A few years ago, my dad's stereo broke...
Jstas
Posts: 14,842
...one channel was going in and out and would just pop and/or crackle.
The headphone port gave up the ghost long ago.
The tape monitor switch, the loudness switch and the source selector knob all had issues with the actual switches and ground problems.
Feeling bad for my dad and not wanting to see him have to wade in to the new world of stereo stuff from when he first bought his Sansui 210 in 1972 or so, I called George Grand. I asked him what he had "laying around" that I could quickly and cheaply fill the gap with. A Kenwood integrated and a pair of KLH Model 6's later, dad was rocking again.
My dad asked me what I was going to do with the old one. I told him I would fix it for him.
Yeah, right.
The left channel output circuit was tanked completely and there was nothing across the transformer so it was open (aka: blown). But the PCB that handled the output circuit was also trashed. In addition to the other problems, it was in bad shape.
Another 210 in decent shape that had everything working was surprisingly hard to come by. I stopped looking after a while and just figured I'd source parts when I had more time. Well, I ended up dealing with a divorce and then buying a house and so on and so forth. The Sansui sat there on the shelf looking at me forlornly for a long time.
Then along came Polkfest and George Grand again. He asks me what's the deal and although I know I relayed the story before and told him to keep his earballs peeled for another one in decent shape, it'd been so long I can't remember for sure. Anyway, he laughs at me in his typical fashion and says "I think I got one. Yeah...I got one. You want it? You want it. I'll bring it tomorrow."
George shows up on Saturday with a Sansui 210 in one of his signature plastic bags. He couldn't have had it long 'cause it wasn't yellowed from cigarette smoke and dust from the garage like some his other more cherry deals he's holding on to.
Well, this Sansui was in good shape but left something to be desired cosmetically. Also, the source selector was being held in place by the nut and washer that held the face plate between it.
No big deal. I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth! So I took a bunch of stuff out of George's 210 and swapped some parts in and snagged the left channel and output parts I needed. The rest is in a box as spare parts. I put everything back together and then cleaned it all up.
This picture is my father's 42 year old Sansui receiver. My father bought it when he was 25 when he and my mother moved in to their first house in the Fairview section of Camden. It had a pair of Electro-Voice bookshelf deals with it that need some work on the drivers. That's the next task.
My dad has been helping me out a ton with my house since I don't really have anyone else as crazy as me and willing to tackle such things with reckless abandon.
Now I get to give him something back and maybe not feel so old anymore. So thanks George, I owe you one for making it possible for me to do this for my dad.
It looks and works like it's brand new. Everything from the headphone jack to the tuner dial string being tightened up.
The headphone port gave up the ghost long ago.
The tape monitor switch, the loudness switch and the source selector knob all had issues with the actual switches and ground problems.
Feeling bad for my dad and not wanting to see him have to wade in to the new world of stereo stuff from when he first bought his Sansui 210 in 1972 or so, I called George Grand. I asked him what he had "laying around" that I could quickly and cheaply fill the gap with. A Kenwood integrated and a pair of KLH Model 6's later, dad was rocking again.
My dad asked me what I was going to do with the old one. I told him I would fix it for him.
Yeah, right.
The left channel output circuit was tanked completely and there was nothing across the transformer so it was open (aka: blown). But the PCB that handled the output circuit was also trashed. In addition to the other problems, it was in bad shape.
Another 210 in decent shape that had everything working was surprisingly hard to come by. I stopped looking after a while and just figured I'd source parts when I had more time. Well, I ended up dealing with a divorce and then buying a house and so on and so forth. The Sansui sat there on the shelf looking at me forlornly for a long time.
Then along came Polkfest and George Grand again. He asks me what's the deal and although I know I relayed the story before and told him to keep his earballs peeled for another one in decent shape, it'd been so long I can't remember for sure. Anyway, he laughs at me in his typical fashion and says "I think I got one. Yeah...I got one. You want it? You want it. I'll bring it tomorrow."
George shows up on Saturday with a Sansui 210 in one of his signature plastic bags. He couldn't have had it long 'cause it wasn't yellowed from cigarette smoke and dust from the garage like some his other more cherry deals he's holding on to.
Well, this Sansui was in good shape but left something to be desired cosmetically. Also, the source selector was being held in place by the nut and washer that held the face plate between it.
No big deal. I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth! So I took a bunch of stuff out of George's 210 and swapped some parts in and snagged the left channel and output parts I needed. The rest is in a box as spare parts. I put everything back together and then cleaned it all up.
