Info on Sansui "CLASSIQUE 250"

[blurghy]

Hi, I just picked a cute little very lightweight receiver which is a Classique 250. Does anyone have any info on this receiver. I haven't found anything on it. I haven't plugged it in but I got it for 12 bucks so I couldn't pass it up. I was told it works fine. Oh boy, I hope my wife stops looking in my "playroom" or I'm doomed. Probabaly up to around 30 receivers by now. I try to hide them amongst the speakers as best I can. He He... Actually, I think she has accepted my sickness with vintage audio and given me up as a hopeless incurable schmuck. She's right. I hope she never says it my audio equipment or her... I'd sure miss her.

It is silver and looks to be from very early seventies. Low power and in a wood cabinet. The rear is sunk in quite far and the speaker posts are very unique.
Anything is appreciated,

SANSUI CLASSIQUE 250, SILVER FACE WOOD, CABINET

Thank You

 

[cdorris]

Blurgy - I also have a Classique 250 and have used it for about six years. I got it at a Goodwill store for 10.00 and it is in mint condition. This little unit has really performed. All lights and functions continue to work beautifully. Like you I know very little about the unit. I thought it was around 15 - 20 watts and use it to drive two old (but pristine) KLH modlel 17 speakers which it does beautifully. The FM is very sensitive (once I hooked an old dipole attena to it) and pulls in everything. We used it after Katrina to pull in all of the Baton Rouge stations after the New Orleans stations went off of the air and it did fine! If you find out anymore info I would be interested. Sincerely - cdorris

 

[LuTELLO]

Just got one for $10. Cleaned it up and replaced a fuse, works great.
I think I had one of these rebranded as Concord.

 

[Mistca77]

I know this is an old thread, but what the heck. I'm a newbie just getting into this whole "scene."

As others, I'm having a tough time finding out info and specs for the Sansui Classique 250. Picked up a beautiful one in perfect condition for $30. I'm waiting on a pair of Bose 301 Series II's to arrive. They require at least 10 watts per channel. The Classique 250 looks like a rebranded Sansui 221. The 221, in it's manual, originally said it had 12 watts per channel, then the next to last page corrected it to 8 watts.

Attached are the only specs info that the Classique 250 manual has. Did they bump the # of watts up from the mid-1960s 221 to the mid-1970s Classique 250? How can you tell? Will my Classique 250 be able to sufficiently power the 301s? I don't want to screw up the 301s. I noticed that cdorris, above, used the Classique 250 to drive a pair of KLH Model 17s (which I believe also say they require at least 10 watts per channel), and they handled beautifully.

Would I be fine straight up pairing the Classique 250 w/ the 301s, or should I run the Classique 250 through my Tascam PA-20 MK II power amp to bump it up?

Thanks in advance!

 

[slimecity]

Could you post a pic of the front of the unit?

 

[Mistca77]

Found these online.

 

[pete_mac]

The Classique 250 really does look like a 221 with a different faceplate:






221 faceplate and internals:

 

[LBPete]

We don't have any on file in the database. Can you post the serial number?

- Pete

 

[Sansuiman]

Pete-Mac is correct. The Classique 250 is essentially a reissue of the 221, done In the 80's (not sure what year of production range is, getting some serial numbers posted will be informative). There were other components sold under the classique banner into the mid 80"s and I believe at least some were reissues/rebadges of existing or previously sold models.

I'm not sure what the rationale was, except that this was a period of time where Sansui was struggling badly with a drop in quality and difficulty competing against the bigger players, so doing a reissue or rebadge was a quick and cheap way to introduce a "new" model with minimal design and tooling costs. I suspect that is the main reason the 221 was resurrected with a facelift.

 

[Mistca77]

Hi Sansuiman,

It looks like the Classique 250 was actually around 1977 to 1979 or so. I found some old advertisements via Newspapers.com. Don't know why I didn't think to look there sooner. Definitely probably slapped a Classique 250 label on a 221.

According to the first attachment from 1977, it looks like it's 8W per channel and they paired it with the matching Classique 250 Turntable and a pair of 20W speakers, according to one of the ads.

This setup went for $299 in 1977. In Spring of 1979 they were piecing the system out and selling the receiver for $127 retail and $97 sale price. By November of 1979 it was down to an $84 sale price.



I will add my serial number to the post when I get home tonight.

Btw, I also ordered a copy of the manual for the Classique 250 through Ebay. Should have that on Monday.

 

[Mistca77]

Serial # for my Sansui Classique 250 - #018010429

 

[Sansuiman]

Ok, that's interesting. Apparently the Classique 250 must have been the very first application of the "Classique" series moniker that Sansui used more heavily in the early to mid 80's on a lot of black plastic rack gear. If you do a search on "sansui classique" over at "that auctions site", you'll see the majority of the hits are 1980-85 era gear.

I had assumed (erroneously, as it now appears) that they had simply reissued the 221 in a later run with a new model number and lightly updated aesthetics as a quick and dirty way to turn a few dollars in profit without investing in a new design. I guess that is still true, but the later run wasn't early 80's but rather the late 70's.

My guess - especially in light of the ads posted upthread - is that this was a way to sell an "integrated" system such that all the components had the classique name applied and were sold as a packagel until the stock started to run thin, almost like an early shot at the rack system type of deal that became so popular around 1981-82 and was still popular into the 90's. This may also have been done at the behest of retailers who wanted a package system with a different model number that couldn't be comp shopped so easily to the individual models that were sold separately. Best Buy does this kind of stuff even now.

In any case, it looks like the Classique 250 was just an extended run of the 221, with an alias. 1977-79 makes it contemporary in production with the x0x0 series and even the first round of G series receivers, whereas the xx1's were made mid 70's, and out of production by sometime in 76 I think, even if there was still stock being sold through beyond that point.

 

[LBPete]

The database shows a number of Tuners and Amps with the "Classique" moniker but no Receivers until this one. The Tuners and Amps appear to be from the early to mid '80s. A number of them show build dates outside that range. Sansui's single digit year designation can make it difficult to pin down to a particular decade and sometimes the database administrator enters his best guess. As a result, it's likely that some of these Classique models are off by a decade. Any help to more accurately date this models would be appreciated.

As far as this Classique 250, the ads you posted that provide good reference to the decade. The serial number indicates it was built on production line 01 in January of 1978 and was the 429th unit off that line that month.

- Pete

 

[Mistca77]

The database shows a number of Tuners and Amps with the "Classique" moniker but no Receivers until this one. The Tuners and Amps appear to be from the early to mid '80s. A number of them show build dates outside that range. Sansui's single digit year designation can make it difficult to pin down to a particular decade and sometimes the database administrator enters his best guess. As a result, it's likely that some of these Classique models are off by a decade. Any help to more accurately date this models would be appreciated.

As far as this Classique 250, the ads you posted that provide good reference to the decade. The serial number indicates it was built on production line 01 in January of 1978 and was the 429th unit off that line that month.

- Pete

Thanks Pete!