Topic: Surplus amps

[sandawa]

conservatively rated at 30 to 35wpc; early '70s, thus, beware of capacitor problems; i have an L-505V from that series that sounds different from my other Luxmans and SS gear; tends to mimic my Sansui AU-70 (valve) which came out in mid-60s.

[Lord Foo]

Someone (MB88) is selling a Luxman L58A Int Amp and Luxman T50A Tuner right now at tje Classifieds section. The l58a is a 100wpc model he said.

And no, i have no knowledge about these Luxman models. What i have is a soft copy of the L58a operations manual .  In fact sometime ago I posted a query at the Luxman egroup re: your amp... nobody responded yet.

[mandrake]

Paging Sir Mandrake ... reviews for AU-D907X DECADE

Sorry Mel ngayon ko lang nakita 'to   Been busy with other stuff...(check my signature)
Anyway, I don't think I'm qualified to do a review.  I've owned only three stereo amps including this jewel and I've never done any so called "critical listening" (di ko ata alam pano un?) so I don't have that much experience.  Mahirap na magsalita.  Bottom line is I like it.  My cd player is at least ten years old, my speakers are older; they've never sounded better than now that I'm using the Sansui with them.  Is it for sale?  Not at any price

[rascal101]

Tama ka Sir Mandrake, mahirap na magsalita 

Oo, yung mga AU-D907XX series na iyan for keeps talaga. Speaking of Sansui, sayang iyung nakita kong AU-X1 sa Pier (a few months ago) at naka-reserve na nun abutan ko.  :'(
Sana may lumabas pang ganun at matama sa pagbisita ko.

[mandrake]

Oo, yung mga AU-D907XX series na iyan for keeps talaga. Speaking of Sansui, sayang iyung nakita kong AU-X1 sa Pier (a few months ago) at naka-reserve na nun abutan ko.  :'(
Sana may lumabas pang ganun at matama sa pagbisita ko.

 AU-X1 Wow!... type ko din yan.  Is this it sir?  How much naman ang quoted price, if you don't mind?

[dana]

AU-X1 Wow!... type ko din yan.  Is this it sir?  How much naman ang quoted price, if you don't mind?

Muntik na ako magkaroon nyan, but I chose the AU-9500.
http://www.classicsansui.net/Integrated%20Amplifiers.htm

I was ignorant at that time (until now, medyo less na lang ). Besides, the AU-X1 i saw doesnt have nice faceplate prints (burado mga prints because the tindero used wipeout,,,beware of using this, use only the MC brand, mas mild yan).Cgurado, pag may naligaw ulit nyan sa harap ko na ok sa alright (price and condition), wala ng kawala yan .

Anyway, jackpot na rin pala ung AU-9500, black faced nice sounding SANSUI.

Critical Listening, pano nga ba yun ? If we take it seriously, baka unending SARS ang punta natin nyan.Just enjoy the gears & the music we like, my unsolicited advice.

Maganda rin ung mga Sansui toy amps ni Rascal at Mandrake,sana magkaron rin ako nyan.

Mandrake, ganda signature natin ah. Di ko pa nasetup ung sakin, istorbo trabaho...

[Lord Foo]

Aba puro Top of the Line Sansuis and pinaguusapan niyo ah...

Puro nakakainggit yan guys... Sir Dana congratz on ur au9500, I have a little brother of that model, an AU7500 lang and its quite good already and to think the 9500 is THE BEST of the series. Nice...

I also have an aud707xdecade and its very very good. The x907xdecade must really kick ass!!!

[mandrake]

Mandrake, ganda signature natin ah. Di ko pa nasetup ung sakin, istorbo trabaho...

Tama ka Don... nung nagaaral pa ako istorbo naman ang school

Aba puro Top of the Line Sansuis and pinaguusapan niyo ah...
Puro nakakainggit yan guys

Talagan sinuwerte lang siguro kami... ang ganda ng 9500 ni Don... ang kinis pa... nakakainggit talaga   But I've seen fotos of your collection sir.... that's a different level altogether

[audiojunkie]

sabi ng iba Sansui ay sansunog daw? totoo ba e2?   
4me don't  believe depende sa paggamit yan. ..   

