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Is the AU-X1 a must have Sansui?

Plimpington2 said:
I don’t think I am saying anything that controversial here. And I don’t quite understand this push-back. I collect Sansui in preference to anything else because I think it is the best vintage brand. But what constitutes the “best” is not defined solely by how it sounds. I can’t believe there would be any disagreement with this statement. The essence of what makes Sansui the “best” is its history, the build quality of its components, the circuit design, the aesthetics and the way it sounds - in equal measure I would say. If you all only cared about how it sounded, you’d only have alpha units (or whatever Sansui line YOU think sounded best). Come on now!!! I enjoy my QRX-3000 just as much as my 9090. But the 9090 certainly sounds much better. Should I sell my 3000? Or my G-9000?? (the 9090 sounds better than that as well). No, of course not. Perhaps I may have put the point less artfully than I should have – but I love this gear for reasons that sound quality does not fully capture on it’s own. Why this would be thought controversial, I really have no idea. You said it best – it is about “ sound, appearance, history “. I could not agree more!! BTW, I do not collect ANYTHING for its “collectible value”. It's not like I own FOUR of anything. ;)
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It was this statement and sentiment -

"Which is why this hobby is so much led than “sound quality”. I like this stuff for its “thing-ness”, not how it sounds."

Maybe you just didn't articulate yourself very well in your long posts.
 
I've never heard a bad Sansui. Maybe an unrestored or out-of-spec unit? So I thought that was a given, the sound.

The mechanical, design, historical aspects are fascinating too. And lets face it, the gear is an artifact: we all have our "temples of sound". All the more to enjoy while it's pumping out the tunes.

Other aspects of appeal will obviously be different for everyone, like any personal interests.

Some gravitate to tinkering & repair. I just want to get my **** working again :rflmao:

I can see the technical appreciation of rebuilding as a hobby though

A hulking X1 would be up there on my "must have" Sansui list for sure
 
JimEGR said:
It was this statement and sentiment -

"Which is why this hobby is so much led than “sound quality”. I like this stuff for its “thing-ness”, not how it sounds."

Maybe you just didn't articulate yourself very well in your long posts.
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Yeah, what I wrote there didn’t quite articulate what I wanted to say as well as I would have wished.
 
Hyperion said:
That's how it was for me, my AU-717 was taking longer and longer to come out of protection. I had a (rusty) electronics background, and I had a bad experience with a so called 'professional' repairer. So I thought 'to hell with this I'll fix it'! - the rest is history. :D
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ditto, same here with an 8080db. Someday I'll bring it back to life.
 
So have I. A beast of a machine. Best? Depends. As for the AU-X1, it is still on my want list but having had several on my workbench priority has gone down. Or maybe I just have too much stuff. But if the opportunity presents itself I will certainly get one.
 
You people are sick... but then I think, at least you picked the right brand! Imagine you liked Kenwood this much...
 
Hyperion said:
That's how it was for me, my AU-717 was taking longer and longer to come out of protection. I had a (rusty) electronics background, and I had a bad experience with a so called 'professional' repairer. So I thought 'to hell with this I'll fix it'! - the rest is history. :D
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We should all be thankful that your 717 started acting up. Due to that small event in the UK, like a butterfly effect countless worldwide members of this forum have benefited from the knowledge shared by one of the most skilled and helpful techs out there. In my view, you are definitely one of AKs best. :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:
 
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Vintagear said:
We should all be thankful that your 717 started acting up. Due to that small event in the UK, like a butterfly effect countless worldwide members of this forum have benefited from the knowledge of one of the most skilled and helpful techs out there. In my view, you are definitely one of AKs best. :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:
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EMenendez said:
It's truly inspiring; there are fewer and fewer technicians or specialists in vintage audio.
Thank you for sharing your Sansui knowledge with everyone here at AK
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I was thinking the same thing when I read that story - how fortunate are we all that a shoddy tech inspired our @Hyperion to take matters into his own hands?! Little did that tech know a legend was made that day!
 
Now that I have acquired an AU-X1 and fully estored (almost as I still have a couple odds and ends to finish) I can appreciate this thread even more. I can say they aren’t your run of the mill project. This one was DOA.

The caustic glue was awful and it had gotten into everything on the power regulator board which required removing and replacing all the resistors in the vicinity. They tested good bit the corrosion had gotten into the board between the legs and the pads, it even appeared to have chemically altered the solder which took a major effort to remove. I ended up replacing almost every part on this board before I could get it stable.

Then I would randomly lose the input voltages. So off to the protection board where the “black leg disease” had impacted all the bridge rectifiers. I also found that the reference ground goes through the amp driver boards which would come and go, I had to rework the connector plugs to get stable and solid grounds. Almost every part was replaced on the protection board. There was clearly a power fault that led to the output failure so I spent extra focus on getting power solid.

The flat amp board was also a mess with both of the dual jfets which drive the dc balance had problems. I ended up building a set using two 30a jfets I had and mounting them to daughter boards and combining them with thermal paste and heat shrink. I also replaced almost every part on this board.

The driver boards got all new silicon and many of the resistors which were all 1% metal films.

I did all the stability mods I could find. The black flag caps were mounted way off the board. Some of the legs were 1/2 inch long… All these were replaced with mlcc cogs (murata)and I mounted them as close to the board as reasonable, including those tacked to the back of the board.

All the zeners, most of the silicon including the diodes and many of the resistors replaced. All the rectifiers and of course all of electrolytic’s replaced. Many of the film caps as well. Generally if there was a better modern replacement available, the silicon was replaced. All the trimmer resistors with bourns multi-turns.

UPW, UKZ, UKL UES, UVP and some UKA. Films were primarily 1000 volt polypropylene axial and radials where the axial either wouldn’t make sense. Any of the lower value and low noise electrolytics with Wima polypropylene.

All the primary power filters were film bypassed on the foil side of the boards. For a DC coupled unit, there sure are a lot of capacitors in these.

All the bulbs are LEDs. Even the power indicator was burned out… I have only seen that twice.

All the switches cleaned and relays omron’s. All the boards scrubbed and wire runs secured and organized with zip ties. There is more, but that is the gist
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Well jefferylhenr, I have read all of the thread and enjoyed your last comment. I hope you're satisfied with the X1. I am only about to begin my jurney as in a few days I will receive mine. Probably I will need to have done what you've done, and hope I can contact you if issues arise.

Enjoy the Kit and the Music

Salvo
Italy
 
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