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Just got a Sansui AU-555a, what should i do first, and is it suitable for headphones?

gslikker said:
No, I don't. Apart from chatting here on AK and very sometimes on the audiofreaks or hififorum forums (not that much activity there) I have no contacts about audio stuff at all, people nor businesses.
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Ah alright. Well thanks either way.
 
Member patfont refurbished one of these last year. I bought it from him. It is a great amp. He posted a thread in March of last year showing what he did to the unit. I don't know how to link a thread into this post, otherwise I would do that. Do a search for AU-555a and you should find it. Good luck!
 
I've had that amp for sometime now,had it restored by an AK member Blaine,he replaced those "flying saucer transisters" and did a total recap.I must say the noise floor through headphones is almost non-existent unless you really crank it.
I have it paired with a Sansui turntable and the sound is magnificent.It's a cap coupled amp so you will notice if you turn it off while music is playing it'll keep running for 8 or 10 seconds before it shuts down,capacitors draining.
You definately got a keeper there.
 
don philipe said:
I've had that amp for sometime now,had it restored by an AK member Blaine,he replaced those "flying saucer transisters" and did a total recap.I must say the noise floor through headphones is almost non-existent unless you really crank it.
I have it paired with a Sansui turntable and the sound is magnificent.It's a cap coupled amp so you will notice if you turn it off while music is playing it'll keep running for 8 or 10 seconds before it shuts down,capacitors draining.
You definately got a keeper there.
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I've been using it for the last few days, and i really have grown to like it. When comparing it to my mid-level modern amp (+dac combo), this is a tiny bit more spacious, and it sounds a bit more smooth. I'm liking the change a lot, so i'll definitely keep it!

There are a couple of small things that are slightly annoying, for example that the maximum output volume is extremely high for headphones and modern monitors, that the channels are inverted for some reason, and that the noise floor is relatively high, but i can deal with those.

I'm looking to get it it recapped in a week or two.

You said you didn't really notice the noise level. Do you know if that changed because you had it recapped, or if yours didn't have that high of a noise level to begin with? Also, my unit is currently in very, very good condition. Will recapping it devalue the machine?
 
HenkBok said:
I've been using it for the last few days . . . the noise floor is relatively high . . . You said you didn't really notice the noise level. Do you know if that changed because you had it recapped, or if yours didn't have that high of a noise level to begin with? . . .
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The noise floor is more likely to be reduced by replacing the flying saucer transistors.

8002 NPN ===> ZTX694B

9002 PNP ===> ZTX795A
 
Just thought of something when you'd mentioned reverse channels. Did you connect the speaker wires side by side or on top of each other ?

The oldest Sansuis have the A, B speaker terminals side by side. Then respective left/right channel in a vertical collum, with right at the bottom. If you have both speaker switches selected and are connecting the traditional way using the lower terminals you'd have reversed channels and probably more noise as well.
 
Recapping should not degrade price if done properly and documented. Someone buying it down the line would likely ask for some documentation of work performed. But then again, why would you ever sell :D. Sonically you will most definitely tell a difference for the better, ranging from a tad more tight and focused to night and day, all depending on the amps unrestored condition and the skill of the restorer.
 
stereofun said:
Just thought of something when you'd mentioned reverse channels. Did you connect the speaker wires side by side or on top of each other ?

The oldest Sansuis have the A, B speaker terminals side by side. Then respective left/right channel in a vertical collum, with right at the bottom. If you have both speaker switches selected and are connecting the traditional way using the lower terminals you'd have reversed channels and probably more noise as well.
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Ha, you gave me a good idea just now! It was the dac output that was incorrectly wired. Thanks!
 
stereofun said:
Recapping should not degrade price if done properly and documented. Someone buying it down the line would likely ask for some documentation of work performed. But then again, why would you ever sell :D. Sonically you will most definitely tell a difference for the better, ranging from a tad more tight and focused to night and day, all depending on the amps unrestored condition and the skill of the restorer.
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When you say talk about the skill of the restorer, would the restorer need to have restored/recapped the same unit to be considered skilled? The company i'm looking to send it to seems to have restored many different kinds of vintage audio products, including Sansui amps.
 
I had AU-555 not this 555A which is so highly appraised in AK forum.
When i cranked up volume, the audio was producing ear fatigue audio.
Compared to AU-5500, mmm i must say this AU-555 was nothing special.
AU-5500 is so smooth and everytime i cranked it up, my ears never suffered from harsh fatigue.
Crisp and yet nice boomy bass.
This AU-555 is only suitable for playing vinyl from 50s to early 70s.
It improves those records' HiFi quality from early 70s.
Is it just my impression or maybe there's electronic defects inside it ?
 
It really needs to be fully reconditioned for future reliability, just changing one or two components wont solve the problem. There are plenty of threads around that detail this process (like this one) do a search and do a full recondition on your AU-555, it will sound wonderful if you do it right.
 
Sprungtol said:
I had AU-555 not this 555A which is so highly appraised in AK forum.
When i cranked up volume, the audio was producing ear fatigue audio.
Compared to AU-5500, mmm i must say this AU-555 was nothing special.
AU-5500 is so smooth and everytime i cranked it up, my ears never suffered from harsh fatigue.
Crisp and yet nice boomy bass.
This AU-555 is only suitable for playing vinyl from 50s to early 70s.
It improves those records' HiFi quality from early 70s.
Is it just my impression or maybe there's electronic defects inside it ?
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I own both the AU-555 and the AU-555A. Yes, the AU-555 is definitely a bit bright for me too. The AU-555A is a very smooth sounding beast in comparison
 
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