[ATJr.]

sabi ng iba Sansui ay sansunog daw? totoo ba e2?   
4me don't  believe depende sa paggamit yan. ..   

i owned a repair shop in the late 80's up to 1994 before working as an OFW, 90% of the amps that went in to my shop were sansuis' that is why the term sansunog was coined by bert, also a shop owner in raon...at that time most of the units came from saudi, plastic sides, gray metal tops, lawanit bottoms, silver facia..

problem then was the prolifiration of fake replacement transistors, which burnt out as soon as we put them in.

bottom line, brand alone does not tell much about a product, there are products for the mass market at low prices, there are products for export, and then there are high-enders, top of the line.

except for the 100volt ac ratings, i would say amps from the pier belongs to the upper class of japanese manufacture...

finally let us not forget those owners, who for not knowing any better, punish and push their amps to the limits...they have the biggest hand in all this...

[Lord Foo]

i owned a repair shop in the late 80's up to 1994 before working as an OFW, 90% of the amps that went in to my shop were sansuis' that is why the term sansunog was coined by bert, also a shop owner in raon...at that time most of the units came from saudi, plastic sides, gray metal tops, lawanit bottoms, silver facia..

problem then was the prolifiration of fake replacement transistors, which burnt out as soon as we put them in.

bottom line, brand alone does not tell much about a product, there are products for the mass market at low prices, there are products for export, and then there are high-enders, top of the line.

except for the 100volt ac ratings, i would say amps from the pier belongs to the upper class of japanese manufacture...

finally let us not forget those owners, who for not knowing any better, punish and push their amps to the limits...they have the biggest hand in all this...

My brother tells me the situation with transistors in Raon is stil the same...FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE.
At least with fake TSHIRT and FAKE DVDs, they work...FAKE transistors may take other parts of your TOTL units when they blow.

[accastil]

pre, heard from ding dong that you were into hi fi home audio din pl....done n b ang set up or work in progress pa?

if you need anything at all. let me know, bk makatulong lang. i have lots of gears for sale kaso most of it sold na. kung alam ko lang sana naialok ko sayo. all customers are now happy and proud owners naman
also know a few na may mga gears din na for sale.

minsan sama ka kay dingdong for a session. kya lang im not sure kung hilig mo din ang vocals, soft jazz, instrumentals....ganito kc type of music ko.

grabe ang hobby nato pre. it never stops...mas malala pa sa shabu e

[karipas]

Hi Sir Accastil,

Thanks. Sent you PM.

[reynold]

Got this babies last saturday sa bodega surplus shop sa Malabon... Onkyo Liverpool D-200II... ang masasabi ko lang, panalong-panalo at its price,,, it's a steal!!! hehehe 

Meron lang mga minor scratches, konting dent dun sa isang tweeter, pisa pareho yung black sa gitna nung speeker (di ko alam kung ano tawag dun e) and wala na yung cover ng speeakers w/c is mas ok tingnan,imo 

But lahat ng ito ay walang masamang epekto sa napaka-gandang tunog nya at elegante pa rin tingnan 

here's the link... ganyang-ganyan pag walang cover 

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/96649078

anyone here na may idea sa current price nito??? 

[chocovim]

sir reynolds,

sama ako next time na punta ka sa surplus shop sa malabon!

regards,

chocovim

[reynold]

Sure sir Chocovim 
Naka-swerte lang, napadaan ako last saturday, naka-bike nga lang ako e, kaya hirap na hirap ako pauwi kasi medyo mabigat, sumasabit tuhod ko sa box, hahaha pero sulit yung pagod 

Basta sabihan mo lang ako  Konti lang kasi mapipili ngayon dun e, puro cabinet, sofa at bed ang tinda, konti lang electronics, pero pag naka-tyempo ka. swerte-swerte lang talaga 

[rascal101]

Got this babies last saturday sa bodega surplus shop sa Malabon... Onkyo Liverpool D-200II... ang masasabi ko lang, panalong-panalo at its price,,, it's a steal!!! hehehe 

Meron lang mga minor scratches, konting dent dun sa isang tweeter, pisa pareho yung black sa gitna nung speeker (di ko alam kung ano tawag dun e) and wala na yung cover ng speeakers w/c is mas ok tingnan,imo 

But lahat ng ito ay walang masamang epekto sa napaka-gandang tunog nya at elegante pa rin tingnan 

here's the link... ganyang-ganyan pag walang cover 

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/96649078

anyone here na may idea sa current price nito??? 

