turntable from day to day (Like the one in the below clip), i much prefer it to a lot of very expensive decks ive owned over the years....have a couple of Sansui Reciever..

[pete_mac]

I love late 70's AU-series amps with a passion and my father and I have quite a sizeable collection. The TA-300 amd TA-500 are somewhat compromised designs and of lesser quality than, say, the AU-317 and TU-317 separates, but the TAs still sound quite decent and offer the convenience of one chassis.

I completely understand if you want a TA for sentimental reasons, but if you can manage to snaffle a AU-317 (or, better still, an AU-517/717/719) then these will drive your chosen speakers even better, and will offer superior sound quality.

I love Sansui stuff of a certain age - the build quality is excellent. Watch out for the later models where they changed their logo from the word in a green or red rectangle to this one or variations of it:

Whilst the low-end late-model Sansui stuff was often rubbish, there's quite a few late-model Sansuis that represent the pinnacle of Sansui evolution and development. I have an AU-X701 which sounds sublime.



I've always lusted after the MOSFET limited edition amps:






The later AU-alpha-907 series is a further evolution of the earlier AU-X/Au-alpha amps and they are quite superb:

[Rare Bird]

O dear no i would'nt touch that later stuff with a barge pole.. I'll stick with the early 70's clobber thank yea

[The Grand Wazoo]

I agree that the expensive stuff from that period had some good items in it but I get the feeling that the budget is a bit lower than that here.
Not so much of the good stuff got to UK at that time either.

[pete_mac]

O dear no i would'nt touch that later stuff with a barge pole.. I'll stick with the early 70's clobber thank yea

The early stuff is indeed nice. We have a restored 5000 and it sounds lovely.

The Seven, Eight and Eight Deluxe are also lovely.

Mr Wazoo, duly noted. We rarely see the quality late 80s Sansui gear here in Australia. I do see more cheap plastic Sansui gear bearing the new logo, so your advice is sound. Just don't write off all late model Sansui stuff, as you may overlook a real gem.

[robbo400]

Pete,
Thanks for your helpful reply. I did some further looking at sites listing the vintage pieces and I do agree that the AU and TU 317 are the way to go. I'm keeping my eyes open!
I've also looked at some of your other posts - tremendous collection you have, congrats.

[pete_mac]

Thanks Rob. I appreciate your comments. The AU-317 is a cracking little amp with plenty of drive.

One thing to note is that, like many older Sansuis, they can be prone to capacitor glue and fuse resistor issues. Replacing the fuse resistors is thankfully relatively straight-forward on these amps by virtue of their design. It does, however, involve the desoldering, removal, installation and resoldering of parts. The problem is... one you get the hang of this, you think 'hmm, how about the capacitors next?' and it's the beginning of a sickness!!

[julesd68]

Surprised one of you guys hasn't snaffled this up yet!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Legend-SAN...item2ec4a0a7e4

[RobbieGong]

Surprised one of you guys hasn't snaffled this up yet!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Legend-SAN...item2ec4a0a7e4

Not cheap but gorgeous and individual - Mi likes a lot !!