john_w
Miscreant
Johny asked me to mention what I thought of the 717 once I got it, so I thought a comparison with the older Sansui I've been using for many, many years might be useful in general, to kind of hilight the difference between early and late 70's models. So, after staying up FAR TOO LATE moving cables and wires back and forth, flipping toggles, turning knobs, pushing buttons and just listening to things last night, I've at least formed a "general" opinion.
I'm also interested in what some of you guys that have seen and heard almost everything Sansui (such as Beatlefred, etc.) think about this review: Do you concur with this, or should I get my hearing checked?
System (simplified set-up for comparison purposes):
Speakers -- Phase Research Model R's
Source -- Pioneer combination Laserdisc player / CD Changer.
(I don't recall the model number -- rest assured it's NOT top-
end equipment for CD's, but it does a fair job.)
Performance: I'm going to list a few areas where I think the older 9500 excels beyond the 717, but before you think I'm declaring the 717 to be inferior, I have to say that it produced a much warmer, richer sound than the 9500, and that's really the bottom line. Acoustic guitars and orchestras sound VERY impressive on that amp! And it knows how to rock, too!
The 9500 seems to put out more treble with tone controls defeated, and has just a slight tinny sound in comparison. I seem to get roughly the same treble output on the 717 with the tone control at +2 to +4 db (rolling off at 6 khz.) The 717 also seems to have a slightly smoother tonal quality.
Cosmetics: Style isn't quite as important to me as substance, but it runs a close second. The 717 does look nice; a lot like my brother's early-80's Yamaha.
But, the 9500 is one stylish amp, which is probably why it's portrait is on the sansui.us home page. I'm going to miss those silver chrome ringed knobs and the black-and-white front panel in my living room, but you have to make sacrifices somewhere.
Build: The 717 is well built, and superior to today's standards; solid steal knobs and a thick, steal face plate, with substantial heat sinks and filter caps. But, here again, the 9500 went a step further. While sides of the 717 chassis are thin metal that rattles when you rap on it, the 9500 is firm all the way around. And, while the 9500 does use plastic covers on the toggle switches vs. all metal on the 717, the buttons on the 717 are all plastic, and feel kind of loose and sloppy (at least, on this particular unit -- maybe that's due to age), although they do work perfectly well. The 9500 doesn't use buttons, but all controls are still firm after 28 to 30 yrs. (Well...the balance control is slightly loose, but not terribly -- yet.) As far as heft, the 9500 weighs 53 pounds (Phew!). The 717, 39 pounds, for a roughly equivalent power rating. Part of the weight difference is due to a couple of additional, antiquated features and more extensive tone controls on the 9500, and obviously entirely different "innards" (board brackets, major components, etc.) but I think it's mostly because they really went overboard on the 9500's heat sinks. You have to really work it to get any heat output thru the grate on that unit. The 717 got just a little warm, but never anywhere close to "hot".
Power: The actual continuous power on the 717 doesn't seem to be quite as high as the 9500, though I don't doubt that it's still under-rated in the specs. If I want to "rock out" at my usual max volume (just before the bleeding ear factor kicks in), I have to set the volume control near the "high noon" position on the 717, vs. "10 o'clock" for the 9500. I don't think the reserve power is quite as high on the 717 either; I definitely got less "punch" on some percussion instruments. However, the power issues could be partly false impressions due to differences in frequency response, THD, etc.
So, overall, I think the AU-717 is built well, but not quite as well as the 9500 - or other early sansuis I remember checking out many years ago. The 717 does sound better, though it could use more "punch" (so could I, for that matter. :drunk: ). I think it's incredible for acoustic music, classical and rock. I'd really only favor the 9500 for really tight, dynamic percussion. But then, +3 db on the treble would probably work fine for that!
When I first bid for the 717, I thought "well, OF COURSE it's going to be superior to my old amp! It's got a quarter of the distortion, it's newer, and everybody on Exclusively Sansui loves it!" As it turns out, I think the 717 edges out my old one by a close enough margin that personal taste could easily sway things the other way for somebody. But then, ain't that always the case?
