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Sansui au 919 Restoration Kit Thoughts

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Dizzy78

New Member
I may be purchasing a restored Sansui au 919, which according to the seller has been fully restored and recapped by a tech using the restoration kit from Hifi Audio

https://hifiaudio.com/restoration-kit/sansui-au-919-restoration-kit

Does anyone know if these seem like quality parts? I don't see the components listed/identified on the webpage, and I'm not knowledgeable enough to assess them by sight.

FYI, though not included in this kit, the black flag caps in the protection circuit were also replaced with new caps from Mauser, and the corrosive glue that secures the large caps has also been removed.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
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Search ak for the site name and see what folks say.

Some kit suppliers are fine, charging a nice premium over the cost of the single items when they are buying in the higher quantities that provide much cheaper cost per part...their profit for doing the work. There are some that provide quality parts similar to the ones we would be from Digikey or Mouser. There are others that use whatever cheap parts they find that fit the specs needed. Then there are the ones that don't ship the parts after getting an order.

If you don't want to build your own order based on the components in your unit and select your parts from those two suppliers and a couple more but generally not ebay unless it is one of the akers selling parts on the bay then maybe a few good reviews will give you the comfortable feeling needed to order a kit instead of placing your own order.

Maybe ask em a question to see if they are responsive. Don't want to be ghosted when you look through your kit and a part not included or some other possible error.

Report back if you do get a kit and let us know how it is.
 
Blue Shadow said:
Search ak for the site name and see what folks say.

Some kit suppliers are fine, charging a nice premium over the cost of the single items when they are buying in the higher quantities that provide much cheaper cost per part...their profit for doing the work. There are some that provide quality parts similar to the ones we would be from Digikey or Mouser. There are others that use whatever cheap parts they find that fit the specs needed. Then there are the ones that don't ship the parts after getting an order.

If you don't want to build your own order based on the components in your unit and select your parts from those two suppliers and a couple more but generally not ebay unless it is one of the akers selling parts on the bay then maybe a few good reviews will give you the comfortable feeling needed to order a kit instead of placing your own order.

Maybe ask em a question to see if they are responsive. Don't want to be ghosted when you look through your kit and a part not included or some other possible error.

Report back if you do get a kit and let us know how it is.
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I did a search before posting but there were no results (at least nothing I found). Sorry if I was unclear, but I'm not ordering the kit, the amp was already restored using this kit.

Many thanks
 
Blue Shadow said:
Search ak for the site name and see what folks say.

Some kit suppliers are fine, charging a nice premium over the cost of the single items when they are buying in the higher quantities that provide much cheaper cost per part...their profit for doing the work. There are some that provide quality parts similar to the ones we would be from Digikey or Mouser. There are others that use whatever cheap parts they find that fit the specs needed. Then there are the ones that don't ship the parts after getting an order.

If you don't want to build your own order based on the components in your unit and select your parts from those two suppliers and a couple more but generally not ebay unless it is one of the akers selling parts on the bay then maybe a few good reviews will give you the comfortable feeling needed to order a kit instead of placing your own order.

Maybe ask em a question to see if they are responsive. Don't want to be ghosted when you look through your kit and a part not included or some other possible error.

Report back if you do get a kit and let us know how it is.
Click to expand...
That's the same guy from "eBay - Hi-Fi-Audio-rocks" from NY that sells "Garbage" volume switches. I had ordered some LED'S, and these worked well. I would open the AU-919 up and start making a list for a Mouser, Digikey order.
 
Get detailed pics of the guts and folks can tell if quality parts were used. It is easy to get them so maybe they are what we would use.
 
The parts on the site look decent to me. But, lets see if that's what's inside yours. Of course you may not be able to see the main caps if the restorer stuffed them.

Rob
 
The price for this amp is really good even if not restored, a steal if it's restored well. In some ways I'd prefer it came stock and handle the restoration myself (pay someone I trust to do it, that is) rather than take a chance on a restoration they may or may not be done well.
 
ghamilton said:
Post this in the sansui section for better results.
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There's a Sansui section? How do I find it? I don't see it listed on the home page.

Edited to note that I found it. Was looking for the word "Sansui" so passed it over when skimming because it's called " Exclusively Sansui." Thanks for the tip!
 
Hi all,

I'm in discussions to purchase a restored AU-919 and was hoping to get some help determining if the restoration work is of good quality. Basically I'm just wondering if there are any obvious red flags here. I realize no one can really judge the work without the actual amp to look at.

Here's what I know...

The seller said the amp was restored by a tech he trusts using this kit from Hifi Audio:

https://hifiaudio.com/restoration-kit/sansui-au-919-restoration-kit

Additionally, he said the black flag caps in the protection circuit were replaced, and the corrosive glue securing the larger caps was removed.

I've attached some pics of the amp below, though I'm not sure how much can be gleaned about the restoration job from these.

The price for this 919 is good for one in stock form, a steal if restored well (I'd actually prefer it to be unrestored at this price if the restoration job isn't good). I don't have any experience fixing vintage gear myself, so would appreciate any advice from the experts here since I know these can be ticking time bombs if not restored correctly.

Thanks in advance!

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It's hard to tell if the PSU caps were changed. Either they weren't changed, or someone went to the trouble of opening the oval sleeves, taking the old cap(s) out, and putting new ones in to make it look original. I'd be surprised if a non-Sansui aficionado tech went to the trouble of hiding new caps in the old oval cap sleeves. So I'd bet they weren't changed. In a way that's good since you could do it yourself and salvage the cap cans. But also, if that's the case, I wonder if the tech actually changed all the other electrolytics, fuse resistors, etc. See if you can get a photo of an itemized work order.
 
I actually decided to pull the trigger on this, or at least I let the seller know -- waiting to hear back, so hopefully no one snagged it already. The price is just so good it will be worth it even if it needs to be serviced again.
 
Dizzy78 said:
I actually decided to pull the trigger on this, or at least I let the seller know -- waiting to hear back, so hopefully no one snagged it already. The price is just so good it will be worth it even if it needs to be serviced again.
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Good looking unit, I hope that it will be yours soon.
Don't know about the kit used but it looks like it covers the most usual replacements that are recommended on some great and comprehensive threads here on AK.

Looks like you can't really lose on this one.
 
From the photo's the trimmer resistors haven't been replaced (debatable if it is really necessary anyway). It will be interesting if you buy it to find out how much work was done on it.
 
Alex22 said:
From the photo's the trimmer resistors haven't been replaced (debatable if it is really necessary anyway).
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This is really a 'must do' in my book. ;)
Alex22 said:
It will be interesting if you buy it to find out how much work was done on it.
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I think I can see some changed electrolytics, but I can't see exactly what they are. (Black & Silver? - Panasonic NHG ?)
 
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Question for those who know more (about) techs than I do. Would a good tech order a rebuild kit rather than sourcing the parts from Mouser, DigiKey, etc. themselves?
 
Guido57 said:
Question for those who know more (about) techs than I do. Would a good tech order a rebuild kit rather than sourcing the parts from Mouser, DigiKey, etc. themselves?
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The seller ordered the kit not the tech in this case. I think it just made sense to use the kit since it was already paid for. At least that's my understanding.
 
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