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Sansui 2000A Repairs

M

msobeldc

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I recently purchased a Sansui 2000A at auction which didn't power up. I cleaned up cosmetically, sprayed deoxit in the pots and other moving parts, vacuumed out pet hair, and put in new fuses. It powers on, has a nice tuner, plays LPs well, and seems to generally be in good working condition for a 40+ year old receiver. When I had the top off, the capacitors seemed to be in good shape (no obvious leaks or bulges) but I'm inexperienced with doing this type of maintenance and don't have technical expertise.

I am contemplating giving this to one of my kids as a foundation for a vintage system. I am also thinking that the Receiver would benefit from a good check up by a diagnostician and some newer caps. Does anyone know either a Tech or AKer who has experience cleaning up vintage Sansui Receivers in the Maryland/VA/DC Metro area? I'd also travel a bit further north or south (PA, NC) to find someone good who won't charge more than the value of the Receiver. Someone other than Just Audio in Baltimore. I'd like to try and figure out how to do some of this myself, but don't have any idea how to start even with diagnostics. Thanks for your help.
 
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If it's working fine now and you are not interested in putting a lot of $$ into it, might as well go with it as is and let it run until it requires additional service. Could be years or days depending on how it is driven and the current condition of internal components. A complete restoration will cost more than it is worth on the market, but value is subjective here if you want a nice vintage unit that could run reliably for another 20+ years.
There are number of mods and updates recommended by Conrad Hoffman on this webpage. and seem worthwhile. I have done them with good results.
Me personally, for one of my kids, I would replace any transistors on this list (also recommended on Hoffman's page) and change out electrolytic caps on the Power Supply and Protection boards at a minimum. Then you can consider recap of Amplifiers, Tone and Equalizer (Phono) amp boards.
Parts are cheap, the labor is where your cost is and if accessing a board for transistors, might as well do the e-caps while have it apart. My $0.02 FWIW.
 
jd; No protection board on the 2000's. Direct coupled with fuses. Other than that, a rebuild and Conrad's upgrades are a very good idea.
 
Thank you for the helpful feedback. I'm not sure I'm capable of changing the transistors or caps but will review the Hoffman posts just in case. I'm a real beginner when it comes to taking apart electronics so don't have the knowledge (or confidence) yet to undertake anything complicated. I will heed the advice to keep playing it until something goes wrong but I also believe in proactive preparation. larryderouin, I see you're located in MD. Any recommendations for a Tech in driving distance? Thank you again.
 
None to my knowledge. I work on my own gear, but don't take in outside work. Between Cardiac issues and failing eyesight, I'm limited even on my own gear. Sorry
 
There is Action Electronics in Williamsburg, VA. I’ve not used him personally, but I’ve heard he does a very good job. I do have one receiver that was previously serviced by him, and it sounds great. I’ve seen that he will do repairs in lieu of a full restoration if that’s what you want.
 
Thanks very much for the suggestions. Falls Church is close to me and I have used him in the past with mixed results. I haven't used Music Technology but timing is not crucial so may consider them. Williamsburg is quite far but a good option if I'm traveling South. Appreciate the great advice.
 
msobeldc said:
Thanks very much for the suggestions. Falls Church is close to me and I have used him in the past with mixed results. I haven't used Music Technology but timing is not crucial so may consider them. Williamsburg is quite far but a good option if I'm traveling South. Appreciate the great advice.
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I have used Brett in the past and he's a good guy but inconvenient to me now. I resisted going to Music Technology because they're a half hour away with no traffic and aren't open on Saturdays. However they have fixed a Marantz 4270 that two other shops handed back to me unfixed (not HFH, and not running down either shop, as at least one I really like the guy and he's always done me right on everything else.) In fact I am hooking up the Marantz as a quad right now to give it a thorough shakedown because I like it enough I think I may take it back to MT to get them to see if they can figure out why the FM tuner drifts as the unit warms up. (it had LOTS of problems when I got it from a friend of mine; AFAIK that's the only one remaining, but I need to make sure of that so I only have to take it back once.)

Another option would be Jimmy Diaz @ Electronic Service Center in Gaithersburg.

I think we've now mentioned all the decent shops I'm aware of in the metro DC area, if anyone knows any others please post! I have heard of an older guy working on tubes in the Silver Spring/Chevy Chase area but never got a contact.

BTW I have a 2000A as well and it's a fine receiver. You'll be happy with it. I would say just check bias and offset yourself however that's a cap coupled unit so you have to put it on a scope and drive it into clipping, so not exactly a DIY thing for a novice.
 
Appreciate the suggestions and I will look into Jimmy Diaz as well. I'm trying to learn about simple DIY but am not confident enough to start changing out caps and transistors on the Sansui. I might try experimenting on a less desirable Receiver first. I'm still trying to learn very basic approaches and although I've found some decent videos on YouTube, it's very hit or miss for a vintage electronics repair 101 education. I also don't have anyone I know who's into the DIY so no mentors nearby though Covid would probably prevent that anyway. Still searching for a good primer on basic repairs since much is assumed even on the DIY videos. Enjoy the weekend.
 
If you are contemplating diy, I suggest watching xraytonyb on YouTube, he has lots of repair and restoration videos on solid state and tube gear. If you decide to attempt any repairs, I would recommend picking up some piece of gear that you can practice soldering, an old vcr or such.
 
Odenton TV and Radio in Randallstown, MD. He recapped my wife's G4700, my McIntosh MA 6200 and now has our Pioneer Laser Disc player plus a Benjamin Miracord 750 III turntable. Post holiday's I will be dropping off my brother in law's Marantz. No internet presence, does business the old fashioned way. Will give you options on what needs and should be done. I've always told him to treat it as if it was his and he was going to keep it. Cal is very good and pricing is reasonable. He will modify if possible for lets say more headroom, hotter phono stage etc. just ask if there's anything that can be done to the unit if that is what you want to do. Oh and all the old parts come back to you. Lastly Saturday hours until noon.
 
Thank you GaryonRt66 and captskippy for your great recommendations both for DIY and Tech work. I hadn't heard of Odenton TV and Radio. Sounds like a great resource and I will definitely contact him when I decide to upgrade the Sansui. I will also check out the videos on YouTube for my own education. As for practice, I saw some interesting kits on Amazon that are probably geared to teens but seem to teach basic soldering and electronics theory. Sounds like a safer approach to learning versus the nice Sansui and they are well reviewed. Thanks again. Happy holidays.
 
One thing I forgot to mention is there are a handful (less than 10) 2SC458s in a 2000A and replacing them in mine lowered the noise floor dramatically. Before doing so there was a noticeable hiss.

I did not replace the ones in the tuner section as that part was working fine and I did not want to have to get someone to realign it for me.
 
So that's where Odenton TV and Radio went. I wasn't too impressed with store in Odenton right outside the gate at Ft. Meade 10 years ago. Maybe they got their sh** together finally.
 
Actually about the 2SC458 in one depends on the vintage. In Feb 1970 on the amp card and tone sections they used the 2SC631 or 632. Still replaced them. Left the ones in the tuner section alone. Usually only replace in the tuner section if it went bad.

If without a scope, rough setting for cap coupled amp is one side about half the voltage of the other. Even in the living room setup seldomly turned it up above 10 o'clock.
 
Find some old junk electronics and use them to practice and get the hang of soldering and de-soldering. Biggest thing is learning not to overheat and lift pads or break traces.

Sansui models of this vintage can be more challenging in the de-solder department they seemed to mash the leads flat against the board before the solder process. Many others did not do that.
 
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