This picture is my father's 42 year old Sansui receiver. My father bought it when he was 25 when he and my mother moved in to their first house in the Fairview section of Camden. It had a pair of Electro-Voice bookshelf deals with it that need some work on the drivers. That's the next task.
My dad has been helping me out a ton with my house since I don't really have anyone else as crazy as me and willing to tackle such things with reckless abandon.
Now I get to give him something back and maybe not feel so old anymore. So thanks George, I owe you one for making it possible for me to do this for my dad.
It looks and works like it's brand new. Everything from the headphone jack to the tuner dial string being tightened up.
Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
Comments
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Cool of GC to help you out twice, and also very nice of you to give back to your dad. I've done the same in the past couple of years...helping my dad rebuild the system he had in the late 70's that got dismantled and sold during a later divorce. Seeing him play with his old toys again is one of the better feelings I've had the chance to witness.
2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer. -
Old Sansui's are great. I got a au-999 here from 1972.
Unlike a lot of modern gear, pretty easy to work on."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
Looking good John!
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That is a great story!
It is heartwarming in many respects, especially with respect to your doing a good deed for your father and then with respect to what it says about the relationships that have been built over the years on this Forum.
A toast to you, George, and your father. Cheers!Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
John, you a such good son!! Of course George is just himselfVideo: LG 55LN5100/Samsung LNT4065F
Receiver: HK AVR445
Source: OPPO BDP-93
HT: POLK SPEAKERS RTi6, FXi3, CSi5, VTF-3 MK2
2Ch system: MC2105, AR-XA, AR-2A, AR9, BX-300, OPPO BDP-83 -
Equipment History is as follows John:
I picked up the Sansui 210 on 1May2013. I disagree with your cosmetic assessment, it was cherry. I didn't like you before that so it doesn't change anything.
I got the DBX-3 cd player 15Sep02 and gave it to you soon after.
The KLH 17 I got from Planethead Russ in a June'01 even swap for a pair of Polk M-3 outdoor jobs that I got on 7Apr'00. I sold you the KLH on 4Mar'03.
I got the Micro-Seki DD-35 table on 17Dec'10, and sold it you on 19Mar'11.
The Klipsch "Heresy" I picked up on 14May'11, and sold them to you a month or so later.
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George, compared to the condition my dad's was in, your Sansui looked like it walked through the bad part of town wearing golden underwear. It was not in bad shape at all. It was quite lovely! My dad's was just dirty and it cleaned up the way you see in the picture.
Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Just comparing the two was like comparing two Ferraris and arguing which one was better.
However, after digging in to the one I grabbed from you, that one had been gone through by someone. There was stuff missing like heat plates and some nuts that were supposed to hold the tone controls in place. Also, the chassis was held into the case by 4 different screws. I misspoke as well. It wasn't the knob for the tuner that was broken. It was the contacts on the tuner itself. They were repaired at one point and I guess the repair just failed. It was still connected because of the mounting for the knob holding it in place but as soon as I loosened it, the potentiometer that the tuner knob and indicator assembly was attached to was flopping around. I was surprised it wasn't noisier.
It's not big deal though, it's all good. I never meant to imply that you gave me something shoddy. As with everything I've ever snagged from you, it was in the condition described if not a little better. It was in very good shape and I was able to make one 210 that looks and works like new out of the two of them. That was my goal. I had lost time for it as I was dealing with the pile of BS that my life became in late 2012 until June of this year but the whole reason the Sansui was on the rack in the living room was so that I would see it and remind myself to get working on it again. You pulled another rabbit out of your aft regions and offered it without me even prompting. Way cool.
And I grabbed more stuff from you than that list includes. There was gear I grabbed for my dad (Kenwood integrated, KLH Model 6's) and for my ex-father-in-law, Randy. Randy was actually with me when we stopped by. I think I grabbed a CD player and something to drive his Jensen towers with. I also had stacks of KLH 17's in various states of function that came from you and I assembled a working pair for cnh out of them.Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
For which I am eternally grateful. Still one of my favorites, currently living in my Home office on a Marantz Superscope receiver and a Technics TT and CDP! Mellow, musical, warm and you gotta love the "vocals" on these guys!
Looking for a small tube amp to run them on eventually!
Thanks to John and now to George as well! It's all good, guys!
cnhCurrently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!
Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
[sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
