Sansui AU-217 amp

[the record spot]

Just won one of these in rather good nick on Ebay. £33 all in with P&P. Gets a good write-up on other forums, so I'll do a bit of a review when it's all plugged in and up and running. Sounds like it's in excellent condition, so let's hope the sound matches the looks!

 

[matthewpiano]

Nice!! Will be very interested in your thoughts. I'm listening to an even older Sansui at present and thoroughly enjoying it through a pair of 80s KEF C30 speakers. Great amps IMO - very musical and beautifully built. Such a shame the brand name went to ruin. I notice there are some very cheap and nasty looking Sansui mobile phones in China...

I've got a few bits of vintage gear on the way so I'll keep you posted as well!

 

[respe]

I have been using a AU-217 in my office system for about 3 years now. It is a superb little amp, the tone controls are quite gentle, and the loudness switch is great for low level listening. The onboard phone stage is reasonable as well.

 

[chebby]

Good amps in their day.

I almost got one for my first system in 1979 but chose the NAD 3020 instead. (I did have their SR-222 Mk2 turntable though.)

You must try and find the matching tuner in good nick

(Mmmm! Backlit tuning scale and meters.)

It is not an aesthetic/cosmetic match but this little beauty has been sitting on ebay for a while now.

 

[the record spot]

Aha, yes, by an odd coincidence, I picked up the TU-317 a year or so back in near mint condition. Great BIN on Ebay; the seller had refurbished, serviced and stuck it on at about £45 all in.

We have an iffy reception round here and it's not our own place so I can't whack a proper aerial up, so it's on the sidelines just now. Lovely tuning wheel on it though; solid but such an easy rotation on it. What I have heard sounds wonderful and even though there isn't a single preset on it, it is a strong enough argument. Similar to the 217, it has an extra Noise Cancelling switch on the front panel and I think there are some slight differences under the lid.

Nice stuff though; the SR222 was a big deck back in the early 80s - think it went up to the Mark V? The Dual 505 of the day took a lot of the attention from it, but the Sansui had the better build I think.

 

[a91gti]

I had what I seem to recall as an AU919 some years back, 25kgs of great sound and effortless power.

 

[the record spot]

...and that 25kgs is where I'd like to get to one day. Superb amp by all accounts...they go for a small fortune still these days too. A same-vintage Sansui pre/power went for a shade off £800 a month or so back on Ebay.

 

[the record spot]

Well, it's arrived, it's arrived (to paraphrase Colin Clive)!

Not going to say much at this point, except it's in really rather good shape given the age, heavyweight little thing, not insubstantial at all and easy on the eye. Looks bigger in real life than I expected, wider and deeper than the NAD its' taken over from just now.

One big thing though, the smell of smoke. Not a dig at smokers (my parents both smoked, though I never followed the family tradition) but an annoyance nevertheless.

Just powered it up and it's working away as I type; will post up a thought or two in a day or two when it's been running a while. Out the box, it's got an open and pretty detailed sound. Reveals a few layers in a couple of tracks you don't pick up as well from the NAD. Not as deep, but not short on bass either. Probably fair to say more well defined at this point. Not bad for a tad over £30.

 

[chebby]

Expecting a 30 year old amplifier to have never been exposed to smoke would be a tall order.

This is a nice antidote.

 

[the record spot]

Oh yep, wasn't expecting that, but airing the thing to lessen the impact would be a step in the right direction. I had a similar problem with a mains conditioner last year, but that's pretty much alright now. Not a major quibble and it'll go in time.

(£18.50 for fragrance? Have they never heard of Glade, or better still an open window?!?

)

 

[the record spot]

Well, had it up and running for a couple of days now. I've been quite surprised by the amp, it leans towards the brighter end of things more than I anticipated. Partnered by my trusty old 752s and Marantz SA7001 KI, there is a very open presentation, quite airy to some degree and with a good soundstage to the music.

The speakers benefit from a little toeing-in, which I haven't done for some time, they normally point straight ahead, but this has tightened up the bass which seemed to sit back in the mix.

Detail is very good, much better than I expected; the NAD is a very musical little amp, but forensic isn't a word you'd apply when describing the sound. The Sansui is much nearer this but retaining a good grip on the music. I've found myself looking up at times and realising there were elements in the music I'd not really heard of late - a good thing IMO. Voices are well presented and retain a lifelike touch. Bass lines are followed accurately and bass pedals accurate without becoming boomy.

The trade-off (yes...!) is that treble; music with a lot of high frequency stuff going on starts to get a bit unruly. The amp can do volume well enough (40/wpc) but gets a bit shouty/screechy depending on the amount of high frequency going on. There are tone controls and a high frequency filter, though I haven't really used either and are set to neutral or "off" accordingly.

Build quality is excellent - no quibbles here, the amp is weighty and the tone controls are satisfyingly solid in operation. Condition is well above expectation given it's over 30 years old now in this example. There are no options to add a separate power amp alas.

If you're like me and on a very tight budget, or just interested in older kit, this is well worth shortlisting and trying out. Mine cost me £33 including delivery and for that money it's a steal. Performance is up with the Marantz PM6010-KI, so think around the £400 mark. Not too far off the Audio Analogue Puccini SE I tried a few months back either, and that one clocked in at the £800 mark or so, but the treble on that model is very sweet.

This amp would work in a set-up where either the source or speakers are a little on the warm side. I might avoid earlier Cambridge Audio CDPs for instance given their tendency to brightness. All that said, the 217's punchy, has a good grip on the music and makes an excellent used buy. There's plenty of them out there currently and the n17 series is worth checking out given you're likelyu to clock this one in for less than £50. Get one in decent shape and you're definitely on to a good thing.