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Jump switch on Au-919

J

jazzmaniac

New Member
Could someone tell me what the jump switch is on the Sansui Au-919. Is it like the loudness switch on Au 717. I owned 2 Au-717 already using the preamp stage. I was entertaining the thought of maybe purchasing a 919. Also, is there much of a difference sonically between the 2 amp's preamp stages? Is it worth buying if just using for a preamp? Thanks. Jazzmaniac.
 
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AU 919 jump switch

Hi. You know me as Nimbus1 from Audiogon. The jump switch results in a 16.5 dB loss, but it's purpose, rather than providing muting, is to provide "cleaner sound" by bypassing the tone controls and "flat amp". I know this from a copy of the sales brochure but have no idea what this means. I have both a recapped/updated AU 717 and AU919, and an unmodified AU717. I can tell you that the AU919 just sounds way better than the 717 to me, even at low listening levels, and even though I started with and really like the 717. I could not be happier with the 919 and use it in my main system. I cannot detect any improvement in performance with the jump switch in and the volume turned up to compensate for the power loss. The AU919 currently appears to be going for about $150 to $200 more than the 717 on eBay. It has more power, I believe better sound, and I don't think that they have the problem with the acid glue the 717's do. I hope that the more technically competent and experienced AKers will have something to add, but my strong suspicion, given your need for the pre-amp section only, is that you would be way better off looking for a good Sansui pre-amp.

Marc Ithaca, NY
 
I have a 819 and it has the same switch. And yes it is to bypass the flat amp.
In this case the flat amp is a separate card inside the unit, it seems to act like a voltage amplifier previous to the power stage. It sounds to me more natural with the flat card bypassed.
 
Sansui AU-717 modifications?

Hi mjs1- Thanks for clearing me up on the jump switch on the 919. I'm familiar with the glue-like problem with the 717. Fortunately, I've never had that problem with either one of my 717s. Besides cleaning up that mess, do you or anyone else know of any other 717 modifications? I've never really thought about using a Sansui preamp outright. I know one thing, I've been using the 717's preamp stage for years and it's killin' !!! jazzmaniac.
 
Au 717/919

This thread will likely die quickly as I don't think there is much interest in the 919 in general and the jump switch in particular. I am sorry I gave you the impression that I know anything about AU 717 mods. Randy has done all my work for me and I can say that his TU 717 mod is fantastic, competitive with in price with what is offerred by Antenna Performance, with incomparably better performance than a stock TU 717. If you look at my previous postings on the AU 919 work I had done, you'll see that respondents thought that I'd been had, although the work was on a non-functioning unit acquired through eBay that required a lot of troubleshooting. I asked him not to give up on it, and I asked to have it completely recapped and updated for best performance and decades' survival. Interestingly, when he was stumped, I later found out by searching AK, that he had gotten help from some of the experts here. Again, I love this AU 919. The work on the AU 717 with similar goals to that requested for the 919 and without any pre-existing problems came to about $1000. This sounds great but the AU 919 is better. Of course, the AU 919 started out better.
Now back to you. Looking at Audiogon there are pre-amps listed there for up to $30,000 so you can clearly go upscale and spend as much money as you want. If you're happy using your AU 717 as a pre-amp stay with it. If you want to stick with Sansui but try a new pre-amp start a new thread and ask about them. Currently there is a pre-amp in the 2000 series listed on eBay. There is an old AK thread on what is your favorite pre-amp if you want to stay vintage but leave Sansui. There is also a new thread on repairs so that you can see who is doing what at AK or elsewhere. You can recap/refurbish your whole AU 717, the pre-amp section only, or any other vintage pre-amp you decide to pick-up. Fortunately in audio the ways of spending money are almost unlimited and fortunately as well you're happy with what you already have. Email me outside this thread if you think that I can be of help.

Marc
 
"This thread will likely die quickly as I don't think there is much interest in the 919 in general..."


On the contrary, the AU-919 is highly coveted by the Sansui enthusiast, for its a superb amplifier. The Jump switch is designed to be a theoretical improvement. Not necessary that it be utilized. If one does activate the switch, the volume control has to turned up quite a bit to compensate for the reduction in volume level.
 
The 919 has an excellent preamp

The preamp and amp sections have separate transformers. The 919 (and 819) preamp also has a moving coil phono circuit, which is not found on the 717. If the loudness contour is important to you, the 919 does not have one. The CA-F1 preamp has similar specs to the 919's preamp. It has the loudness switch, but no Jump switch. Although they don't come along that often, they usually go for far less ($100-$200. depending on condition). That's a lot less than what a 919 goes for.

Like (Beatle) fredagain says, the 919 has an excellent amplifier section, and it would be a shame to not use it.
 
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