Sansui 790 receiver.

aloutah
aloutah Posts: 241
edited August 2010 in 2 Channel Audio
I was thinking of picking one of these up. I really dont know too much about it and wanted some input from any members who have experience with them. I know its a euro version (black face) of the sansui 7070, which I also have no experience with. I have heard that it has 60 watts per channel. I have never owned a Sansui at all actually, but have owned several Kenwood, Pioneer and Marantz (2215, 2240, 2270) from that era. How Does Sansui compare, in general to these other brands? For instance the 2270 at 70wpc vs the 790 at 60wpc? Also any idea of the current value of this unit in good condition? Any opinions, experiences, etc would be appreciated. Thanks!
Post edited by aloutah on
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  • agfrost
    agfrost Posts: 2,428
    edited August 2010
    Sansui made some really good units back in that era. I'm a fan of the overseas-market blackface units, many of which seem to have been bought by US military men of the era.

    My experience with vintage stereo is pretty limited--although I did just pick up a Sansui TA-500 locally that I've been enjoying a lot, at 50wpc.

    Search over at audiokarma, or ask your question on the Sansui forum there, and you'll get feedback from a lot of people with experience and opinions! My opinion is, if the price is decent and you like the look, it's worth a shot. There's definitely enough of a market that you can move it again if it's not your cup of tea.

    Jay
    Jay
    SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
    Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
    Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    edited August 2010
    That TA-500 look something like this...?

    http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ele/1895012618.html
    HT SYSTEM-
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    Cables-
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  • agfrost
    agfrost Posts: 2,428
    edited August 2010
    tonyb wrote: »
    That TA-500 look something like this...?

    http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ele/1895012618.html

    It's from the ivory-faced Sansui tuner era (As in TU-717, etc), but is a receiver. It's not called a receiver, rather "Tuner-Amplifier". Great-looking IMO.

    Picture of it here: LINK

    That one's not mine, I've got to try to find a replacement volume knob--Good luck to me on that one.

    Sorry for the threadjack, Aloutah.

    Jay
    Jay
    SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
    Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
    Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0
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  • aloutah
    aloutah Posts: 241
    edited August 2010
    Well I decided to pick it up anyway. I havent had a chance to play with it much, but its a beautiful piece. The guy bought it when stationed in germany in the 70's. It doesnt have a scratch on it, the lights all work, and has the original box etc.. I also picked up the rest of his gear, a pair of hpm 60s and a old pioneer PL-A45D turntable, all with original boxes.
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  • agfrost
    agfrost Posts: 2,428
    edited August 2010
    Nice. I've enjoyed having a little vintage hi-fi diversion, and just picked up a Pioneer PL-610 table.

    Enjoy your new acquisitions!

    Jay
    Jay
    SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
    Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
    Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0
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  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
    edited August 2010
    You want sweet vintage? Any of the old KLH receivers has sonics that are out of this world. I don't know if they are ruler flat cause Kloss liked to tinker with the sound of everything by ear. They don't offer a great deal of power, cause I think I had the most powerful one ever made, the Model 52A at 33wpc. If the unit is operating properly, it is the closest you will get to tube amp sound from a solid-state receiver.

    I move those vintage pieces a lot, so they're here a lot. They get listened to before they get shipped out. Sometimes I don't ship out the vintage Onkyo. I like those. Everything else, Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood, Technics, Yamaha, etc., etc., goes.
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  • aloutah
    aloutah Posts: 241
    edited August 2010
    Does anyone have experience with the Sansui 790? I appreciate the opinions about klh or onkyo, but really not what I was asking in this thread.
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  • agfrost
    agfrost Posts: 2,428
    edited August 2010
    aloutah wrote: »
    Does anyone have experience with the Sansui 790? I appreciate the opinions about klh or onkyo, but really not what I was asking in this thread.

    I still think that you'd get a lot more people to talk to you about the 790 if you brought your questions over to audiokarma.org, there's a huge vintage community there, and a Sansui-specific subforum. Doesn't appear that anyone here has direct experience with that model; that won't be the case over at AK.

    Best,

    Jay
    Jay
    SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
    Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
    Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited August 2010
    You mentioned that it's a Euro version. Make sure your voltages match. If not, you'll need a converter.
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  • agfrost
    agfrost Posts: 2,428
    edited August 2010
    organ wrote: »
    You mentioned that it's a Euro version. Make sure your voltages match. If not, you'll need a converter.

    Good point. I believe that many of these have jumpers internally that allow you to select the correct voltage, but you'll want to investigate.
    Jay
    SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
    Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
    Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0
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  • aloutah
    aloutah Posts: 241
    edited August 2010
    Actually it is set up for usa voltage. From what I understand, you just switch the fuse to go back to 220
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  • aloutah
    aloutah Posts: 241
    edited August 2010
    I was unaware that there was a Sansui forum there. I had posted in the solid state forum and had little response. I just re-posted on the AK Sansui forum. Thanks
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