daniel7y Posted August 25, 2013 Posted August 25, 2013 Hi all I have a Sansui 881 that is in good working condition and presents fairly well overall. I really like this amp and plan on getting it serviced/recapped and also get the lamps replaced on the tuner screen. Does anyone have any suggestions where I can take it? I found this mob: http://www.clarkeaudio.com they look the business. I think that this amp might have been sitting in a garage or in storage for a while, so it looks a bit dirty and I wanna give it a good clean. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to give the faceplate of the amp a good clean? I've given it a good wipe down but I reckon the metal is looking a bit dull. Thanks!!
skippy124 Posted August 25, 2013 Posted August 25, 2013 Hi, The 881 is one of the highly regarded Sansui receivers of the era (mid 70's), and was one of the first bits of Sansui gear that started me on my Sansui odyssey. My latest favorite for cleaning face plates is Simple Green (it is available from Bunnings, and most likely supermarkets). Don't rub to hard, use a soft cloth moistened with the cleaner. If the knobs need a clean, I use a tooth brush to give them a bit of a scrub. If the sliver finish on the plastic bezel is tarnished then there is not a great deal you can do about this, you could try a very gentle polish with "Silvo", but be careful, it is easy to polish off the silver finish. The dial globes are available (and it could be the lamp holders that need resoldering, they suffer from dry joints that make the lamps intermittent. The source indicator and stereo indicator lamps are also available. This is one very nice receiver when operating correctly, 60W per channel and top of the line for that series. Here is a link to the one I acquired back in 2010. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=278560 Sorry, I can't help you with recommendations of where to get work done in Melb (now if you were in Sydney.....) Cheers John
daniel7y Posted August 25, 2013 Author Posted August 25, 2013 Thanks for the reply John! I'll give simply green a go. There is a bit of grime behind the knobs so it'd be great to take em off and give it a thorough clean. Do the knobs just pull off? The other issue with mine is the trebble knob is kind of off centre, little bit crooked like it's been knocked - still works perfectly though. Your 881 is looking a lot more tidy than mine. I'm hoping I can get it up to that standard!
skippy124 Posted August 25, 2013 Posted August 25, 2013 (edited) Hi, Yes the best way to get the front panel clean, plus the push button knobs is to remove the front panel. The knobs will pull off (from memory), and there will be a couple of screws top an bottom just behind the front panel, and one or possibly two of the control shafts will have nuts on them that also need to be removed. Here is a link to my 771 (very similar layout) that needed some cleaning. http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/44946-sansui-771-receiver-in-da-house/ EDIT: I used non-ammonia Windex for cleaning this particular unit. The service manual for the 881 is available on Hifiengine (manual are free but you need to register) http://www.hifiengine.com/library/sansui/881.shtml Cheers John Edited August 25, 2013 by skippy124
skippy124 Posted August 25, 2013 Posted August 25, 2013 Thanks for the reply John! I'll give simply green a go. There is a bit of grime behind the knobs so it'd be great to take em off and give it a thorough clean. Do the knobs just pull off? The other issue with mine is the trebble knob is kind of off centre, little bit crooked like it's been knocked - still works perfectly though. Your 881 is looking a lot more tidy than mine. I'm hoping I can get it up to that standard! Re the treble knob, if it is a bit off centre it may be that it has been knocked at some time, so be careful removing it. The two spline sections at the end of the shaft can be bent by a knock, and if so it is difficult to straighten them without breaking one off. If is just the shaft that is bent, then it may be possible to straighten it. Cheers John
daniel7y Posted August 26, 2013 Author Posted August 26, 2013 (edited) Hey John, how did you clean the internals of your amps? The state you got your 771 in looks pretty similar to how my 881 is at the moment. I wanna clean it up inside too but I'm not sure how to do it without causing any damage! edit: here's a quick snap of the tone controls. does look like something has been dropped on the trebble knob. couple of questions: is it normal for the knobs to extend so far out? i ask cos the trebble knob has a bolt or something behind it fixing it in place. i wonder if the other two are missing this, or it's been put in place to hold it there cos it's been knocked... https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B57M_ouzbAhVVEFSMndZT2pRclE/edit?usp=sharing Edited August 26, 2013 by daniel7y
skippy124 Posted August 26, 2013 Posted August 26, 2013 Hi, The bass midrange and treble should not be that far out - there should be a gap of approx 1mm between the back edge of the knob and the front panel. If there is a bolt or something else behind the treble knob then it sounds like there has been some sort of repair done to the treble shaft, causing the knob to sit further out than normal, and the midrange and bass knobs have also been fitted out further than they should be (possibly a bit of packing in the bottom of the knob where the shaft fits). You could try and carefully remove the knob, but who knows what has been done, it could even be glued in place. For internal cleaning, I use a cheap 1" paintbrush and vacuum cleaner, gently brush the dust with the vacuum cleaner nozzle in close proximity. That will remove most f the dust (that was all I did for the 771). Internal metal and painted surfaces can be cleaned with a cloth dampened with non ammonia Windex or Simple Green. Cheers John
daniel7y Posted August 26, 2013 Author Posted August 26, 2013 Decided to take the face plate off and check it out tonight. Knobs weren't glued on or anything. Gave it a clean too come up looking nice. Upon further inspection as far as I could tell, it looked like the treble knob had gotten a knock at some point cos it was slightly bent and the two spline sections were pushed together. I very gently bent it back into position, now it's no longer crooked and rotates evenly. I couldn't figure out why the knobs aren't more flush with the panel though - the treble control just had a nut behind it as it should have (according to service manual). Doesn't seem to have had any repairs on the tone controls... Only thing I can think of is maybe the knobs aren't the correct ones... but even that's unlikely. Strange...
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