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Sansui XR-Q7 issues

I heard back from my repair tech. He seems to have found the main issue.

“the sensor which detects when the arm is on the rest is faulty. This means the the mechanism is continuously trying to move the arm back

The sensor is a darlington phototransistor manufactured by Toshiba and is unsurprisingly long obsolete. I shall have to either find someone with old stock or try and substitute a modern component. There doesn't seem to be much manufactured now which would be a drop in replacement, particularly as it works on visible light whereas most devices these days use infra-red”

If anyone can help directing me to this part I’ll try and let my repair tech know. I’m hoping this can be fixed. At least it’s not a proprietary IC.

Thanks

Ryan
 
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Interesting. I still haven't been able to get one of my Q9's out, they are buried in the basement. Will work on that over the coming weekend and will try to get some pics up.

Not sure the Q9 and 11 use the same sensor, as I recall them being infrared "slot" sensors (one unit comprised of both an IR LED emitter and a reciever in a black plastic enclosure having a gap between for a metal plate to pass through). However, If the Q9/11 are similar to the Q7, this may open a new possibility for the cause of the malfunction.

If your tech can supply the OE part number, I'll do some digging and see what can be turned up in the dark corners and dusty recesses. I've gotten lucky a few times tracking down long obsolete parts.
 
Sansuiman said:
Interesting. I still haven't been able to get one of my Q9's out, they are buried in the basement. Will work on that over the coming weekend and will try to get some pics up.

Not sure the Q9 and 11 use the same sensor, as I recall them being infrared "slot" sensors (one unit comprised of both an IR LED emitter and a reciever in a black plastic enclosure having a gap between for a metal plate to pass through). However, If the Q9/11 are similar to the Q7, this may open a new possibility for the cause of the malfunction.

If your tech can supply the OE part number, I'll do some digging and see what can be turned up in the dark corners and dusty recesses. I've gotten lucky a few times tracking down long obsolete parts.
Click to expand...

This is the spec sheet he provided me https://www.datasheet.live/index.php?title=Special:pdfViewer&url=https://pdf.datasheet.live/b5702231/toshiba.co.jp/TPS605(B).pdf its called a TPS605

Update

So I’ve orderd these http://pro-electr.net/prod/toshiba-america-electronic-components/tps605/2160573 the website looks kinda sketchy, but I’ve done all checks I can on it and although it says high risk on a checker with it operating out of china, there isn’t anything to link this website to scams or anything directly. They also Allow Paypal payment so at least I can easily dispute any issues with them. Total cost for three was 13 US dollars including shipping, so I’m hopeful its all okay.

If anyone does find any more sources for these parts I would order a few more just to be sure to have a small selection.

Thanks

Ryan
 
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So a bit of an update lol. The items have actually been posted off and so far it seems legit. I am also able to track and all too. They (I ordered 3) will be arriving within the next 10-14 days to my tech guy. Fingers crossed all is okay, he has mentioned there is a chance the parts could be counterfeit, but if thats the case I'll dispute with Paypal.
 
Just heard back from my repair tech and the replacement phototransistors have arrived. So far so good he says they all look legit. He's going to install them over next few days and report back, but he's very confident this will fix my problem and get my TT fully operational again.
 
Hi just got a progress report back from my tech. Seems like it has a lot of issues, but it is in somewhat of a working state now.

Hi Ryan,

Thought I'd give you a progress report. Unfortunately the turntable has a few issues. The good news is that the sensor worked OK and the motor runs. After fitting the sensor the stylus would land above the record but the arm wouldn't lower. The up/down button did nothing either and some of the other buttons were sticking. I dismantled the button assembly and found all the switches had high resistance contacts and the surrounds had come away from the top panel. I re-glued the surrounds and lubricated the switches with switch cleaner. This made little difference although it had obviously needed doing. I dismantled the arm operating mechanism and found one of the microswitches was faulty. I had one in stock so I fitted that. The stylus now lands on the record and the up/down switch works. However there are still some other problems. The start/stop button works to start the unit but once it is playing, pressing the button again does nothing so it can't be stopped that way. Also when the stylus reaches the lead out groove on the record the arm does not lift or return. In addition the 'silent synchrotor locked' light is flickering which I suspect is because the motor bearings are stiff. I need to strip down the motor and lubricate it.

I have spent quite a while on the job so far and I shall have to put it on one side whilst I catch up with a few other jobs but I'll get back to it again in a few days.

