Captain581
Active Member
While perusing an antique store in Brantford Ontario last week, I came upon a Sansui 661 in great shape. It was playing, and worked perfectly. All knobs had that ‘new resistance’ feel to them when turned, even the volume knob. It was obvious this unit had barely been used.
Unfortunately, it did have all the telltale signs of having been in a smoking house – yellow tarnish everywhere, especially around the brushed-silver dial frame; the knobs were all tacky to the touch as well. However, at $65.00 CAD, I couldn’t turn it down. They sell for over $100 here on Canuck Audio Mart in much worse shape.
The unit cleaned up very well! Blue Magic metal polish got rid of the dial frame tarnish. Actually, I’ve never seen a XX1 Sansui that didn’t have dark tarnish on the dial frame. Toothpaste (having the perfect degree of abrasiveness) got rid of the coating on the knobs. The wood case was truly immaculate, and I gave it a good refinish. Now to try it out.
I have two 2270s, a Sansui 2000A, and a Sony STR 6800 SD (all completely refurbished). I have to say, I was completely blown away by this little receiver! It sounded wwaaaayyyyyy better than its earlier 2000A brother, even with the latter having had all its noisy transistors replaced. With the 2000A too, even though it sounds truly awesome for the first 10 minutes, listener fatigue sets in for me soon.
What really astonished is that this little 661 actually sounds as good as my fully recapped/restored 2270s – perhaps even better with some music. It’s more detailed in the upper mid-range, perhaps a bit heavy on the high-end - it does fall short with some vocalists who come across sounding a tad thin in their lower range; Van Morrison & Gary Brooker for instance. The 2270s still sound much better here. However, with certain female voices like Joan Osborne, Sarah McLachlan or K.T. Tunstall, the 661 might actually sound better, especially on acoustic material. What a great and DEEP bottom end too! It’s hard to believe this little 661, not recapped and probably in need of bias and DC offset adjustment can sound so good and hold its own against a recapped 2270. If you have a chance to pick one of these up, don't pass it by!
Unfortunately, it did have all the telltale signs of having been in a smoking house – yellow tarnish everywhere, especially around the brushed-silver dial frame; the knobs were all tacky to the touch as well. However, at $65.00 CAD, I couldn’t turn it down. They sell for over $100 here on Canuck Audio Mart in much worse shape.
The unit cleaned up very well! Blue Magic metal polish got rid of the dial frame tarnish. Actually, I’ve never seen a XX1 Sansui that didn’t have dark tarnish on the dial frame. Toothpaste (having the perfect degree of abrasiveness) got rid of the coating on the knobs. The wood case was truly immaculate, and I gave it a good refinish. Now to try it out.
I have two 2270s, a Sansui 2000A, and a Sony STR 6800 SD (all completely refurbished). I have to say, I was completely blown away by this little receiver! It sounded wwaaaayyyyyy better than its earlier 2000A brother, even with the latter having had all its noisy transistors replaced. With the 2000A too, even though it sounds truly awesome for the first 10 minutes, listener fatigue sets in for me soon.
What really astonished is that this little 661 actually sounds as good as my fully recapped/restored 2270s – perhaps even better with some music. It’s more detailed in the upper mid-range, perhaps a bit heavy on the high-end - it does fall short with some vocalists who come across sounding a tad thin in their lower range; Van Morrison & Gary Brooker for instance. The 2270s still sound much better here. However, with certain female voices like Joan Osborne, Sarah McLachlan or K.T. Tunstall, the 661 might actually sound better, especially on acoustic material. What a great and DEEP bottom end too! It’s hard to believe this little 661, not recapped and probably in need of bias and DC offset adjustment can sound so good and hold its own against a recapped 2270. If you have a chance to pick one of these up, don't pass it by!