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Sansui AU-517 and TU-717

triumphguy40

triumphguy40

New Member
Greetings,

No affiliation with sale
A gentleman (original owner) is selling "Sansui AU-517 with rack handles: 150.00 and TU-717 with rack handles: 175.00" (possibly has rear bumpers too.)

He says they have been in a closet for quite a while but seem to be working well, maybe just some dirty pots action going on. I have a Sansui 400, Sansui 2000X, so I quite like that Sansui sound, and have heard that these separates are nice.

What do y'all think? :scratch2:
 
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Nice units, but a little pricey for me.

I bought an AU/TU717 combo with an SC1330 deck for $200 awhile back.

There was a set for sale about 3 hours from me for $200.
 
The TU-717 is an excellent tuner. I paid $152 + shipping and mine did not have rack handles.

Worth a listen.

An AU-517 completed on eBay at $177.50 + $56 shipping with rack handles. So if you go buy those examples, the prices seem fair or average.

Maybe you can get a discount for the pair.
 
terra1 said:
The TU-717 is an excellent tuner. I paid $152 + shipping and mine did not have rack handles.

Worth a listen.

An AU-517 completed on eBay at $177.50 + $56 shipping with rack handles. So if you go buy those examples, the prices seem fair or average.

Maybe you can get a discount for the pair.
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Yeah, I was hoping I could get the pair discount, and perhaps bargain down a little. I am also swayed by two things: original owner, and the fact that these pieces almost never show up for sale around where I live.

New info: volume is "super scratchy" and the tuner is way off in calibration. Should I pass if calibration is needed, recapping, resetting bias etc.?
 
Not knowing where you live, it's a hard call. Too many things enter into it. The fact that they have issues (both) isn't a real positive sign of good things to come.
 
That changes the value.

For prices quoted, I would expect really good working condition gear.

Do you have techs locally who can do a tuner alignment for you? That would be more cost if you take it in for recalibration and tune up. Tuner adjustments usually require specialized equipment and tools and best done by someone who knows what they are doing.

Super scratchy volume - is that the AU-517? If just while turning knobs could be just cleaning.

Regarding bias: there are a couple threads on problems some have encountered with setting bias on the AU-517 so you could have more problems. Not saying you will encounter this but just be aware, this has been the subject of at least 2 threads already.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=313031

So you will have to weigh your skills and willingness to deal with those problems if they occur and additional costs.
 
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The critical thing about the tuner. Make sure FM plays in stereo. And it should be able to pull in stations well with an antenna. Check AM also.
 
bentpencil said:
Not knowing where you live, it's a hard call. Too many things enter into it. The fact that they have issues (both) isn't a real positive sign of good things to come.
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I live in the North Texas/ DFW area.

He is willing to drop the price to $300 for both. I am comfortable cleaning pots, but have read on here that tuner alignment is probably left up to the experts. I can live with the tuner being misaligned (just remember where the stations live on the dial, right?) Perhaps I can counter even lower to make up for any minor issues, or are we getting into potential money pit areas with these surface problems?

Much thanks for all of the advice. AK truly rocks!
 
triumphguy40 said:
I can live with the tuner being misaligned (just remember where the stations live on the dial, right?)
Click to expand...

Since I'm not a tech, I'm not sure, but I believe there's a big difference between a tuner being out of align, and the pointer being off on the dial. The latter is just a string or pointer adjustment. The former takes some know-how.:scratch2:
 
I'm not a tech either but calibration done properly requires an internal adjustment. Somebody in the Sansui or tuner forum may be able to identify the proper coil to adjust. But people have been able to compensate by manually moving string or pointer. My concern was the comment that it is "way off."

That's why I recommended to check other aspects like the Stereo indicator. And if AM works. Do you get a strong signal, tuning centered, etc.

If you don't do eBay, then it may be worthwhile to at least check it out. Hard to make any other recommendations without taking a look at it and see how it sounds and works.

btw The fact he hasn't sold it yet could indicate others are not beating down his door or passed. For $300 I would expect everything was working with no major issues. The risks are yours.

I found the ad, he doesn't show any pics either ... although he says he will send them.
 
If you go look at it, you might check and see if it looks like it's been opened before. Missing screws, twisted slots, etc.
 
Decided to pull the trigger after all. I went to hear them and the tuner wasn't off much and pulled in stations strongly in FM stereo and AM. The pots were indeed scratchy, but both units were in super good shape. I got him to go down to $275 for both. I will post pics soon.

Thanks y'all.:thmbsp:
 
ok that's an alright price. Congrats.

DO NOT mess with the string. They don't age or move themselves. It's likely a slight alignment issue which you can do your self.

Set the bias and dc offset and leave the tuner alone as long as it functions.
 
DCinDC said:
ok that's an alright price. Congrats.

DO NOT mess with the string. They don't age or move themselves. It's likely a slight alignment issue which you can do your self.

Set the bias and dc offset and leave the tuner alone as long as it functions.
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+1

Congrats! :thmbsp:

Yes. That seems a fair price.
You will get sound value in return.

Good advice on the tuner to leave it alone. Sometimes the more you mess with things the worse things get...

As far as the string and pointer, the pointer may be glued down and the danger of loosening the string pulley wheel is it could pop off if you're not careful and unravel from the wheel.

Let us know how it sounds compared to your other Sansuis. If it's what you expected.
 
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