That is a phenomenal pictorial on the proper tear down and restoration of these switches. Seeing how these right angle lever/toggle type switches were made, this brings home just how much quality of feel was lost when Sansui abandoned their use about 1980, starting with the AU-X1, and began using exclusively push and rotary switches from that point onward. Their use on the professional and definition series line lent those models a particularly satisfying and solid feel in operation.
This type of switch had far superior tactile properties, and just exuded quality that isn't found with other more common and less costly types. And to think that at one time nearly all the Japanese majors made extensive use of these in their tuners, amps and receivers. Then about 1979-1980, they were phased out entirely.
I do wonder if it was forced on them by the supplier (most often being Alps) choosing to discontinue their manufacture, or if they had just become too costly to justify their continued use in new designs. Either way, it was a loss to the overall quality of the human interface factor.
I've also wondered if these switches were dropped because the original tooling used in their manufacture was near EOL after many millions of such switches being produced during the 1970's, and it was decided not to incur the cost of replacing it all. I would love to know, as they went away quite abruptly.
