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Sansui Amps Owners & Discussion Thread


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Not enough input/output options ...

 

 Yeah - got a few. A while back I was looking at vintage receivers, and started thinking about all the switches and knobs on them.  I researched a bit, and from memory I think the monster Technics receiver SA-1000 won the most "knobs" award with 28 different options!

 

Anyway >>> On Sansui I had a really clean AU-4900 at one time. Nice little amp..

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Am I the only one that would love to see/hear/own a modern reproduction of some of these Sansui classic designs ?

I imagine them to be schematically identical, but made in a modern fashion with modern manufacturing techniques.

Or is this slandering talk and I'm about to see a warning from admins about this traitorous actions ?

I'd love to know what others think of the idea positive or negative. :)

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Am I the only one that would love to see/hear/own a modern reproduction of some of these Sansui classic designs ?

I imagine them to be schematically identical, but made in a modern fashion with modern manufacturing techniques.

Or is this slandering talk and I'm about to see a warning from admins about this traitorous actions ?

I'd love to know what others think of the idea positive or negative. :)

Its a hard one but I think it can be more of a negative as i love all my gear from the 70's for that reason, for its time line, that classic sound. It would be very interesting to hear a new reproduction of a classic.

 

I'd like to see Sansui to be what they used to be though, making top hifi gear non mass produced.

 

The one that i can think of is the AU-111.

(Original 1965 - Reproduction 1999)

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Edited by Sansui77
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Here are some pics of The Fez's LOVELY AU-20000 which is here for the full dayspa treatment (but we're not going as far as a triple-bypass, boob-lift, tummy-tuck etc as this amp is in such great nick as-is).

 

170WPC of Sansui's finest crammed into a beautiful example of 1970's industrial design, prior to the backside falling out of the yen.

 

I honestly never thought I'd see, smell, touch, kiss and fondle an AU-20000 in the flesh, so thanks to The Fez for helping to tick another box on my Sansui bucket list :)

 

Later this week... post-service and health-check... comes LISTENING TIME. :love  This will be VERY interesting indeed, as I have one of skippy124's BA/CA-F1 pre-power combos here at present, along with my beloved AU-X701. Three different generations which represent the evolution of Sansui circuit design - 'Definition' series, DD-DC series, and X-balanced/Alpha series. 

 

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Am I the only one that would love to see/hear/own a modern reproduction of some of these Sansui classic designs ?

I imagine them to be schematically identical, but made in a modern fashion with modern manufacturing techniques.

Or is this slandering talk and I'm about to see a warning from admins about this traitorous actions ?

I'd love to know what others think of the idea positive or negative. :)

 

I've often thought about making one. The problem is that you will never recreate that exact sound because the Sanken transistors are out of production, and have no exact substitutes. The Sansui power transformers contribute heavily to the sound.

 

A modern version would in my opinion sound more detailed than the originals, but will lose some of that classic sound. I think it would be a very interesting project. The QRX-2000 output stage is very similar to the JLH Class A 10 Watt amp, and has a similar character to the sound, but a little less detail. Circuits have no copyright, but the PCB and chassis design have copyright.

Edited by eltech
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I've often thought about making one. The problem is that you will never recreate that exact sound because the Sanken transistors are out of production, and have no exact substitutes. The Sansui power transformers contribute heavily to the sound.

 

A modern version would in my opinion sound more detailed than the originals, but will lose some of that classic sound. I think it would be a very interesting project. The QRX-2000 output stage is very similar to the JLH Class A 10 Watt amp, and has a similar character to the sound, but a little less detail. Circuits have no copyright, but the PCB and chassis design have copyright.

You could do it better with the tube designs, as modern equivalents of the transformers are available from http://www.tube-amps.net/Hashimoto_Products.htm

 

Edit: can never be reproduced exactly but it would be closer I think.

Edited by ortofun
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Hashimoto and Sansui were intimately entwined in the early days, and there is still some of the Sansui DNA present in Hashimoto today.

Sansui started out with transformers early on, Hashimoto came from core designers from Sansui, or have i interpreted it all incorrectly?

 

I did read of a comparison they did with the original AU-111 OPTs and the modern equivalents, and if I recall correctly the new ones have the same Sansui sound signature and the only difference is the new ones are a little more extended at the frequency extremes.

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You can pay for the transformers. I'll pay for the valves

If I pay for those transformers, they go into my existing amp :P

 

But seriously, if i had an income that could work it I would jump on board with that... but would want you to get some very nice NOS valves to even things out :)

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... The Fez's 170WPC of Sansui's finest ...

Lovely, based on Sansui's power ratings being typically conservative, this thing must punch over 200W ?

My goodness. I wouldn't have any walls left in my house if I cranked that up :o

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Here's one of my X0X0db's. The 8080db from last weekend playing some tunes. 6 hours continuous music...... got a bit carried away :hiccup       :)

 

I was lucky to get this 8080db from Florida USA a couple of years ago and got it for a steal. I would have to say it's the best 8080db in Australia as there's not one mark on it, brand new condition, hardly used. Came with all manuals, warranty cards, recept etc. Nice sounding receiver too. Love those VU meters ;)

 

Photo little dark

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Edited by Sansui77
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Okey dokey... @@The Fez 's AU-20000 pictured earlier has been serviced and is now singing beautifully!

 

A few controls were crackly and the connected/separated switch had the typical corrosion and was dropping out intermittently. All fixed!

 

The top, side and rear panels needed to be removed to get to the switch was is mounted on the same PCB as the RCA sockets. Each of the RCA sockets has its own plastic bush for a super-neat and super-tight fit. Very cool!

 

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One of the meter lights was also flaky, so this has been fixed.

 

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She's all hooked up for a good solid heatsoak test and is sounding very nice indeed! Gotta love those sexy power meters. :)

 

(yes, the cover is being re-fitted for the heatsoak testing ;) )

 

 

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Oh, and the bias and dc offset were well out of spec too. 25-80mV of DC offset (should be 0mV) and between 11 and 23mV at the bias test points (should be 35mV). Thankfully the trimpots on this all are in excellent condition and were relatively stable and easy to adjust.

Internally this amp is in sensational condition, just like the exterior!

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