Sansui SR-838 $200 BIN

[kangatoy]

The overall appearance of the turntable is not too bad, but could be better. When the dustcover was pushed down onto the top of the table it left scratches in the right hand side and a weird scuff directly behind the platter. I assume these could be polished out since the piano black seems to be a solid plastic substance. Dust cover is in three pieces. One of the round feet came loose from the spring leg. Worst thou is the back left bottom corner of the of the table is also broken, shattered a thin one inch area off in multiple bits. @#$%!!!!!!! I got the estimate for a new dustcover $150 + $25 shipping. Plus I'll need to send the pieces for a sample for production, since a reproduction dustcover hasn't been done for the Sansui 838 yet. Repair will cost more than the purchas price. Not sure USPS will even cover the damage.

On the up side the turntable does work. Speed may be off a bit but okay. It has an Audio Technica VS200 cartridge on the Sansui headshell, so at least styli are still available. The volume did seem low as compared to a different turntable that was hooked to the receiver we tested it on. I'm not sure if this is normal for this unit or if there is a problem. I'm not going to have it serviced until I'm sure my brother wants to keep it. Given its current faults we might just have to return it to the seller who said they will take it back with a full refund and even pay for the return postage. My brother was so set on this model, I'm not sure he will give it up. Should he?

 

[kangatoy]

oops, I meant to add pictures.

 

[onepixel]

.. The volume did seem low as compared to a different turntable that was hooked to the receiver we tested it on. I'm not sure if this is normal for this unit or if there is a problem. I'm not going to have it serviced until I'm sure my brother wants to keep it. Given its current faults we might just have to return it to the seller who said they will take it back with a full refund and even pay for the return postage. My brother was so set on this model, I'm not sure he will give it up. Should he?

I'd send it back or at least try and get a partial refund. Get an estimated on how much a new cover would be from http://www.turntabledepot.com/ one of AK's vendors. How much more time and money will you need to put into it? Use the estimates as negotiating leverage.

How much lower is the volume? Other unseen things my have gotten damaged. There will be others.

Good luck.

 

[nukeme]

I would definitely try and get a partial refund from the seller. Show him the pictures and tell him that his poor packing resulted in your turntable being ruined. Let him know how much it cost for a new dustcover, if he has any kind of conscience (big IF) he'll refund you at least some of the cost. Let him know that the turntable is NOT as described in his auction. It's hard to tell from your pictures what kind of damage there is to the back of the turntable, but if it can be repaired I would just glue it back together and not worry about it. It's in the back, so who's going to know?

 

[Vinylhammer]

If your brother decides to keep it, a cheaper way to replace the dustcover is to buy a sr-636 and use its dustcover. I was able to find one local to replace my damaged dustcover.

You can also try to glue the dustcover back together with superglue. Might not look that good but should be functional.