[parbaked]

Quote:

but.....the Sansui AU-517 cost me $50 & in that respect, its the best amp for the price bar none! 

I think this is the perspective that is sometimes lost in this wonderful thread.
The best vintage stuff finds us, or we have history with it, and that adds to the value...

 

[moodyrn]

The sansui au 517 is a nice little amp. And a good buy for the money. I owned one for a while, and in no way will it compete with highend vintage or modern amps. It was one of the few non totl pieces I've ever owned and I would rank it last. That's not a bad thing. At the time when I owned it, I thought it competed with modern solid state amps in the 800.00-1000.00 range. So while it may be a midfi killer, it's not quiet what you would call a giant killer. That amp Scottie have is just on another level.

 

[kstuart]

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...but i gotta honest and admit that as an amp, its easily outclassed by the modern stuff i have now.

Now that you have specified what you are referring to, I think you are talking about "apple and oranges".
 
Those two items are "boutique high end" items.   This thread is about "vintage mass market" items, not "vintage high end" items.   It was already established early in this thread (by Skylab among others) that cost-no-object high end gear is still going to be a little better even than the SX-1980 or other TOTL mass market gear.
 
Someone at AK once mentioned in the vintage Forum that the true best buy was used 1980s high end things (like Threshold, PS Audio, Carver, Krell, Mark Levinson, Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, etc).
 
For that matter, it doesn't have to be 1980s - have you ever compared your modern amps to a perfectly restored McIntosh MC275 ?
 

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

I just bought a Sansui 771 and was looking here to get it restored. Has anyone here dealt with them? Looking at ~$550 for full-recap, output mod and current balance. Sound nuts?

All depends on what condition you're 771 is in. It looks very good on the outside How does it sound? Some amps really don't need to be recapped if they have lead a sheltered life. Most vintage amps will benefit from having a few caps replaced, but a full recap for a 771 for that price seems a bit high and probably unnecessary imo. Also you'd be very lucky to sell it for the price of the recap. If it was a TOTL Sansui then it would make more sense. 
 
I paid £70 (approx $100) for a Sansui 551 and it sounds wonderful, the last thing on my mind would be to change any of the innards.
 
I'm getting to know when amps aren't well and need servicing. Some subtle signs are; the sound may be too warm, lose bass, dullness, flat sounding. Also any 'hum' that is coming from the amp when nothing else is plugged in. Distortion at high volume. 
 
If it don't have any of the above.. Don't fix it. It may well come back sounding like another amp. Might be a better amp, but it might not be the classic sounding Sansui it was before. The XX1 line are from a sweet spot in the Sansui line up. Sweet spot because they sound verrrry 'sweet' ))

 

[captouch]

Quote:

I just bought a Sansui 771 and was looking here to get it restored. Has anyone here dealt with them? Looking at ~$550 for full-recap, output mod and current balance. Sound nuts?

 
As Lugbug1 said, I wouldn't personally pay that much to have that particular model redone.  It's a nice piece, but market value for an unrestored one is $100-150.  So to put $550 into it is questionable.  You may want to save that kind of restoration $ for a higher end piece that's TOTL, has more power, will have better resale value.  You may not think you'll ever want to sell it, but there's a tendency to want to upgrade or gather more vintage stuff as time goes on.  In general, you have a better shot at recovering restoration investments the higher you go up the ladder in terms of classic/TOTL models, highly desirable brands, etc. 

 

[petemac110]

Then it should be AU-A907i, and based on search, it's MOSFET.

If I am in your shoes, I will definitely go after AU-a907i. It looks badass!!!!!!!!1

 
Edit,
BTW, it seems only for Japan market, which means it's normally a high-end stuff. 

Edit again,
find http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=476490

The amp in question is the 'plain' AU Alpha 907i with normal bipolar outputs, rather than the MOS LIMITED version. Given that the poster hails from Australia, I'm certain that I listened to this exact amp at the seller's house a few weeks ago. Lovely amp, lovely condition, superb sound... but not appreciably better than my AU-X701 (it's little brother) so I didn't purchase it.

It is a Japanese market 100V amp as you mentioned.

The 907i was the amp which formed the baseline for Sansui's last evolution of amps before they went bankrupt. There were many special editions and revisions over a 10 year period, but the base design remained the same. These amps are in a whole different ballpark to the older Sansuis. I have a substantial Sansui collection, and my AU-X701 sounds the best to my ears.

 

[scottiebabie]

Quote:

Now that you have specified what you are referring to, I think you are talking about "apple and oranges".
 
Those two items are "boutique high end" items.   This thread is about "vintage mass market" items, not "vintage high end" items.   It was already established early in this thread (by Skylab among others) that cost-no-object high end gear is still going to be a little better even than the SX-1980 or other TOTL mass market gear.
 
