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My First Sansui (AU-101)

muovimies

muovimies

Super Member
Somehow I've never owned a Sansui amp before, they always seemed to command too high a price on the used market compared to what you get and since they are not all that plentiful in Finland, one never came up. I never even felt particularly curious to be honest, from everything they looked just like another Japanese amplifier to me. For one reason or other I suddenly got the urge a couple weeks ago to get me some Sansui, was really drawn to a AU-505 on an auction but the price got too high, so I grabbed an AU-101. Since this was going to be used mostly for computer system nearfield, power is not an issue.

So far I like it, it's in completely original condition, it's the first version with no bias adjustment pots. Cosmetically it's a bit tatty but not too bad (by my low standards - it has one broken switch for example). The sound is quite enjoyable, I definitely prefer it to anything vintage Pioneer I've heard for example. It's sitting on top of a Pioneer SX-535 receiver and soundwise it's a no contest for these ears. The highs are surprisingly nice on this amp. It definitely leads with the bass though, which can get a bit boomy with some material and the midrange seems a bit recessed perhaps sometimes. I feel drawn to listen to electronic music and rock with it because it sounds so snappy through the frequency range.

It replaced a Yamaha A-700 in this application, which is a bit unfair comparison in a sense because the Yamaha I've completely gone over, it's 10 years younger (a lifetime when you compare solid state gear 1970 - 1980). The Yamaha is well into the low distortion era, with rated 0.005% THD, I think even less if you enable Class A mode for first 5 watts. In some ways it's a not a contest really, the Sansui can't compete in the overall cleanliness of the sound or the natural midrange the Yamaha has, but with these speakers, in this application, I think I actually prefer the Sansui. The Yamaha can sound a bit dry and combined with the full range drivers, that can be a bit much. The Sansui in comparison sounds almost euphonic, with a liquidness and satisfying weight to the sound. What surprises me about the Sansui is the highs, they are way better than I anticipated. The bass I was prepared for from reading forums and have learned over the years that an amplifiers power rating or heftiness in build doesn't directly correlate with how it presents low frequencies.

The source selector switch needed some tough love, when I first powered it up I got both channels only from the tape monitor even that switch needed fiddling to get sound, AUX gave me only the right one and phono input was synthetizing a sound on it's own... I had to resort to WD-40 for the switch, which I hate to do but have found out with bad cases of oxidation it's just way more effective than specialized contact cleaners, but you gotta flush it out with some proper cleaner or IPA or something, because it leaves a residue behind and that can be slightly conductive. Anyway, WD-40 followed by CRC precision cleaner seems to have cured it. It seems to play nice now. Yesterday at first I got some static crackle and low freq noise from the right channel, but that passed once the amp warmed up and stabilized and has been gone ever since, it's pretty quiet now. It sounded like a bad transistor, which I guess could very well be the case, but maybe it was a tired cap finding some new life after getting some juice or volume pot related.

Anyway, the AU-101 seems a rather nice little amp and since it's a rather simple design, it should be easy to sort out if anything comes up. I was planning on a recap, but I think the flying saucer transistors might be more urgent. There's still some crackle occasionally, but it might also originate from the volume pot. I think there's a reason techonology has moved away from cap coupled amps, but sometimes listening to old solid state gear from the early 70s, I wonder why :)
 
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Just have to chime in here, though I've previously commented on this in another thread: the 101 is a remarkable little amp. I had a surprise opportunity to get one a few months ago and was amazed at the sound, for what it is. It is revealing to see how well Sansui could do even in the most budget conscious model of its time. Quite better than I'd have expected, to be honest.

This only bolstered my previous observation where I heard a Sansui 210 receiver playing in someone else's house - in a basement workshop with concrete floors, no less - that the minimalist models can and do sound as good as the monster amps. There clearly was some "magic" of amp and speaker synergy at play there, but even still it was remarkable. I've found the same to be true of the 101.
 
Well, I didn't mention it before, but I should shortly have "my second Sansui" with me - the story behind that is that I was initially looking for a xx7 -series amp, but nothing at a decent price was popping up, and then that 505 auction happened which got me interested in a cap coupled amp and I snagged up the AU-101 shortly afterwards. As it happens, while I had already reached out to buy the AU-101, an AU-317 came up for sale and since I didn't even know yet if the AU-101 deal would come through, I pulled the trigger on the 317 as well. And that's how I ended up buying two Sansui amps on the same day. AU-317 kinda seems like it could be sweet spot in that series on the used market, the upper models tend to get pretty expensive pretty fast, while a 317 you can still get at pretty affordable prices. Though I gotta say, Sansuis certainly aren't flying under the radar.

