Sansui Product History: Amplifiers 1967-2000
- Thread starter JimEGR
- Start date
@LBPete, regarding these units assembled in Indonesia, I'm curious (provided you know) if they are specifically marked as such (versus "Made in Japan") or if that is being inferred by the contractor marked on the T-Tag having been known to operate specifically in Indonesia. Also wondering if these units were distributed worldwide, or only in Asia/Pacific rim sales area. Would be one of the few known examples of anything Sansui made (in the "golden" era) outside of Japan. Obviously there were a few things made elsewhere even then, like the ES speakers, and later on in the 80's there was a lot of stuff made in Taiwan, and even in the US (cheap rack system speakers).
I ask because this is the first I've ever seen stated that amps were being built outside Japan (before the 1980's, in any case).
ignoramustot
Active Member
On reflection, this makes sense. Kinda similar to the way US automotive companies in that era unveiled "next year's model" in the early fall of the preceding year, e.g. model year (MY) 1978 would have been announced in third quarter of 1977...?Ah yes, I checked the other AU-x900 amp serials & production dates started Nov/Dec 1975 too.
Of course they would have to start building 1976 products before 1976
Great resource, thanks again.
("The 1978 Oldsmobiles are new and improved with more more more fake woodgrain exterior panelling!" )
But seriously, this discussion suggests adding 3-6 months delay onto the start of any year sequence shown in e.g. hifiengine...
ignoramustot
Active Member
This is intriguing - I had no idea Sansui built anything in Indonesia in that period. I believe some other manufacturers had production in Malaysia since the 1980s - maybe Yamaha or Technics?
Given I have an AU-4900, and the proximity of Australia to Indonesia, it would be fascinating to know whether my 4900 (pic of serial attached) came from there. Based on its serial, I think mine was born in 1976?
FWIW my AU-4900 has a Sansui label citing what I assume is the head office location in Tokyo, but seems to have no "Made In Japan" label, or "Made in ...(anywhere)".
As a coincidence, I recently bought a replacement source selection pushbutton for my 4900 from a Sansui parts specialist in the US. He'd been looking out for the button for me for a while, and he sourced that part from .... Indonesia!
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GrisPato
Super Member
On the website Ishinolab it becomes clear that there was a hifi show in November each year where the manufacturer introduced the new models. Only in Japan there were around 2000 hifi shops to be delivered demo models and stock for the start of the sale of new products. So it is easily conceivable that production of some models could start several months before release date.
Keep in mind too that depending on when stock of new models was intended to hit dealers for retail sale, a few months lead time was probably needed due to shipping and logistics limitations back then. Stuff moves around internationally a lot faster now than it usually did 50 years ago. I figure most of Sansui's stock was typically moved by ocean freight, as air freight would not have been utilized due to it's higher cost and relatively limited capacity versus ocean freighters.
Your AU-4900 was built on production line 83 during July of 1986. It was the 555th unit off that line that month.
You can determine where it was built by looking at the back panel. The country of origin will be marked on the back. Odds are it was made in Japan. Also look for a T in a circle called a T-tag. That indicates it was built by a contractor. Many if not all units indicating assembly line 83 were built by contractors.
- Pete
ignoramustot
Active Member
Thanks Pete and @Sansuiman ... I knew there's a logic to these serials but didn't have the link to interpreting it handy. No T tag visible on the back of my unit nor any ”Made in ..." text, either, that I can see. Of course, that may have been lost in the 48 years since then, but the unit seems very original and straight, and the guy from whom I obtained it cared for his fleet of Suis very carefully. Happy to love it, no matter where it was built - it was my "gateway drug" introduction to the joy of Sansui.
I remember well the music of July 1976 because I was in my first year of high school. While most of Australia was deep in its infatuation with ABBA, my classmates and I would have never confessed to that and instead swore our allegiance to "Bohemian Rhapsody" ...
I remember well the music of July 1976 because I was in my first year of high school. While most of Australia was deep in its infatuation with ABBA, my classmates and I would have never confessed to that and instead swore our allegiance to "Bohemian Rhapsody" ...
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@ignoramustot, would you post a picture (or multiple, if needed) of the complete rear panel of the unit in question? I'm curious to see what markings there are. It would be pretty unusual for there to be no marking for country of manufacture. And if it wasn't built in Japan, there's a good chance the country of origin would've been on a sticker, rather than screen printed directly on the rear panel. There may be some other identifying mark, as a numeric or letter code, that might aid in distinguishing this version from those mare in Japan.
ignoramustot
Active Member
Hi. Picture of the back of my AU-4900, as requested. Given the text in Japanese, I'm assuming it was made in Japan. It also bears the standard side sticker attached to Sansuis of this era that were official imports to Australia by the local distributor, so it's a legit import of the era, not an item from another market imported privately later.
Apologies for my not very relevant diversion from the primary purpose of this thread.
Cheers, Rob
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Ok. Looks to me like a pretty bog standard build intended for export to Australia. No T-tag evident, and the Japanese writing is just the speaker impedance warning, which mirrors what is on the English language sticker below it. The lack of a "made in Japan" mark somewhere is curious, not sure why it was omitted, and can't hardly believe it wore off. If it was assembled elsewhere (such as Indonesia), I'd expect it to be marked accordingly, but admittedly I've never seen any thing made by Sansui that wasn't marked as made in either Japan, USA (some cheap 80's speakers, the B-209 tube amp), Taiwan (some mass market gear from early-mid 80's), China (later 80's into 90's mass market gear) or Belgium (for a few speaker models in the 70's).
There were a few oddball units in the early 70's with assembly origins marked as France or The Netherlands, but I suspect these were just units (mostly) built in Japan, and had minor field modifications for a particular destination market requirement (like different tuner bands) that were done under contract with firms Sansui retained to perform such services. May also have been a way to work around anti-dumping laws or tariffs, as such practices were once pretty common.
If there is any Sansui gear built by a contract manufacturer in Indonesia, I've not yet ever seen it. Not that it couldn't have (or didn't) happen, mind you. If such units do exist, I'd like to see them just to get a more complete picture of the various contract assembly arrangements Sansui made.
There were a few oddball units in the early 70's with assembly origins marked as France or The Netherlands, but I suspect these were just units (mostly) built in Japan, and had minor field modifications for a particular destination market requirement (like different tuner bands) that were done under contract with firms Sansui retained to perform such services. May also have been a way to work around anti-dumping laws or tariffs, as such practices were once pretty common.
If there is any Sansui gear built by a contract manufacturer in Indonesia, I've not yet ever seen it. Not that it couldn't have (or didn't) happen, mind you. If such units do exist, I'd like to see them just to get a more complete picture of the various contract assembly arrangements Sansui made.
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Very interesting. It's defiantly made in Japan. Looking at others during that period they rarely have "made in Japan" printed on them. This one is very unique though, it's not a general export model. It's single voltage 240V 50Hz likely built for the Australian market. Rare from a worldwide perspective, I've never seen one like it.
- Pete
- Pete
In case you missed - Made in Tokyo Japan 1976, Assembled in Indonesia by PT. Corona Electronics Corp.
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bolero
Super Member
I don't know about the accuracy of those charts. It looks like they have an AU-4900? in place of the AU-7700
And the serial # database here at AK is probably a better reference for mfr dates