Must-Have Sansui Tuners other than TU-X1?

decooney

Active Member
I'm not going to splurge on a TU-X1, but looking at what other vintage Sansui tuners are a must-have in terms of looks and great sound. I'm willing to mod a tuner, but hoping to start out with a stock one first if it sounds nice stock.

I was thinking of going to go back to trying a McIntosh MR77 or MR78 (which I really like too), but really have the urge for a Sansui instead this time around. I just picked up a G-9700 receiver, like it a lot, but it really just makes me want to try a killer Sansui tuner. No TU-X1 for now, maybe a few years down the road - some day. I really like the dark face tuners like 999 but know nothing about them. Had a TU-717 once and it was okay, would like something a little better, and more vintage and less modern is okay. Looking for something that would topple my former McIntosh MR77 which sounded really sweet, actually. Your recommendation is appreciated. I prefer a more open and airy sound as opposed to a dark and overly filtered or quiet FM sound.

TU-9900 or TU-919 or TU-999, or other Sansui Tuner, or none ???

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My restored TU-70 is my best, TU-9500 is my second best.

I also have TU-999 , T-60 and other Sansui receivers with tuners (800 , 881 , 9090DB).
 
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Sansui TU-919 sounds very nice indeed,but to be honest the Trio/Kenwood KT-917 and 600T have much better build quality and they both sound just as good if not better than the TU-919.
I'm also on a daily Ebay UK lookout for a TU-X1 to go with my AU-X1.
 
You've already got a great tuner in your 9700. My tu9900 does best my stock 971's tuner but the difference isn't as significant as I expected it would be. That isn't a knock on my 9900 either as it sent a nice Mac tuner I had down the road. It's just the 9700's tuner is that good imo.
Now if there was only something decent in my area to listen to on these great tuners.
 
You've already got a great tuner in your 9700. My tu9900 does best my stock 971's tuner but the difference isn't as significant as I expected it would be. That isn't a knock on my 9900 either as it sent a nice Mac tuner I had down the road. It's just the 9700's tuner is that good imo.
Now if there was only something decent in my area to listen to on these great tuners.

Motorstereo,
I sort of recall your former post from 2012 where you were going back and forth on a 9900 and Mc MR78 - I think it was, not sure exactly. I did the same between my MR77 and my Magnum Dynalab tuner. I love the MD tuner, its super quiet, and in some ways I really liked the additional ambience the Mc tuner provided even if it has more noise. Will have to look closer at the TU-9900.
 
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I just bought a TU-9500 (1973 vintage) because it is the mate to my AU-9500 integrated amplifier. It is a fantastic tuner. I will likely recap it (power supply caps only) just because those caps are 40+ years old. My guess is the sound can only improve.
 
QUESTION:
Between the TU-7900, TU-9900, TU-919 tuners, which has a little more laid back presentation of sound without sacrificing detail and that spacial stereo effect?


The only comparable reference I have from Sansui is a G-9700 receiver, which can be a very detailed and open. I don't like to use Dolby filters as it mutes the sound quality and spacial stereo effect too much in my opinion. I guess there are always trade offs to make either way. Based on some old post in mid 2005/2006, I'm hedging my bet its the TU-9900 that will have detail with a little more warmth to it, but I have not heard one in person yet to really know.
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IMHO the TU 9900 is one of the best analog tuners ever built, but I am biased.
Just listen to one, see the green glow of that dial, how nice the tuner knob feels as you glide along seeking the best FM {free music} in your area.

Gives me goosebumps.
 

Thanks, I use to own a TU-717. It was a nice tuner. The whole time I owned it I kept wishing I had bought the TU-919 instead. Fast forward 30 years and I read posts all over indicating people prefer the TU-9900 over the 919, and so it goes. The simple and easy thing to do would be to just buy another TU-717, but that makes too much sense. :)
 
IMHO the TU 9900 is one of the best analog tuners ever built, but I am biased.
Just listen to one, see the green glow of that dial, how nice the tuner knob feels as you glide along seeking the best FM {free music} in your area.

