Sansui opinion request

[Joseph Pa]

Hello,

Through the years I have noticed a lot of interest in Vintage Sansui. Amazing the prices some have paid and received.

But - I sense something different happening: there appears to be a big Sansui 'dump' going on.
I have never seen so many Sansui units being placed for 'sale' before.

Is it possible Sansui (70's) are (finally) approaching there end of life?

Yes, there are units to use to cannibalize parts - you must admit though those parts are aged.
Was recently going to 'bid' for a fine unit - actually there were two I was interested in. They were being offered at top dollar. Usually the top dollar units have indicators supporting the price. What dismayed me is: when I contacted the 'sellers' - they revealed a few 'issues' that were not a part of the offer description. The issues were NOT minor but expensive repairs.
I assumed some Sansui sellers were 'blinded' by the recent AU-20000 that went for $1900.00. That is a lot of money for a 45 year old piece of Audio equipment. I'm not mocking that price mind you - I was poised with a programmed bid of $2,500.00 during the last minute.

I guess - there is a bit more of a need to proceed with caution.

Your thoughts on this - not my post but rather your own observations please

 

[BLAH BLAH]

I buy what I want...

 

[stereofun]

Prices have risen on pretty much every collectable commodity, from vintage amps to collectable cars, art, including stocks and real estate. This has been taking place over the last 5-8 years in particular and is directly tied to a shadow inflation following a historic expansion of the money supply through massive money printing....in more polite terms known as quantitative easing. What is happening is that the cost of money aka interest rates are artificially kept low which creates all kinds of distortions in the economy, including bidding up markets across the board.

Sansuis are not being dumped on the market, they are put for sale ...and pursued to be put up for sale because prices have gone up. When prices go up, they are seen as more valuable, and more people chase down these units from estate sales, Goodwill stores, local classifieds etc.

..... Ofcourse we can simplify the explanation and just agree that Sansuis are the best sounding vintage amps, and more people are realizing that

 

[LBPete]

Is it possible Sansui (70's) are (finally) approaching there end of life?

None of this equipment is "approaching the end of life." One of the attractions of vintage equipment is it is made from discrete components making it repairable. There are very few critical parts that can't be replaced by modern components. This equipment was extremely well made and very expensive in it's day. Modern equipment with similar performance is even more expensive than very good quality vintage equipment. Add to that the "collectible" factor and many people that are willing to pay premium prices for the best examples of the more desirable pieces. Then there's the resurgence of vinyl records which has also increased demand for vintage equipment.

Maybe you need to adjust your goal. Start out with a good quality Sansui that was made in large enough numbers to make it more afordable. Try looking for an AU-717. You should be able to find a really nice one for under $500.

- Pete

 

[Overundr1]

End of life sans service perhaps until they are re-conditioned, Sansui will probably be eternal. Wish I could be renewed for another 40 years every 40 years too. That AU-717 I just finished up in another thread sure does not look like a 40 year old to me nor the BA-2000 in my avatar

 

[tom3]

Just saw a Sansui 5000X that needed the tuner repaired that actually sold for well over $500 plus shipping. No box or papers. Sure not dumped in this case. Seems to be good demand for this brand of equipment and where there's demand the supply ramps up.

 

[slimecity]

The issues on any Sansui units for sale will be the same issues that keep coming up - the same parts will need to be replaced. And that will still be the case in another 30 years.

The only thing I see as a problem is through-leaded components gradually being phased out, to all be replaced by SMD components one day....