My “New” Sansui AU222. Very nice little guy.

[rotobadger]

I’ve been wanting to try one of these for a long time and, finally, one came up at a reasonable price.

Works great with some staticky pots (no surprise there. A little fader lube or a shot of deox will fix that right up).

So, I’m not shocked and wowed like “oh my god, I never knew!” But am pleasantly surprised at how 18 watts of unrestored Sansui sounds.

I’ll probably tackle a recap myself.

Right now, just enjoying it. It also has all those pesky white dots on the face. They come off easily with a fingernail so I’ll get around to tidying it up as well.

Funny, I now have a Sansui AU111 (kind of the top of the heap for xxx Sansui and an AU222…near the bottom?

I’ve had, in the past a 555a, 777, and 888. The 222 seems to hang pretty well!

So, just thought I’d share. This was one of those “I really don’t need another amp but…it’s neat!” Lol!

It’s so little!!!

Some pics.

UPDATE: I’ve been listening to the 222 and am convinced that this is an underrated little gem. It’s certainly not a game changer but it absolutely has a place in my system. I have my AU111, McIntosh MAC 1700, and a Gillespie 8601 EL84 single ended amp.

The 222 hangs. I’m impressed.

 

[specialcase]

I definitely don’t rate the 222 at the bottom. It’s good. In fact, I’d take that little grunt of an integrated over a fair number of other au models and not think twice about it. There’s a liveliness and snap in the sq of that particular series of Sansui (au 222/555/777) which I’m quite partial to.

 

[rotobadger]

I definitely don’t rate the 222 at the bottom. It’s good. In fact, I’d take that little grunt of an integrated over a fair number of other au models and not think twice about it. There’s a liveliness and snap in the sq of that particular series of Sansui (au 222/555/777) which I’m quite partial to.

Thanks for the reply.

It’s interesting that you describe the 222 as having liveliness and snap. I’ve read very similar observations on multiple threads and, after listening to it for the first time tonight, I hear exactly what you’re describing. I absolutely love how punchy and “tight” it sounds. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Initially, I had planned on playing around with it and maybe occasionally popping in my system for fun.

Now, I’m absolutely moving some things around to make this a permanent addition to my setup. I think I’ll be using the 222 a lot more than I had anticipated.

It’s MUCH better than I expected and am very happy with it. I’m thinking some of my “high end” amps are going to get some rest as the 222, in many ways, is more enjoyable to listen to. The only way I can describe it is that it’s a FUN amp.

I feel like I just discovered a hidden gem.

 

[Scott Muni]

I'm very, very pleased with my 222. I did replace all electrolytic caps, and signal transistors, rectifier diodes. Increased value of the main filter and output coupling caps.
Huge improvement to the sound now. It's one of my favorite amps in rotation.
Be sure you use the tape loop input. The other inputs (oddly) go through the phono section first and then into the preamp.
For sure, the AU222 is the little giant killer. Friends come over for a listen, and cannot believe that little amp is making all that wonderful lush sound.

 

[rotobadger]

I'm very, very pleased with my 222. I did replace all electrolytic caps, and signal transistors, rectifier diodes. Increased value of the main filter and output coupling caps.
Huge improvement to the sound now. It's one of my favorite amps in rotation.
Be sure you use the tape loop input. The other inputs (oddly) go through the phono section first and then into the preamp.
For sure, the AU222 is the little giant killer. Friends come over for a listen, and cannot believe that little amp is making all that wonderful lush sound.

Great info, thanks.

I read up a little about the signal going thru the phono pre first. Weird. I’m going to take your advice and try the tape loop input today. However, “Tape Mon” and “Tape Head” are the two available inputs. Which would be considered the Tape Loop?

Also, was the recap fairly easy and straightforward?

Thanks!

 

[bhairavi]

You can use a glass fiber brush to remove markings on the face of these amps without causing any damage. I use it on all my amps. Encrusted crud in the knobs cleans up real nice as well.

 

[Scott Muni]

Great info, thanks.

I read up a little about the signal going thru the phono pre first. Weird. I’m going to take your advice and try the tape loop input today. However, “Tape Mon” and “Tape Head” are the two available inputs. Which would be considered the Tape Loop?

Also, was the recap fairly easy and straightforward?

Thanks!

There is thread around here that discusses the tape head fiasco. It was used on tape players that did not have line level output (?).
You would use the tape mon input.

Very simple amp to work on. The main board can be worked in place, the pre amp was partially removed along with the phono section.

I did mine in sections, to evaluate the changes. The significant changes were replacing the noisy 2sc458, increased value of filter and output coupling caps, all to 6800uF

 

[rotobadger]

There is thread around here that discusses the tape head fiasco. It was used on tape players that did not have line level output (?).
You would use the tape mon input.