Someone at AK once mentioned in the vintage Forum that the true best buy was used 1980s high end things (like Threshold, PS Audio, Carver, Krell, Mark Levinson, Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, etc).
 
For that matter, it doesn't have to be 1980s - have you ever compared your modern amps to a perfectly restored McIntosh MC275 ?
 

 
cant say i have compared to much else. theres soooo much stuff out there & im just happy with  my little corner of the room. i wasnt trying to compare but merely making an observation from experience. a few yrs back, i thought my Sansui (& other vintage amps for that matter) was the bee's knees cos i was impressed with the iron & build quality but mainly cos i was ignorant. its impossible to know good until one hears better.
 
i expressed my opinions cos a coupla guys asked. nevertheless, vintage stuff is amazing both in material, build & (importantly) price but ultimately, science & modern materials is an unrelenting juggernaut. theres no doubt to my mind that well designed well built modern components will better most of what was available 40yrs ago.
 
unless we are talking about tubes! in that case, its a whole nother can of worms!!  
 
on another subject, theres a restored good condition Sansui AU-111 for $3500 on canuckaudiomart. that mite be a good deal for a collector of means. i would love to get my hands on it but i dont have the means & will console myself by repeating the AU-111 will drive my NS1k horridly 

 

[Trav]

I just bought a Sansui 771 and was looking here to get it restored. Has anyone here dealt with them? Looking at ~$550 for full-recap, output mod and current balance. Sound nuts?

Do you have any current complaints about the 771? I have the 881 and TBH it's not crossed my mind to have restored. It's yields no hum, scratches in the pots and I'm really enjoying the synergy it has with all my speakers and HP.

 

[LugBug1]

Just scored for another Pioneer. Been on the look out for a replacement for my now deceased SX550 (still grieving..) Although I still have her. She's in my cupboard. I'm keeping her Norman Bates styley ha)
 
I'll post my usual pics and run down when received. (although I wouldn't get too excited, £60 means it isn't a sx1980)
 
Or is it? 

  
 
 
 
No its not actually. 

 
 
 
 
No. Seriously its really not. 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Right I'll stop now. I look like I've got something wrong with me all this winking..

 

[kstuart]

Quote:

£60

Just curious, where in the world of " £ " are you located (roughly) ??

 

[kstuart]

Quote:

...nevertheless, vintage stuff is amazing both in material, build & (importantly) price but ultimately, science & modern materials is an unrelenting juggernaut. theres no doubt to my mind that well designed well built modern components will better most of what was available 40yrs ago.

I think you are pendulum-swinging too far in the other direction.
 
A new modern high-end amp, that is better than a new high-end amp in 1985, costs many thousands of dollars, just as that 1985 one did.   In both cases, making something that sounds good has a small audience, there are only a tiny fraction of people who can both hear the difference and can afford it.
 
So, the low number of units sold for every carefully researched design, means that they cost an arm and a leg, in order to recoup the development costs.
 
Beyond that, as you mention, there is inevitable technological progress in circuit design.  However, there is also the big increase in the cost of materials like big transformers.
 
So, I don't think that new modern amps give you a better sound in any given price range --- except for "price no object".  I'm sure that the current top of the Stereophile Recommended Components List sounds a little better than the top ones 30 years ago, but a Bugatti Veyron will go faster than a 1977 Ferrari, and neither fact is relevant to me.

 
So, irregardless of whether or not you were overenthusiastic in 2011, the AU-517 is still better than any brand new amp you can buy for the same money.

 

[scottiebabie]

lols unfortunately knowledge is a terrible thing & once that pandora's box is opened, im fraid theres no going back atleast for me. i dont know whether the AU-517 is better than a brand new amp but i cannot argue that its great for the price i paid.
 
to me ears as it is now, driving the sensitive (90db) Yamaha NS1000, theres just no denying the Sansui is completely outclassed. indeed, even the similarly priced (used that is) Audio Space 300b amp cannot compete on the same level with the DK amp, atleast not with the NS1k - too slow too laid back for my taste. perhaps a full refurb, recap & speaker post replacement mite tilt the pendulum but i cant say til i do it & it not gonna happen anytime soon.
 
maybe the incoming Pioneer SA-8100 may tell me different. the one thing i can say for sure is that this journey of discovery is fun. 

 

[parbaked]

Quote:

maybe the incoming Pioneer SA-8100 may tell me different. the one thing i can say for sure is that this journey of discovery is fun. 

Hopefully you will just enjoy it for what it is or was.
I love my SA-7100. Nice contrast to modern gear, great value and so cool to flip those metal switches.
If only it had meters...

 

[harrinj]

Well I got my Marantz 4400 today. it's very dirty and I'll post before and after pics when it's cleaned.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Just curious, where in the world of " £ " are you located (roughly) ??

The home of Newcastle Brown Ale