[UntilThen]

Nice pictures. The Sansui(s) fits right in with the rest of the gear. The 7900 looks nice, almost similar to my 7700 and in my opinion even nicer looking. The 7700 sounds great with my planar. It's punchy, has a lift to the tone and is slightly brighter than the 505 and 717. The bass is also tighter.

Now you'll see why it's easy for me to buy 3 Sansuis in 2 weeks. I would like a higher spec Sansui later - an Alpha series but first I'll be doing lots of comparison of the 717 with my Redgum 265w 4 ohms integrated amp this weekend with the speakers.

 

[DRHamp]

Yes, both the 317 and the 7900 are less bright than the MJ2, not sure yet, but the 317 may be a little too warm and the 7900 is just perfect. I'm really looking forward to hearing the improvement after recap and cleanup.

 

[petemac110]

Thank you, I'm going to take it a local shop that advertises that they do vintage electronics restores and have them look it over. Don't know if they know what they are doing though, so I'm pretty much taking a chance.
Anything in particular that I should watch for?
I actually have a 7900 hopefully arriving this week and I'm hoping it's in similiar condition. At any rate, I'm planning to send it to the Vintage Sansui restoration place in Eugene Oregon.
Any advice for this noob would be appreciated.

There are a bunch of things to address on the 317 including the VD1212 diodes, fuse resistors, corrosive glue, noisy transistors, and other tweaks and enhancements. These themes/issues hold true for the bigger AU-517 and 717 amps too. I'd strongly suggest perusing the audiokarma forum for existing detailed resto threads such as this:

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...p-upgrade-of-f-2754-and-f-2752-boards.771205/

 

[petemac110]

I'm still new to vintage Sansui amps but that au20000 is the biggest of the Sansui integrated amps, a much sought after amp.

The 20000s are beasts for sure - plenty of grunt and a lovely sound. Likewise, the BA/CA-2000 combo is great.

I also rate the sonics of the BA/CA-F1 combo very highly.

A properly overhauled and modded AU-999 is superb, and the AU-888 is essentially a revised AU-999.

The AU-517, 717, 519, 719, 819 and 919 are all great. I also rate the AU-D11 highly.

The AU-555a is a little pocket-rocket... and the list goes on!

Lastly, I have gravitated towards the later Alpha X-balanced Sansuis - they are less warm overall, but very clean and transparent and less sterile than some modern amps.

A few examples of what I'm talking about (sorry for the photo spamming!)

 

[UntilThen]

Omg I've just gone to Sansui heaven. I could feast on these pics for a long long time.

 

[SpeakerBox]

Good stuff!

 

[DRHamp]

Wow - Wow - Wow ......

 

[DRHamp]

There are a bunch of things to address on the 317 including the VD1212 diodes, fuse resistors, corrosive glue, noisy transistors, and other tweaks and enhancements. These themes/issues hold true for the bigger AU-517 and 717 amps too. I'd strongly suggest perusing the audiokarma forum for existing detailed resto threads such as this:

Thanks - I'll do more reading before I take it in.

 

[petemac110]

Thanks - I'll do more reading before I take it in.

Good stuff - it is well worth your time to compile a short list of the essential things to be tackled, as this info has been built-up over many many years from techs and hobbyists who repair and restore these amps regularly. There is an evidence-based approach to why they recommend what they do. Depending upon the experience and familiarity of techs or shops with these models, they may stick to the basics only and overlook the other issues which are particular to certain makes or models.

 

[petemac110]

And one again, sorry for the photo-bombing of the thread. I just can't help but share some of the Sansui love

 

[UntilThen]

Not at all Pete. Love the photos. Now planning ahead for a Sansui alpha series amp.

 

[kid vic]

And one again, sorry for the photo-bombing of the thread. I just can't help but share some of the Sansui love

If you keep apologizing then we will have to kick you out for disrespecting the Vintage amp love! Put some RESPK on them photos and bless our eyes!

 

[UntilThen]

Bless our wallets too as I'm about to get a Audeze LCD3 to pair with these Sansui amps.

 

[UntilThen]

More photo bombing sessions because vintage amps thread needs photos.

This afternoon, the AU-717 is moved to the lounge for more manly duties. Playing 'Dark Side of the Moon', life couldn't be better. Do I really need the Alpha?

The source


The muscle


The innards - shinny caps

 

[petemac110]

life couldn't be better. Do I really need the Alpha?

They definitely offer a point of difference vs the older Sansuis. They are more like the 7700 than the 717 IMHO, but are certainly cleaner and more resolving and the earlier Sansuis to my ears.

We have a few of the smaller alphas (607s or international equivalents like the AU-X701 and AU-X711) and a few of the larger 907s (DR, KX, XR and MR).

The 907s are absolute beasts - 160WPC into 8 ohm loads and 33kgs, with the transformers weighing in at 13kg alone. The weight difference between most other TOTL Sansuis and the 907s is very noticeable, right in the middle of your back when you try to wrestle these amps into place!

The amplifier feet are solid copper, and there's lots of copper plating and boutique parts throughout including Elna Silmic and Elna Silmic Alpha Gold capacitors,Riken resistors, thick teflon tape for vibration attenuation, copper foil polystyrene caps and U-CON polypropylene caps. Sansui certainly went all-out with the 907s!

The interesting technical aspect of the Alpha X-Balanced amps is that each channel comprises of two individual channels which are bridged to create one output channel. Thus, each amp contains four channels of amplification overall, bridged to create a two channel amplifier.

A few more pics of the innards of the 907XR (because I'm on a roll!)

And a pic of the black-faced 907DR with darker timber side cheeks below:

EDIT no. 2 - I should also apologise as the Alphas do not fit the definition of 'vintage' for many - they extend from 1986 to Sansui's untimely demise around the turn of the century.