Here’s my update.
I was finally able to unpack the 888. I posted another thread about this but I’ll repeat it here:
It STUNK of cigarettes. I mean terrible. I had asked the seller if this came from a smoking environment prior to purchasing and he said “no”. I texted him after I received it and told him how badly it smelled. He said “weird, I’m not a smoker”.
Clearly he’s a scumbag liar.
So, I spent the last two days with cleaning alcohol, rags, q-tips, vinegar and other cleaning stuff. The amount of yellow gunk and filth that came off this amp was amazing and disgusting.
I cleaned EVERYTHING. Took all rhe knobs off as well and soaked and cleaned with toothpicks and magic eraser.
Aired it out outside in the sun. Blew a whole can of compressed air into it. Bathed the metal covers in soap and water.
It’s better but STILL smells. I’m so angry at the seller for lieing to me and then covering his lie with a bigger one.
Now the good news. It cleaned up well and sounds fantastic in the limited testing I did.
I will be trying a covered box with baking soda tomorrow. Hopefully, the smell will dimnish over time now that the amp has a good home.
Can’t overstate how much I love triple digit Sansui amps. Will be keeping my 555a as well.
Cant wait to pair it with my TU888