Question Is a good Sansui Au2900 worth anything over 100 euro’s

[AJM1981]

Above..

And the fun and obstacles of online thrift stores or collectors with amplifiers.

I must admit that sometimes I am looking what is going round. Found my current Pioneer SA5300 of my second setup this way for a bit and have it fully restored. I never want to start collections, so if I would buy one I would sell the Pioneer.

But then the question

I found online a serviced edition in good optical state Sansui Au2900 for about 180 euro’s. Probably not near mint as the example above shows, but getting there . A mint one adds another hundred on the market (280 euro).

So in the bubble of the make and type market it is not a bad thing. But it is in a price range that I would think, if it would be till 100 euros I would probably do it. If “a product” be a 1000 euro market value and desirable I would drive a bit farther to audition it, but now it is a bit in the twilight zone.

The doubt in that I might like it or that I would virtually swap a “golden age” Pioneer amp for a same “golden age era” Sansui amp for the purpose on hindsight of seeing a different amp; as in.. they might sound-wise be almost identical. And if it is Quad (owned one), Rotel or Sansui. I am not really into the museum-side of things of emotional value and don’t want to start there either.

Do or don’t? Or the same doubts?

Any lights for this to shine on from an experience point of view?

 

[aversaurus]

I've owed most sansui amps was a bit of a collector at one time .and the au 2900 is ok not great and wouldn't spend big bucks on it

 

[AJM1981]

I've owed most sansui amps was a bit of a collector at one time .and the au 2900 is ok not great and wouldn't spend big bucks on it

Thanks for the advice. What was your favourite out of a similar range?

 

[aversaurus]

Loved the legendary au 101 and the au 417 most sansui amps up to the au919 are really good there's not a bad one really

 

[gasolin]

You can see by the prices that it's much more worth than 100 euros, especially in mint condion, spare part and 1 hour of service might cost close to 100 euros

Used sansui au-2900 for Sale | HifiShark.com

Used Sansui Au-2900 for sale on 300+ second hand hifi sites & shops. Use Hifi Shark to monitor pricing and global availability

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[AJM1981]

You can see by the prices that it's much more worth than 100 euros, especially in mint condion, spare part and 1 hour of service might cost close to 100 euros

Used sansui au-2900 for Sale | HifiShark.com

Used Sansui Au-2900 for sale on 300+ second hand hifi sites & shops. Use Hifi Shark to monitor pricing and global availability

www.hifishark.com

When I would be a collector, you would be right. But in this case I value his opinion in experience more than a trade based opinion. I could get such an opinion from the seller as well.

I have owned a Quad set and a Harman Kardon amp which were quite fixed in good trade value. There is emotional value to a brand like the looks, the lettering, the details (fonts used, design elements), the “build quality”, the weight and the ‘path to the sound’ (fun fact: collectors like both long paths and short paths) And most important; the back story.

My experience is that these things count much more than how an amp sounds (not to confuse with stating it is not important). People like to admire a piece of gear while listening, it is the emotional value that sometimes makes the gear sound even better than it does.

An amp like the Braun Atelier is not special at all in its own right. You could get them in a dozen on the second hand market for dead cheap around 2000 - 201x. Till traders used the “designed by Dieter Rams” card. Who was only recognised broadly after Jonathan Ive praised him as his inspirator. Prices skyrocketed. Bit of a Banksy amp.

Sansui of this period is not like that, more like Quad and Pioneer in the 70s (Pioneer also had a similar top range). But that does not mean I would buy those brands blindly these days.