I'll see how I get along the with the 317, the 101 seems kind of perfect for my computer room system - small foot print, nice sound, good looks. As it stands, I have use for 3 amps, main spot is taken, so I guess the AU-317 will have to go head-to-head with the Yamaha A-700. Seems fair enough. I like the Yamaha, but it's lacking synergy in the current setup it's in.

Sansuiman said:
Just have to chime in here, though I've previously commented on this in another thread: the 101 is a remarkable little amp. I had a surprise opportunity to get one a few months ago and was amazed at the sound, for what it is. It is revealing to see how well Sansui could do even in the most budget conscious model of its time. Quite better than I'd have expected, to be honest.

This only bolstered my previous observation where I heard a Sansui 210 receiver playing in someone else's house - in a basement workshop with concrete floors, no less - that the minimalist models can and do sound as good as the monster amps. There clearly was some "magic" of amp and speaker synergy at play there, but even still it was remarkable. I've found the same to be true of the 101.
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Well I gotta agree, I think the 101 plays above it's 'market position' of the time. I've read it said the founder of Sansui was passionate about audio and had to personally approve of the sound of all models before they entered production. I have no idea if that is true, but unlike some Japanese amplifiers, the AU-101 at least gives the vibe someone actually listened to the thing and didn't just look at numbers. The interesting thing is generally the specs of Sansuis aren't anything to boast about, at least pre 1980s, but by then the dude who founded Sansui had already resigned.
 
Kosaku Kikuchi was a visionary in the field of HiFi. I think it fair to say he should be credited as a Japanese analog of some of the well-known names of the golden age in American hifi, like Saul Marantz or James Lansing. He certainly contributed a lasting and respected legacy in the manufactue of many highly regarded amplifiers, at the very least.

It is unfortunate his name is not well known in that sense, even - I suspect - to many present day Sansui fanatics. Perhaps that was a matter of humility, or simply a cultural difference versus the American style of CEO's becoming celebrities of a sort, that didn't place him in a position to become a household name. Whatever the case, I owe the man a great deal of gratitude for jump starting my interest in audio at an early age, and for his role in providing the gear that has afforded me countless hours of enjoyment for decades now.

Much of the senior staff at Sansui were also audiophiles, based upon reading I've done over the years. So, being a passion of many of those who worked there, it stands to reason they were making excellent products. They quite literally took their work home with them, and we are the ongoing beneficiaries of that focus on quality.

It also helps that Sansui was, for most of their corporate existence, an audio only specialist. They were late and reluctant to embrace home video and really only made token efforts at that market by OEMing the VCR's and an LD player or two that they sold under the Sansui nameplate. This kept them from diluting their talent pool and corporate funding on non-audio projects. Of course, it also had a deleterious effect on the company's fortunes when there was suddenly much less interest in hifi in the early to mid 1980's

Perhaps the most remarkbale testament to the acheivements of both Mr. Kikuchi personally, and of Sansui asna company, is that here we are many decades on, still enjoying, servicing and discussing the gear they produced. When one looks at present resale valuations, it is clear that much of the hardware Sansui made is hightly sought out still, and many are willing to pay a premium to get it. Quite surprising, for what were essentially mass produced, commodity items; even of very good quality.
 
^ true, but consider the vast number that were made, and how many have survived 30-50 years already. It is rather remarkable if one contemplates the massive amount of gear sold not only by Sansui, but other companies as well, from say 1965-1981 (what I consider the "sweet spot" of hifi).

The sheer magnitude of it only starts to come into focus when you look at what is for sale at any given time across all the various online venues alone. Sure, certain models are hard to find (even near impossible anymore) but there is never a shortage of "vintage" era gear available for sale if one is looking.

There must have been literal tens of millions of hifi components made and sold in that time frame by the majors in the US, Japan and Europe for there to still exist in 2021 such a large offering of items for sale. Attrition through units being disposed of by those unaware of their value, stupidly abused and ruined, or destroyed in shipping has clearly reduced that number, but there is still plenty of great gear to be had, even at presently inflated prices. And that with so much of the supply having been bought up, no less. One simply needs to be more selective and patient, or willing to spend more on instant gratification

My buying had slowed down to a crawl about 3-4 years ago, but has been back up a bit this year as some exceptional opportunities have presented themselves, often unexpectedly. Partly that is due to my finding myself more enamored of earlier (pre-1973) Sansui offerings, and a renewed interest in smaller and lesser known models I'd previously overlooked.