Gives me goosebumps.


nosirrah,
I came close to buying a 9900 last year. I was pretty jazzed about it until I came across repeated comments from different sources that threw me off. There are several different comments and posts on different sites indicating the "the high frequencies are rolled off a little on top on the 9900 tuner", "lacking some detail on top in comparison to newer generation Sansui G9x00 series receivers...". I have a G-9700 now and after a full servicing it's FM is very detailed, airy, and open on the top end with amazing stereo effect. Some times it might even be a tad bright on poor quality FM stations, but still amazing for the most part. I'm sort of looking for a Sansui tuner that more closely matches the G-9700 FM sound, versus a laid back or dark sound. I'm willing to give a little detail away if there is additional warmth to the sound of the 9900.

What do you know about these comments about the "highs being rolled off on the 9900" and what other non-Sui tuners have you compared to?
 
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It could be that the 9900 you checked had some caps dried out and sound rolled off on high's .It could also need allignment or something.
The one i've listened to had no rollof , on the contrary , sounded better than a tu-x711 i had at the time, which by the way was a little dead on the sound , not crisp , flatened out, weak bass, .
9900 was friskier and airy .
 
nosirrah,
I came close to buying a 9900 last year. I was pretty jazzed about it until I came across repeated comments from different sources that threw me off. There are several different comments and posts on different sites indicating the "the high frequencies are rolled off a little on top on the 9900 tuner", "lacking some detail on top in comparison to newer generation Sansui G9x00 series receivers...". I have a G-9700 now and after a full servicing it's FM is very detailed, airy, and open on the top end with amazing stereo effect. Some times it might even be a tad bright on poor quality FM stations, but still amazing for the most part. I'm sort of looking for a Sansui tuner that more closely matches the G-9700 FM sound, versus a laid back or dark sound. I'm willing to give a little detail away if there is additional warmth to the sound of the 9900.

What do you know about these comments about the "highs being rolled off on the 9900" and what other non-Sui tuners have you compared to?

I agree with nosirrah's description of the 9900.

For a long time it was the only Sansui piece I owned (I've collected a few tuners). Now I own Sansui's 9090, 9090db and G9000 receivers.

Not having heard your G9700, I can say the FM of my G9000 "as a receiver" has more of a crisp high end but I don't know how much of that is due to the internal amp and pre, I've never used the FM thru tape outs to see what that sounded like independently.

To add to JOMARK911's comment, whenever you go a/b-ing vintage pieces, make sure they are within spec to make a true comparison. Good luck.
 
Absolutely, makes sense. All of the older pieces I've tried and evaluated on my end is after full spec/replacements, servicing, cleaning, alignment.
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I don't have any gear that's not Sansui, I own 2 TU 9900's. a TU 919, and a plethora of other tuners, including a couple of TU 717's.

My 9900 that's in my main system suffers no roll-off issues as you describe, and it's simply the best tuner I own.
Give one a listen and see....
 
I don't have any gear that's not Sansui, I own 2 TU 9900's. a TU 919, and a plethora of other tuners, including a couple of TU 717's.

My 9900 that's in my main system suffers no roll-off issues as you describe, and it's simply the best tuner I own.
Give one a listen and see....

nosirrah,
Thanks. Will do. Since each person's system is unique, I'll pretty much have to buy one and try it (touch-n-go) and resell it later if needed. Appreciate the feedback.
 
Where'd you read about the 9900 being "rolled off"? I'm with nosirrah on this one; no rolloff on my 9900 either and simply the best tuner I've ever owned.
 
Where'd you read about the 9900 being "rolled off"? I'm with nosirrah on this one; no rolloff on my 9900 either and simply the best tuner I've ever owned.

I was over on high end audio, audiogon, and pinkish media sites and would see comments about it having more of a "darker sound", "highs rolled off" a little and this is what originally threw me.

I'm going to defer to JOMARK911s comments earlier, and figure its possible these people commenting might not have 9900s that are up to spec, could have old dry caps, or possibly systems and speakers that might just not be revealing. I don't mind, I'll just pick one up, have it serviced, and if it does not pan out, I'll just resell it. Would rather evaluate it in my system anyhow.
 
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