AU717????

Jbl Joe

Well-Known Member
I consider the au 717 to quite possibly be the finest int. Amp ever produced . It was derived from Sansuis pro line. Dual mono dc amp 0 tp 100,000 response incredibly high slew rate. This amp was $550 in 1978!! You would be hard pressed to find this build quality and sound today for under $7000. Sny opinion's
 
AU-717's set some standards back in the day - caused quite a 'stir' when they first came out - I still have mine, bought new in 1978 - someday I must refresh the rebuild I gave it about 10 years ago - armed with the knowledge and advice I have since learned here. :)
 
Well - using availability of units for sale on eBay as a proxy, it was clearly a, if not the, market share leader of its time. I would love to have seen Sansui's profit plan (cost and revenue) of this models life.

The attention to detail (fit finish) of the innards alone is impressive.
 
If I had to keep only one Sansui, I would keep the 717. I always go back to him and he continues to surprise me, imposing, powerful, genuine...:music:
 
Excellent question. I had both for a while (both fully restored), and kept the 919. Not trying to say the 717 is lesser, but would not say that it is greater either. They did sound somewhat different...the 717 seemed maybe a bit warmer/more relaxed. But with my speakers, the 919 won out.
 
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You have to really have both restored and side by side to compare them in any meaningful way. I cannot speak to the 919's mc phono section as I do not have an mc cartridge but will add thoughts on the rest of the two units which I use almost daily.
The 717 other than a pesky to get at power supply board is a joy to work on, most every part is available if needed, responds very well to restoration and is a fantastic amp for rock music, the louder the better, and will dish it out for hours on end without complaint.

The 919 is a bit of a pita to restore, not for the novice yet has to be gone through to protect those almost unobtanium output transistors. Once done though the sonics will make you go wow. Two areas stand out, with speakers that can keep up the 919 has no frequency limits either low or high and to my ears almost no low frequency roll off compered to the 717. The other has to do with the lack of a loudness control which after an hour or so of critical listening becomes unnecessary as the overall amp is just that good, in fact running it in direct mode adds yet another dimension to recordings.

Either one would do well as a main integrated amp, they both are within a couple of db of each other at full belt, not that I would run the 919 hard at that level for long having other amps for that duty. Cannot tell them apart visually from across the room. If I did not have the technical chops to restore the 919 would choose the 717 in a heartbeat, hook up some 3 way efficient speakers to it, add input source of my liking and call it a day.
-Lee
 
JBL had been in business for 30 years by the time you say that they were working with Sansui...so if anybody was learning anything about speaker building, it would have been Sansui. I've never heard that these two companies did any development work together, but if they did, it would not seem that Sansui's speaker products benefited very much from it.

In any case, this thread is about Sansui amps...particularly the AU-717.
 
it would not seem that Sansui's speaker products benefited very much from it.
.

Well.

SPL800_1.jpg


As for the AU-717. I rebuilt mine along with my AU-719 and AU-888. I still have the 719 and 888.

The AU-717 has a great build, but the sound can be bettered by the AU-719, AU-819, AU-919, AU-D11, AU-D11 II, AU-G99X, AU-X711, and so on. IMO.

Rob
 


Please excuse my English, I am not from your country...



Sansui had been in the business for 30 years when
JBL approached them

I don't think this is about worlds longest ___ ___

?I think Neither was a virgin when at first they meet to make
beautiful music together.



==================================






You Make An Excellent Point,














Cordial,
moe of the North







View attachment 1157654
Slavery is Freedom








...Remember 11 14 2017,
the future proves the past




.
 
Please excuse my English, I am not from your country...



Sansui had been in the business for 30 years when
JBL approached them

I don't think this is about worlds longest ___ ___

?I think Neither was a virgin when at first they meet to make
beautiful music together.



==================================






You Make An Excellent Point,














Cordial,
moe of the North







View attachment 1157654
Slavery is Freedom








...Remember 11 14 2017,
the future proves the past




.
Right Moe how many great amps and receivers did JBL build ever??
 
I consider the au 717 to quite possibly be the finest int. Amp ever produced . It was derived from Sansuis pro line.

The AU-717 is a nice enough amp, but it isn't really that special or amazing. Saying it is "quite possibly be the finest int. Amp ever produced" with no substantive evidence and it is as good as a $7000 amplifier today is just silly talk.

I get it. You like the AU-717, that's fine, but Sansui and other brands produced a hell of a lot of better amplifiers than that.
 
.
They dont look very loud from here




?
I have always been under the impression that
JBL truly came into their own in the 1970's,
not that there's anything wrong with that..



:rolleyes:


Cordial,
moe of the North

I'm pretty sure that the great sansui amps and recievers made the JBL speakers sound great not the other way around..
 
Well.

SPL800_1.jpg


As for the AU-717. I rebuilt mine along with my AU-719 and AU-888. I still have the 719 and 888.

The AU-717 has a great build, but the sound can be bettered by the AU-719, AU-819, AU-919, AU-D11, AU-D11 II, AU-G99X, AU-X711, and so on. IMO.

Rob


Agreed 100%. The 717 is a fine Sansui... but there are finer :)
 
The AU-717 is a nice enough amp, but it isn't really that special or amazing. Saying it is "quite possibly be the finest int. Amp ever produced" with no substantive evidence and it is as good as a $7000 amplifier today is just silly talk.

I get it. You like the AU-717, that's fine, but Sansui and other brands produced a hell of a lot of better amplifiers than that.
No it's not silly. Dan Dagsstino examined my 717 with the cover removed and he said to build an amp like this today it would sell for 7k. When it comes to amps l trust the founder of Krell.
 
The AU-717 is a nice enough amp, but it isn't really that special or amazing. Saying it is "quite possibly be the finest int. Amp ever produced" with no substantive evidence and it is as good as a $7000 amplifier today is just silly talk.

I get it. You like the AU-717, that's fine, but Sansui and other brands produced a hell of a lot of better amplifiers than that.
I've got my opinion and you have your opinion .No ones opinion is wrong.
 
The AU-717 is a nice enough amp, but it isn't really that special or amazing. Saying it is "quite possibly be the finest int. Amp ever produced" with no substantive evidence and it is as good as a $7000 amplifier today is just silly talk.

I get it. You like the AU-717, that's fine, but Sansui and other brands produced a hell of a lot of better amplifiers than that.
Like l said "quite possibly " is not a definitive statement. I said"hard pressed ". Please quote me accurately or not at all. Silly
 
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