This has garnered me some real jewels that I'm almost enjoying more right now than the giants from the latter half of the 70's (which is what I started out collecting for the most part). There has also been my foray into first and second gen CD players, an ongoing pursuit that has grown the collection even further, and forced me to learn some new repair techniques. The point of posting all that is that my interest has been renewed by finding a different angle to the hobby, after having mostly exhausted the path I'd been on from 1996 until about 2018.

I surmise many others have done the same and moved downmarket into the smaller, basic models as a refuge from the massive increase in valuations that have made the big stuff more unattainable. What has caught me off guard here was the level of enjoyment and "bang for the buck" to be found in these smaller, less extravagant models. This is similarly true of other makes I've had some exposure to like Pioneer and Technics.
 
I've owned a horrendous amount of gear from highly respected manufacturers over the years and was never happy.

I bought a non working au-101 purely due to it being local and cheap, fixed it up and i was blown away! i'd found my sound 'Cap Coupled'.
Fast forward 8 months and i now own the au-101, 331,2000,1000x,au-505/tu-505 combo plus a couple of turntables and a pair of Sansui sp-70 speakers.

I'd struggle to part with any of them
 
I felt a bit sad unplugging the AU-101 from the desktop system, I guess that goes to show I've taken a liking to it. The reason it got unplugged is I got the AU-317, first listen I gotta say I prefer the AU-101 in my desktop system. The AU-101 just has a more delicate sound and seems better balanced in this system. The AU-317 in comparison seemingly has a lot more bass, a more 'solid' sound overall but the sound seems less detailed and I'm not enjoying listening to this as much. It also sounds a bit 'softer' for lack of a better term. I think the AU-317 is in need of a recap though, there's the faintest trace of background hum, it's barely audible sitting couple feet away from the speakers, but it's there. Also balance seems the slightest bit off when the dial is in the center dent, I have to adjust it to about 0.75 right to get a good center image. DC offset is ok, i was about 100mV out the box but I managed to adjust it to about 30mV for both channels. Not perfect, but I was not going to futz around with the old trimmers, this is plenty good enough. Bias test points read 18 & 16mV which seem a bit on the high side but I didn't want to mess with them at this point since that doesn't seem dangerously high or anything.

I really have to cut the bass with the tone controls to get good sound with these speakers in this setup, but bass at -6 or so and it's a lot better. That raises an eyebrow, this is the first amp I've used here that I "need" to touch the tone controls, but I gotta try this amp with some other speakers. Now, I do have just the place for this amp though, I think it would love to rock with the JBL 112ti in the BIIG room and I imagine would be a good match for those speakers. The Yamaha A-700 is not a perfect marriage with the JBLs, especially in that room. I need to give this amp some time to win me over, but it might just be it needs a recap or my ears need time to adjust. So first impression tilts to positive but a bit luke warm :) It might be also a speaker mismatch thing, the amount of bass this thing puts out is a bit insane. If I could get the speakers off the wall it might help, but that's impossible in this setup. Actually I'm looking forward to hearing this with the JBLs, I get the feeling it might be an awesome fit for that setup.
 
The 317 may need a freshen-up, OR you may just prefer that CC sound from your 101. My AU-505 sent my 9090 to Florida to a new owner.

Every system is different, but in my case the synergy w/the 505 won out. I also prefer tubes, so that helped with the decision. The CC sound has that engaging warmth.
 
playittwice said:
The 317 may need a freshen-up, OR you may just prefer that CC sound from your 101. My AU-505 sent my 9090 to Florida to a new owner.

Every system is different, but in my case the synergy w/the 505 won out. I also prefer tubes, so that helped with the decision. The CC sound has that engaging warmth.
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I've been playing around with the 317 tonight, I do think it needs a service. I will start with some good switch cleaning, the source selector is unhappy at least. It also seems to 'wake up' a bit more with higher volumes. Maybe it's just a synergy thing with these speakers.

I agree the cap coupled AU-101 has some of that "just rightness" of a decent tube amp, though if nitpicking it falls a hair short on the midrange. But overall it's one of the more enjoyalbe solid state amps I've had, maybe even the most enjoyable. It's a really good fit for my desktop system so I think it will end up staying here. I don't need 50 watts for this, 5 would be enough even with insensitive speakers. The AU-317 in comparison sounds like just another SS amp, though I gotta say even the 317 sounds 'different' to most japanese gear I've owned. It reminds me in some ways more of some European amps I've had, I'm recalling a hefty Telefunken receiver I once had, though the Sansui sounds better. But it has some similarity. Btw. all European vintage amps I've had were more or less bass monsters (not in a bad way) compared to most Japanese gear. Maybe it's in part because most of it was designed to run 4 ohm speakers, even though the Sansui really aren't. Go figure.
 