Sir dapat sa surplus speakers ito.

[reynold]

Sir dapat sa surplus speakers ito.

ooopppsss... my bad... sorry, nalito lang po 

[dana]

Aba puro Top of the Line Sansuis and pinaguusapan niyo ah...

Puro nakakainggit yan guys... Sir Dana congratz on ur au9500, I have a little brother of that model, an AU7500 lang and its quite good already and to think the 9500 is THE BEST of the series. Nice...

I also have an aud707xdecade and its very very good. The x907xdecade must really kick ass!!!

Hi Sir Foo, thanks.i think it all runs in the family...i mean, the Sansui_500 series .
Another forum member recently got himself an AU9500 too...paging Markmalists(san mo nga nakuha?) 
Btw, recently got hold of another black faced Sansui beauty, an AU777 ....what more can I say, another fantastic find/sound .

[aHobbit]

Tama ka Sir Mandrake, mahirap na magsalita 

Oo, yung mga AU-D907XX series na iyan for keeps talaga. Speaking of Sansui, sayang iyung nakita kong AU-X1 sa Pier (a few months ago) at naka-reserve na nun abutan ko.  :'(
Sana may lumabas pang ganun at matama sa pagbisita ko.

I came across the AU-XII. It's really big amp. Its available for me to purchase in pier area before, the price: 7k. If I got good reports on its reliability, I could have bought that. But thanks to the internet, I know better (straight from the SANSUI service engineer). You should thank yourself, you didn't get one.

[rascal101]

Thanks for the advice but for sentimental reasons I would still buy one even with some issues in reliability. Siguro naman as long as operated within specified conditions wala naman magiging problema. My understanding is the Sansui became notorious in this regard before because people were overloading it. If I recall, the total impedance of speakers used was less than what it was rated.

For the Sansui AU-D907F amp I have, if I use 6ohm speakers the amp trips when volume reaches 1:00 position. No such problem if I use 8ohm speakers. In the datasheet, this amp is rated for 8ohm speakers. Further, I also notice that the amp gets very hot. So it can be that issues with Sansui amps were because of poor ventilation and use of lower impedance speakers than what is rated.

[sandawa]

To generalize that the Sansui AU-XII has a reliability problem is wrong. I have been using one in my living room for four years now and no problem whatsoever. I have a friend here in Davao who got his AU-XII two years ago and he also has no problem. Only a couple of modified units of AU-X1 distributed in US and Europe were claimed to have problems -- as per previous discussions in Audio Karma and Audio Asylum. No literature from Japan said AU-X1, or AUXII, has instability problems. AU-XII was only sold in Japan, 100 volts, no such model came out in US or Europe.

BTW, my latest noteworthy acquisition here in Davao is a Luxman L-550X (the replacement model was L-570) -- Class A, 50wpc. Very very hot and sounds so good -- only the Sansui Alpha 907i-Mos Ltd could beat it. It's certainly better than the AU-XII, Accuphase E-302 and NEC-A10 IV. Brand new price in early '80s was 269,000 yen, current resale at about 70,000 yen, about the same figure as Alpha 907i-Mos Ltd.

[karipas]

Hi Sir Sandawa,

Congratulations to your new acquisistion!

Sir Ahobbit,

Today there is an AU-X1 for sale at e-bay $900, sayang...sana I also get lucky as you guys to come accross to such models. We are still lucky here in the Phil we have chance to own these expensive gears very cheap.

Sana swertehin din tayo Sir Rascal.

[Titanium]

Hi, I have a luxman L510 x. I love the sound of luxman. Its been with me for 3 years , no problems so far. If you find a good luxman nowadays, grab it, nothing in its class beat the sound of luxman, in my own opinion of course. My set up is luxman L510 x for ampli, tono pre amp, arcam cd73T cd player and a spendor S3/5 for speakers. Its a very good combination and I have not upgraded for the last 3 years and maybe forthe next 5-10 years.

