Concluding Reply from Owner of Sansui AU-717
Q1-
Does the headphone jack on the au717 have a dead silent noise floor?
The headphones work perfectly. Prior to receiving my AU-717 restored amp, I was comparing the sound between 2 Marantz receivers through the headphones, and I was able to hear notable differences in sound between the 2. So, headphones are great for many circumstances, including comparing “sounds” or even comparing recordings of the same track – which one sounds better, etc. I have been doing quite a bit of this.
Well, when I got back my AU-717, my headphones sounded much, much better. It’s like I bought a new pair of headphones. So, I knew at that time the amp was very good.
Q2-
Please update us when you decide on speakers?
The next day, I first plugged in my JBL 4311B speakers (I am familiar with these and know that they are excellent speakers – studio monitor sound) and whoa!! Incredible sound. A perfect match with the Sansui Au-717.
"I have experience with and I have owned all kinds of JBL's, and without a doubt, my all time favorite speaker is the 4311. I call it the giant killer. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar and sound for sound, I don't think ANY speaker beats it." - Steve Barnes (Huntley Audio)
I then plugged in my newly acquired Tannoy Arden speakers, and again – incredible sound. I just acquired the Tannoys, so I haven’t been able to have my speaker tech go through them yet, but I can say these speakers are top-of-the-line in class and sound. Incredibly good sound. There is something special about these Tannoy Arden. So now I know I have 2 pairs of excellent speakers.
Clash magazine editor, Simon Harper, recently interviewed former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney about the behind the scenes stories of some of their classic songs. Amid rumors of the Beatles back catalogue finally appearing on the iTunes store, the launch of the Rock Band: The Beatles console game and the extensive album re-issue campaign, McCartney shared memories of the stories behind some of their famous songs.
Clash: On the end of ‘Hey Jude’ you can quite clearly hear someone swearing. Why did you decide not to remove that?
Paul McCartney: I don’t think we noticed until later. We recorded it in Trident Studios, which is in Soho, which is a studio that we used if we couldn’t get in Abbey Road. So, we were all there and we did ‘Hey Jude’, and we were listening back on these six-foot tall Tannoy speakers, and there were four of them in the room so it was like living in the song, which is how you can impair your hearing! So we just whacked it up real loud and listened to it. It was more of an experience than anything. Then we took it back to Abbey Road, and we were more preoccupied with the thing that we’d fooled ourselves with the sound - it sounded great on these great big speakers, but when we put it on the naff speakers that we always tested everything on, which was just a couple of very ordinary JBLs, it sounded crap. We had to put in like full bass and full treble; the engineers really had to load it back up, cos we’d fooled ourselves on the sound. I think we were so preoccupied with that, that we didn’t really listen to it until it was too late, and then we listened to it very carefully on headphones and sort of thought, ‘Oh, shit!’ Because there were a lot of vocal part harmonies, you know: [sings] “And any time you feel the... Aaaahhhhhh...” A lot of long notes, and I think probably someone made a mistake and went, ‘Aw, **** it!’ or whatever, and that just found itself in the mix. It wasn’t intentional.
Q3-
What audiophile recordings you use and what you listen for!!
For me, most any quality 24 bit digital transfer from Vinyl to FLAC file, is audiophile. The sound is exactly like listening to the vinyl LP, without having to turn on the turntable. I have been interested in making digital copies of my vinyl for a while now. I have a large collection already.
Some of it is upgraded stuff, like MFSL vinyl, and similar stuff like that. I have The Beatles Box Set MFSL vinyl, as recorded by Dr. Robert, as well as the Led Zeppelin collection (200g Classic Records version). Awesome sound on both. There is a lot of amazing recordings out there.
I am using a Rega RP6 Turntable (with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge) – going through a USB phono box device Furutech ADLGT-40a. This converts the vinyl to a digital signal, which goes into my MacBook Pro Laptop, and Audacity Software converts to 24 bit FLAC files, ready for playback through the Sansui Amp.
The ADLGT-40a Phono Stage is available at the Canadian distributor: AUDIYO.COM - Simon - Markham, ON.
My playback device is the new SONY HAP-Z1ES hi res audio player. It plays back most all digital music using my iPad as the remote. I make “playlists” along the way, as I listen, I keep adding albums, or tracks, to the various playlists I have created. It is like having a high definition “jukebox” for easy playback of all the songs - your entire library in fact.
Q4-
Also, did you hear your au717 before it was restored?
If so, what differences are you able to pick out post-restoration?
I was fortunate to find an original owner 5 minutes away from my house who listed his au-717 on local classifieds. I bought it as is because it was in mint condition (cosmetic physical condition) but the sound had a constant humming sound. Original manuals came with it. Nice home – well-kept units. The only reason I searched for a sansui au-717 was on the advice of my technician, LeeStereo. I knew I had bought a good one, even though it had internal electronics issues.
LeeStereo restored it and upgraded it, and the sound now blares out “on all cylinders”. The amp now sounds “like new” or “better than new”.
Every time I listen to music, it’s a listening “experience” now – it’s an event…almost like live music. Today I played Let It Be Naked (vinyl) and Get Back, The Long and Winding Road, were excellent. I concluded with Let It Be, and we were left speechless. It was that good.
As I say, everything pretty much sounds amazing now. None of this is possible without a very good (new or) well-restored amp. Make sure your amp is very high quality.
Best regards to everyone.
- Owner (restored Sansui AU-717)