So Beatlefred, Johny, Grumpy, etc...If you've read this far
what do you think? Is this accurate?
I'm also interested in what some of you guys that have seen and heard almost everything Sansui (such as Beatlefred, etc.) think about this review: Do you concur with this, or should I get my hearing checked?
System (simplified set-up for comparison purposes):
Speakers -- Phase Research Model R's
Source -- Pioneer combination Laserdisc player / CD Changer.
(I don't recall the model number -- rest assured it's NOT top-
end equipment for CD's, but it does a fair job.)
Performance: I'm going to list a few areas where I think the older 9500 excels beyond the 717, but before you think I'm declaring the 717 to be inferior, I have to say that it produced a much warmer, richer sound than the 9500, and that's really the bottom line. Acoustic guitars and orchestras sound VERY impressive on that amp! And it knows how to rock, too!
The 9500 seems to put out more treble with tone controls defeated, and has just a slight tinny sound in comparison. I seem to get roughly the same treble output on the 717 with the tone control at +2 to +4 db (rolling off at 6 khz.) The 717 also seems to have a slightly smoother tonal quality. Cosmetics: Style isn't quite as important to me as substance, but it runs a close second. The 717 does look nice; a lot like my brother's early-80's Yamaha.
But, the 9500 is one stylish amp, which is probably why it's portrait is on the sansui.us home page. I'm going to miss those silver chrome ringed knobs and the black-and-white front panel in my living room, but you have to make sacrifices somewhere.
Build: The 717 is well built, and superior to today's standards; solid steal knobs and a thick, steal face plate, with substantial heat sinks and filter caps. But, here again, the 9500 went a step further. While sides of the 717 chassis are thin metal that rattles when you rap on it, the 9500 is firm all the way around. And, while the 9500 does use plastic covers on the toggle switches vs. all metal on the 717, the buttons on the 717 are all plastic, and feel kind of loose and sloppy (at least, on this particular unit -- maybe that's due to age), although they do work perfectly well. The 9500 doesn't use buttons, but all controls are still firm after 28 to 30 yrs. (Well...the balance control is slightly loose, but not terribly -- yet.) As far as heft, the 9500 weighs 53 pounds (Phew!). The 717, 39 pounds, for a roughly equivalent power rating. Part of the weight difference is due to a couple of additional, antiquated features and more extensive tone controls on the 9500, and obviously entirely different "innards" (board brackets, major components, etc.) but I think it's mostly because they really went overboard on the 9500's heat sinks. You have to really work it to get any heat output thru the grate on that unit. The 717 got just a little warm, but never anywhere close to "hot".
Power: The actual continuous power on the 717 doesn't seem to be quite as high as the 9500, though I don't doubt that it's still under-rated in the specs. If I want to "rock out" at my usual max volume (just before the bleeding ear factor kicks in), I have to set the volume control near the "high noon" position on the 717, vs. "10 o'clock" for the 9500. I don't think the reserve power is quite as high on the 717 either; I definitely got less "punch" on some percussion instruments. However, the power issues could be partly false impressions due to differences in frequency response, THD, etc.
So, overall, I think the AU-717 is built well, but not quite as well as the 9500 - or other early sansuis I remember checking out many years ago. The 717 does sound better, though it could use more "punch" (so could I, for that matter. :drunk: ). I think it's incredible for acoustic music, classical and rock. I'd really only favor the 9500 for really tight, dynamic percussion. But then, +3 db on the treble would probably work fine for that!
When I first bid for the 717, I thought "well, OF COURSE it's going to be superior to my old amp! It's got a quarter of the distortion, it's newer, and everybody on Exclusively Sansui loves it!" As it turns out, I think the 717 edges out my old one by a close enough margin that personal taste could easily sway things the other way for somebody. But then, ain't that always the case?
So Beatlefred, Johny, Grumpy, etc...If you've read this far
what do you think? Is this accurate?