The AU-317 is sounding better now, something between playing it for a few hours and giving the switches lot of action and some cleaner helped, or maybe it's a combination of both, my ears must also be getting used to the sound. I don't know how long this has sat unused, some of the old caps might have forgot what they are supposed to do with the juice flowing in :) The very faint hum originates in the preamp, so it probably needs going over. In any case the sound seems better balanced now.

I'm not overly impressed though, if the AU-101 made me about ready to drink the Sansui kool-aid big time, because in a way it has no right to sound as good as it does, the AU-317 on the other hand seems made by mere mortals in comparison :) I'd say this one is more of a rocker, let's see if getting to rock out the JBLs makes me rate it higher. Just as I damn it with faint praise, I switched to another album and on this one the sound is captivating. There's something about the highs that nags me a bit though, they have a bit of metallic haze to them, it's not much, but it's there. Really similar to what I've heard from some Pioneer gear from the time. I wonder where that comes from and if switching the preamp transistors to something more modern would change that. On the other hand I'm not too keen to throw money and time at this as of now. The jury is still out.

I know it's not entirely fair to judge what these old amps can do before a throrough restoration, but on the other hand while I like working on things, there needs to be something that draws me in and makes me think it's worth the money and effort. I'm not sure yet if the AU-317 has that something.
 
Well I guess I should start a new thread for the AU-317 but doing some testing, I guess there's no way around the tone amp board needing a refresh. I'm trying the amp with a cheap chinese "tube" preamp (I think it's really an op amp chip for the gain and a tube buffer, but not 100% about the innards). I'm not a big fan of this preamp, but it's actually pretty OK for sound and with this the noise floor got lower and the highs definitely sound better. The power amp in the Sansui is really nice, very solid and lots of oomph, but wonderful detail and 3D soundstage as well.

The tube preamp is some sort of chinese jobbie in a plastic casing with a pretty nasty feeling volume knob in front. I haven't hooked it up in ages, it's a bit colored depending on the tubes you use, but overall it sounds pretty good, better than most preamps in old integrated amps. Might actually be worth checking out what's happening on the PCB and recase it.

Anyway I think the AU-317 deserves a restoration :thumbsup:
 
interesting what you say up thread about the 317 sounding better at higher volumes. i find that to be the case with my 207 also - more lively and dynamic. some acoustic jazz records in my collection sound their best thru the 207 in that higher volume range. i’m interested to hear what you think of the 317 going into the jbl’s.

i really enjoy my 207, but also generally agree, as good as it is, the x17 series does sound like it was constructed by human beings. whereas with the triple digit series, well….

as for the 101 and other lower end sansui models, i’ve come to the conclusion that they simply aren’t botl in any conventional sense of the term
 
playittwice said:
The 317 may need a freshen-up, OR you may just prefer that CC sound from your 101. My AU-505 sent my 9090 to Florida to a new owner.

Every system is different, but in my case the synergy w/the 505 won out. I also prefer tubes, so that helped with the decision. The CC sound has that engaging warmth.
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AU-505 kicked out the 9090 - I'm interested to know more, as I have a 7070.
 
Sure, I can share my experience. The 9090 as good sounding as it is, did not appeal to me in MY system. I prefer the cap-coupled sound playing through my K-horns. Additionally, I definitely do not need the power the 9090 has to offer. Therefore I have transitioned to tubes mainly, and CC units for SS. I did hold onto my AU999 and a Seven, as they are pleasing to my ear and have great synergy in my system. IMO it all comes down to synergy as many have stated before.

I am in no way dissing the 9090, it is a great receiver, just didn’t do it for me. That’s what this hobby is about. Trying different things and keeping what works best in your system.
 
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playittwice said:
Sure, I can share my experience. The 9090 as good sounding as it is, did not appeal to me in MY system. I prefer the cap-coupled sound playing through my K-horns. Additionally, I definitely do not need the power the 9090 has to offer. Therefore I have transitioned to tubes mainly, and CC units for SS. I did hold onto my AU999 and a Seven, as they are pleasing to my ear and have great synergy in my system. IMO it all comes down to synergy as many have stated before.

I am in no way dissing the 9090, it is a great receiver, just didn’t do it for me. That’s what this hobby is about. Trying different things and keeping what works best in your system.
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i don’t believe anyone would take you to be casting aspersions on the venerable 9090. we all have our favorites, i’m sure.

but how does the 505 compare with the 999 for you? is there a clear preference for the sound of one or the other?
 
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