Hopefully I'll be able to sort out the remaining problems but it is usable now so we know that there is already a good outcome.

Regards,
 
Thanks for posting the progress on this. Looks like the issue stems from multiple failures, which was what I had been expecting. A bit discouraging I'd say. I'm hoping your tech will get the remaining faults sorted, so you can enjoy this table again. It is a sharp piece of gear, but it sure is tempermental. Perhaps I can glean some insight into my XR-Q9 and 11 problems from all this, though they are just different enough that the fixes for the Q7 won't be directly applicable.
 
Sansuiman said:
Thanks for posting the progress on this. Looks like the issue stems from multiple failures, which was what I had been expecting. A bit discouraging I'd say. I'm hoping your tech will get the remaining faults sorted, so you can enjoy this table again. It is a sharp piece of gear, but it sure is tempermental. Perhaps I can glean some insight into my XR-Q9 and 11 problems from all this, though they are just different enough that the fixes for the Q7 won't be directly applicable.
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Technically it is sort of working, and playing records etc, its just a few further niggles. I’m quite sure it’ll be able to be fixed completely. It is in a usable state at the moment, but obviously not 100 percent working. I imagine the tone arm controls are very complicated and sounds like the Achilles heel of these turntables.
 
Great news all just got the below from my repair tech

Hi Ryan,

Your turntable is now fully working. I can give you details of all the work done when you collect it. The total cost is £104.79.

I’m so hyped to go collect it on Friday
 
If you get a full explanation of the work done, it would be greatly appreciated it you could post it here for future reference. This series of tables are highly sought after but frequently found in non-working condition. Anything we on this forum can do to document successful repairs will be useful towards saving more of these from being written off and junked.
 
There are tone arm sets or singleton available on the Asian auction site.

Price have gone up substantially since the vinyl resurgence began in North America though. :eek:
 
I know the XR-Q7 is fetching serious money these days, working or not it seems. It is an beautiful unit too, with the rosewood finish and matte silver accents on the tone arm and edge of the platter. It certainly looks unique versus the multiple piano black (as nice as they are) and painted silver turntables Sansui produced at the same time. I've wondered why they didn't apply that same look to other models, as it really stands out.

The Q9 and Q11 on the other hand seem not to sell so well, as there reputation for big problems is well known now, or apparently so at least. That they share - in almost every case - a common failure mode that has not yet been successfully repaired with high repeatability, has made them pariahs amongst those aware of this issue.

It's a shame because on general merits of good turntable design, they are excellent units, excepting the failure of automatic, computer controlled features.. If a reliable fix ever is developed, I expect the prices of these two will shoot up considerably.

The curse of the automatic functions aside, they have a very good tone arm and plinth, great aural characteristics, and were clearly aimed at the high end of the mass market based upon their pricing.
 
Sansuiman said:
I know the XR-Q7 is fetching serious money these days, working or not it seems. It is an beautiful unit too, with the rosewood finish and matte silver accents on the tone arm and edge of the platter. It certainly looks unique versus the multiple piano black (as nice as they are) and painted silver turntables Sansui produced at the same time. I've wondered why they didn't apply that same look to other models, as it really stands out.

The Q9 and Q11 on the other hand seem not to sell so well, as there reputation for big problems is well known now, or apparently so at least. That they share - in almost every case - a common failure mode that has not yet been successfully repaired with high repeatability, has made them pariahs amongst those aware of this issue.

It's a shame because on general merits of good turntable design, they are excellent units, excepting the failure of automatic, computer controlled features.. If a reliable fix ever is developed, I expect the prices of these two will shoot up considerably.

The curse of the automatic functions aside, they have a very good tone arm and plinth, great aural characteristics, and were clearly aimed at the high end of the mass market based upon their pricing.
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The Sansui XR-Q5 and XR-Q7 plinth design was probably done by Mirco Seiki.

See Sansui SR-222 MKIV and Sansui SR- 222 MKV designed by Micro Seiki.

You can see the plinth design similarity in the Luxman PD-277 and several others Luxman designed by Micro Seiki.

What they have in common is that Fujiya Audio made them for different companies.

Have not look into who made the Sansui XR-Q9/11, may be in house? :idea:
 
I have to think there was some outside development/consulting done on the Q9 and 11 as well. The tonearm (dynaoptimum balanced) was a rather advanced design and is shared with the Q7, though it was matte silver on the Q7 and matte black on the 9 and 11. The quartz locked speed control on the Q9 and 11 was a complex system and I suspect probably a bit outside Sansui's in house expertise.

