[Greystoke]

   
I just ran into one at a local pawn shop.  He wants $350 for it, but it is beat up.  Wood chipped on right side, switches dirty and sticking, tuning flywheel loose, balance control snapped off, very dirty, paint chipped off heat sinks.  These are things that can be fixed and it sounds good.  And yes, a real monster.
 
Probably can get him down to $325, but it looks a bit like it has had a tough life, so am on the fence.
 
What do you guys think?  Take the plunge or walk?

I was offered the Pioneer SX-1250 for $500, and it was very clean - cosmetically speaking.  I didn't ask for a power-on test, because I have no space to use one of these at home.  Other Pioneer units on Ebay are running around $1,000, with restoration services listed for $475.  If it was me, I'd walk away and keep looking for a cleaner unit, but only you can decide if the sound is worth the gamble. 

 

[PhoenixG]

   
I just ran into one at a local pawn shop.  He wants $350 for it, but it is beat up.  Wood chipped on right side, switches dirty and sticking, tuning flywheel loose, balance control snapped off, very dirty, paint chipped off heat sinks.  These are things that can be fixed and it sounds good.  And yes, a real monster.
 
Probably can get him down to $325, but it looks a bit like it has had a tough life, so am on the fence.
 
What do you guys think?  Take the plunge or walk?

Well, at that price, if it works, you'll never lose money on it. You could do a full restore and still be less into it than the average cost of an unrestored unit.

 

[moodyrn]

If it was me, I couldn't get there fast enough to get it. That same beat up unit would go for around 600.00 on ebay(I've seen them worse go for more than that). Most of what you list is minor. There's new reproduction wood cases for 100.00 or less, knobs and even switches on ebay are plentiful for that receiver. If it works and you do nothing but get up to snuff cosmetically and clean the switches and pots, you are looking at less than 150.00. That investment alone would get you near 1000.00 on ebay. But a nice cosmetically working sx1250 for a less than 500.00 investment for me would be a keeper. 
 
But wait, like Phoenix said, go all the way with a full restore, and probably still looking at a 1000.00. I've seen fully restored sx1250's fetch sx1980 type money on ebay(more than 2k). So the possibilities would be endless. That' price for me(if it works) would be a no brainer. I would easily fire up the moody mobile for that.

 

[Skylab]

Totally agree. Unless you don't like projects, getting one that works for $325 would be doing very well.

 

[SpeakerBox]

@Pheonix @Moody @Skylab
 
Thank you gentlemen.  I think he is going to hold it for a few days as he does not have the time to move it on CL or Ebay just yet.  Maybe I will cave and head there later today.  Not afraid of projects, have refurbed over 30 receivers - just the beat up look made me wary of what else I may find.

 

[Fearless1]

I need to make a quick decision and was wondering if I could get some advice from the elders(experience wise,  not age

).
 
 
 
 NOS Sansui Ba 2000 in box from my tube guy, 400 bucks, worth it? I see one on E-bay for over 500, but E-bay is full of lies....

 

[Greystoke]

Speaking of vintage receivers, any feedback on the Marantz 2238 B units?  I'm looking for a receiver with good to excellent radio tuner capabilities, and Marantz as a brand seems to have decent quality.

 

[Skylab]

I actually did a partial restore on a 2238B which is now the center of my 14 yo son's stereo. He loves it! It's decent sounding, typical of that era of Marantz, warm and forgiving and not very detailed. It's a great match with the Pioneer HPM-40 speakers he uses.

I wouldn't pay more than $100 for one in good working condition though.

 

[moodyrn]

  I need to make a quick decision and was wondering if I could get some advice from the elders(experience wise,  not age

).
 
 
 
 NOS Sansui Ba 2000 in box from my tube guy, 400 bucks, worth it? I see one on E-bay for over 500, but E-bay is full of lies....

Yeah, but in this case it's more of the truth. 500.00 is the typical going rate for one in good condition. A nos one is a one in a life time type deal at any price. You or anyone else in the world probably never see another one. Now an nos for 400.00 when a good condition one fetches 500.00? Well that one is pretty easy to figure out. Oh and look to pay about the same for an excellent condition ca2000 to go with it. They come up fairly often on ebay.

 

[Fearless1]

  Yeah, but in this case it's more of the truth. 500.00 is the typical going rate for one in good condition. A nos one is a one in a life time type deal at any price. You or anyone else in the world probably never see another one. Now an nos for 400.00 when a good condition one fetches 500.00? Well that one is pretty easy to figure out. Oh and look to pay about the same for an excellent condition ca2000 to go with it. They come up fairly often on ebay.

Thanks for the reply!
 
I have owned nothing Sansui as of yet, and common sense says grab it at this price, but it has been sitting (in box)for years and still may need some work.
 
 My two amps(non headphones) I currently own are a McIntosh MA 700 and a vintage Onkyo A-7, is the Sansui more in the direction of the warm McIntosh or the solid state sounding A-7?

 

[MattTCG]

Sansui makes some of the best receivers that I've ever heard. My 9090 db was just phenomenal.

 

[Greystoke]

I actually did a partial restore on a 2238B which is now the center of my 14 yo son's stereo. He loves it! It's decent sounding, typical of that era of Marantz, warm and forgiving and not very detailed. It's a great match with the Pioneer HPM-40 speakers he uses.

I wouldn't pay more than $100 for one in good working condition though.

Thanks for the feedback!  I guess I'll keep looking, the Marantz receiver I spotted on Ebay was over $500 with shipping.

 

[moodyrn]

Thanks for the reply!

I have owned nothing Sansui as of yet, and common sense says grab it at this price, but it has been sitting (in box)for years and still may need some work.

 My two amps(non headphones) I currently own are a McIntosh MA 700 and a vintage Onkyo A-7, is the Sansui more in the direction of the warm McIntosh or the solid state sounding A-7?

I haven't owned the ba2000. But I did own the au11000 which is a combination of a ba2000 and ca2000 as an integrated. And it's was warm, very smooth and lush. Not quiet marantz warm, but it was the warmest sansui I've owned. I would expect the ba2000 as a separate to sound a little better.

 

[Fearless1]

Great, thanks Moodryn and Matt!

I'm excited to get something NOS other then the occasional tube! Hopefully there is no corrosion or a leaky cap.

 

[moodyrn]

The funniest thing happened late last night. First of all, since my mcintosh restore project came out so good,  I've been regretting letting the g901 go. I only sold it in favor of my 9090db because my 9090db is flawless and has been completely restored. Well now, if I could do it over again, now that I "think" I could pull off a recapping myself, I would have kept it and sold the 9090db.
 
Well last night, while browsing cl, I stumbled upon the same seller I bought the g901 from who had re-listed it for sale. So I thought it must be some type of mistake so I called him. Don't know how true it is(he's really a stand up guy and I have no reason to really doubt him), but he said his brother also had a g901 also and he was selling it for him. I asked him if it looked as good as the one he had, and he said...."better because his has the original box and manual". He also told me he was about to leave for FL and won't be back until the weekend. And since our first  transaction went so well, he wouldn't sell to anyone else if I wanted it. So of course I told him YES!! But I also know there are no guarantees, but a few minutes later he did pull the listing. So hopefully soon I will be the proud new owner of another g901.....hopefully lol.