[Lord Foo]

I was just using a Luxman m120a and a Sony VFET TA5650 the past weeks with a Yamaha NS1000m.
I still love the Luxman M120a... but somehow, with the the Yamaha monitor...the VFET (just recently replaced with new crystal diodes and the bias adjustted) is a more astounding amplifier. I can't bring myself yet to reconnect the Luxman m120a to recheck my comparison with the VFET.

[rascal101]

Sir Lordfoo,

Nakakainggit naman iyang VFET at Yamaha NS1000M mo.

[aHobbit]

To generalize that the Sansui AU-XII has a reliability problem is wrong. I have been using one in my living room for four years now and no problem whatsoever.
...

congrats then, it survive those years!

I may not experience it first hand ... but the analysis is grim ... not because it has bad design flaws ... but in fact, it is too fast an amplifier ... too fast for its own disadvantage ... ready to oscillate at small signal anomaly ... but rascal have good reason ... indeed a work of art to brag about ... unusual size, seldom you can see, and the parts worthy to keep ... would rather have the 907MOS though ... if you spot another, kindly alert me and will readily fly davao that very day  Pier is not as exciting as before in terms of good heavyweight amps ... been there many times lately, and typically, is now a waste of time browsing the area.

[Lord Foo]

Sir Rascal, thank you for your comment on my Ns1000m and VFET. I am quite contented with those two units.


You are right aHobbit, the last few times i've been to the Pier, I went home empty handed. This is the state of affairs Sir Sandawa forewarned as about. Japanese excess units are now probably now being shipped to China and India. In fact even at the pier, i've seen some Asian Sailors picking out the better units with their USD Cash on Hand.

About amps getting hot, people have been telling me that some of the amps i own really run hot normally. However, i've noticed that when i've been able to secure a service manual and my brod was able to set the bias , dc offset correctly, the amps starting running cool. IN fact even the sony VFET which was claimed by some guys at the AK to run normally hot, runs very cool now. I have even fallen asleep  with the amp running on a tuner and when I touched it in the morning... it was just very very slightly warm you can just slightly feel the warmth.

v

[Weng!]

I was just using a Luxman m120a and a Sony VFET TA5650 the past weeks with a Yamaha NS1000m.
I still love the Luxman M120a... but somehow, with the the Yamaha monitor...the VFET (just recently replaced with new crystal diodes and the bias adjustted) is a more astounding amplifier. I can't bring myself yet to reconnect the Luxman m120a to recheck my comparison with the VFET.

sir lordfoo,

saan mo pina repair ang sony vfet? meron kasi akong pinsan na may sony ta-4650 vfet amp na binigay ng ermats nya galing US, nabili sa garage sale. matagal ko na tong inaawitan pero di ko pa nakuha dahil wala akong pampalit na amp sa kanya. di mahilig sa audio ang pinsan ko kaya wala siya pake sa vfet amp, lalo pa antique look na. ngayon di na raw gumagana, kaya bigay na nya sa akin nalang na walang kapalit saan ko kaya to pagawa? i am based in ormoc at takot ako na ipagawa sa mga tech dito baka lalong maging junk. sana di ang vfet ang sira kasi obsolete part na daw to.

[Lord Foo]

Sir Weng,

My Brother knows a bit about electronics. He didn't actually repair the Sony 5650. What he did was follow the Service Manual instructions (and reading on the net regarding the vfets0 on how to adjust the bias and dc offset setting of the amplifier which has strayed from the factory settings from the time the unit was produced. Then he replaced the diodes which AK gurus claim are the cause of permanent damage to the transistors. It is said that if the VFETs are gone, the amplifier is just a Huge Paperweight. He still has my 4650 which was already adjusted but still has problematic pre-amp section.

Actually, he didnt follow the advice of the AK gurus exactly who recommend a bias setting above 0. He set it to full 0 to totally avoid the heating problems.

By the way I have a soft copy of both 5650 and 4650 service manuals if you are interested. Your technicians will need these to work on the vfets. My brod couldnt do anything about the adjustment till he obtained a copy of the SM's.

Also, my brod mentioned that although the 5650 is more powerful than the 4650, he connected the power amp section to another pre-amp to bypass the problematic preamp of the vfet to test the unit.

He claims that the 4650 sounded as good as the 5650. It is thus a rare unit that deserves restoration.

Now as to whether he will accept non-brother projects, i still have to check with him.

I am based in Quezon City.

Foo