Very simple amp to work on. The main board can be worked in place, the pre amp was partially removed along with the phono section.

I did mine in sections, to evaluate the changes. The significant changes were replacing the noisy 2sc458, increased value of filter and output coupling caps, all to 6800uF

Excellent, thank you. I’m a novice at recapping. I’ve only worked on speaker crossovers (which are pretty simple). I may start with a partial recap. The larger caps and see how that goes. I just need to be patient and not rush it.

Also, I have a question:

I’m getting a “hiss” from the speaker outputs. It doesn’t change with volume adjustment. Can you take a guess as to what needs replacing to reduce or eliminate that background hiss? Power cap? Something else?

 

[Scott Muni]

I would guess it's the 2sc458's. Mine was noisy and also a crackle /pop noise. Light tapping &/or freeze spray on them revealed a few to be microphonic.

 

[rotobadger]

I would guess it's the 2sc458's. Mine was noisy and also a crackle /pop noise. Light tapping &/or freeze spray on them revealed a few to be microphonic.

Ok great. However, I was wrong about the hiss not being affected by volume. The hiss DOES get louder with volume turned up. Still 2sc458?

 

[Scott Muni]

Highly suspect.

 

[JimEGR]

Beauty and nice discovery! Looks like you are running Klipsch or some other kind of horn speaker? Perfect pairing for an early cap coupled Sansui. And don't let the low wattage misrepresent it's ranking. The AU-222 is from a time before the wattage wars where power was falsely conflated with quality.

The first generation of Sansui solid state integrated amps -
1967 AU-777 25 watts
1968 AU-222 18 watts
1968 AU-555 20 watts
1969 AU-777D 30 watts (JDM version of AU-777A)
1969 AU-777A 30 watts
1970 AU-555A 25 watts
1970 AU-666 35 watts
1970 AU-888 45 watts
1970 AU-999 50 watts
1971 AU-101 15 watts
1972 AU-505 12 watts

 

[Chad Michael]

Everything you need and nothing you don't, long term fan of this concept!!! Thanks for the story and pic.

 

[rotobadger]

Highly suspect.

I’m not finding the 2sc458 transistors in the amp (eyeball inspection). Can you describe where they are and if they may be called something else?

 

[Scott Muni]

my bad, 2sc871.

 

[rotobadger]

my bad, 2sc871.

No prob, thanks.

However, I used freeze spray on all the boards and got no change whatsoever. Also, I tried RCA terminators on the phono sections. No joy.

Now, when I plugged the terminators into the Tape Record inputs, the hiss disappeared. But so did my audio signal. Not sure if that points to something.

Also, since I have you, maybe I should check bias with my meter while I’m at it? Only problem is, where are the bias points to meter? And what should the bias be (I know, I should probably look that up but am still unable to find info on how to bias the amp).

It’s weird, because, other than that background boss, the amp is performing beautifully.

Thanks so much for your input and help!

 

[Scott Muni]

Bias is checked at fuse F1, amp meter in place of fuse and adjust vr803 to 16 to 20 mA. repeat for fuse 2 with vr804.

There is also an output adjustment, using a scope to set up. There are work arounds, but I have not tried that, I use the scope method. Do a search for the work around.

 

[rotobadger]

Bias is checked at fuse F1, amp meter in place of fuse and adjust vr803 to 16 to 20 mA. repeat for fuse 2 with vr804.

There is also an output adjustment, using a scope to set up. There are work arounds, but I have not tried that, I use the scope method. Do a search for the work around.

Excellent, very helpful, thanks!

 

[rotobadger]

Beauty and nice discovery! Looks like you are running Klipsch or some other kind of horn speaker? Perfect pairing for an early cap coupled Sansui. And don't let the low wattage misrepresent it's ranking. The AU-222 is from a time before the wattage wars where power was falsely conflated with quality.

The first generation of Sansui solid state integrated amps -
1967 AU-777 25 watts
1968 AU-222 18 watts
1968 AU-555 20 watts
1969 AU-777D 30 watts (JDM version of AU-777A)
1969 AU-777A 30 watts
1970 AU-555A 25 watts
1970 AU-666 35 watts
1970 AU-888 45 watts
1970 AU-999 50 watts
1971 AU-101 15 watts
1972 AU-505 12 watts

1990 Klipsch La Scala recapped with Sonicaps and new veneer. Sounds outstanding with the 222.

 

[Scott Muni]

Have you tried playing different speakers. Maybe something less efficient. I'm sure the 222 is not a very quiet amp, and your La Scala's are rated 105 db. I don't hear any hiss when playing 89db rated speakers.