The Q11 added an optical track sensing system (IR emitter/receiver on outer end of headshell) to "see" the lead-in space between tracks on a 33. This facilitated programming of tracks to be listened to as in the the older BSR accutrac series tables. Both the 9 and 11 employed advanced (for the time) computer logic and utilized custom MCU's to that end.

If you've ever read the lengthy thread at The Vintage Knob concerning the Japanese contract manufacturing industry and background on "T tag" markings, it becomes evident that Sansui made heavy use of outside contractors and suppliers for components other than amplifiers, which really was their core area of expertise.

So, many of their "greatest hits" had varying degrees of involvement from outside companies that specialized in things Sansui didn't. Micro-Seki was clearly involved in their turntable designs probably from at least the SR-838/929 era, as they did a ton of turntable design and build work for many of the major names of the time.

Really, the SR-838 and 929 represented a big leap forward in turntable design and build quality relative to others Sansui had produced up to that point. I suspect they had outside assistance to do that sort of upgrade so quickly.

The decline came on just as fast though, in that the XP-99 - which was derivative of the XR-Q series, and the immediate successor of same - was the very last high end turntable they offered. Every Sansui T/T after that was obviously downmarket (the dreaded plastic fantastic era) but by that point vinyl was very much declining in popularity anyway with the established convenience of casettes and the beginnings of CD becoming the next dominant listening media. Sure was fun while it lasted, anyway.
 
Sansuiman said:
I have to think there was some outside development/consulting done on the Q9 and 11 as well. The tonearm (dynaoptimum balanced) was a rather advanced design and is shared with the Q7, though it was matte silver on the Q7 and matte black on the 9 and 11. The quartz locked speed control on the Q9 and 11 was a complex system and I suspect probably a bit outside Sansui's in house expertise.

The Q11 added an optical track sensing system (IR emitter/receiver on outer end of headshell) to "see" the lead-in space between tracks on a 33. This facilitated programming of tracks to be listened to as in the the older BSR accutrac series tables. Both the 9 and 11 employed advanced (for the time) computer logic and utilized custom MCU's to that end.

If you've ever read the lengthy thread at The Vintage Knob concerning the Japanese contract manufacturing industry and background on "T tag" markings, it becomes evident that Sansui made heavy use of outside contractors and suppliers for components other than amplifiers, which really was their core area of expertise.

So, many of their "greatest hits" had varying degrees of involvement from outside companies that specialized in things Sansui didn't. Micro-Seki was clearly involved in their turntable designs probably from at least the SR-838/929 era, as they did a ton of turntable design and build work for many of the major names of the time.

Really, the SR-838 and 929 represented a big leap forward in turntable design and build quality relative to others Sansui had produced up to that point. I suspect they had outside assistance to do that sort of upgrade so quickly.

The decline came on just as fast though, in that the XP-99 - which was derivative of the XR-Q series, and the immediate successor of same - was the very last high end turntable they offered. Every Sansui T/T after that was obviously downmarket (the dreaded plastic fantastic era) but by that point vinyl was very much declining in popularity anyway with the established convenience of casettes and the beginnings of CD becoming the next dominant listening media. Sure was fun while it lasted, anyway.
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Agree with your take on the matter. :thumbsup:
 
Just ordered an Nagaoka MP-110 cart for it to replace the aged Ortofon OM10 it currently has installed. I'm assuming for proper cartridge alignment I'm best using the Stevenson Alignment Protractor from Vinyl engine for the Q7? A few people have recommended this, but I'm not really sure. The tone arm on the Q7 is straight and not like the other tone arms on my Toshiba SM-3750 and Pioneer PL-12D TT's.

Cheers
 
Thank you, helpful to see the rundown on what your tech did. That is quite the striking looking table. Actually, I rather like the rosewood and matte silver look over the gloss black used on the Q9 and 11 - sharp looking as it is - but haven't been inclined to spend what it would take to pick up a Q7 yet. Maybe I'll add that to the wish list.
 
[QUOTE="Ryan_1993, post: 12460942, member: 296165]

Here is the fault report along with a video of it working it sounds absolutely awesome and I bet it’s only gonna sound even better once I get the MP-110 Cartridge.

[/QUOTE]

The belt being too tight, who would have thought! :rolleyes:

Glad you got yours working again! :)
 
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