Vintage audio guys: Whats a Sansui AU-D7 worth?

[LeeH]

I put it on CL at $50 and had a little more interest than I was expecting.

[creaturecat]

Probably worth 80-100. 80 watts, circa 1981.

[cmccuist]

Here's one that sold in CA just a couple of days ago:

eBay auction for Sansui

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by cmccuist

Here's one that sold in CA just a couple of days ago:

eBay auction for Sansui

Yeah... saw that. That's what lead me to price mine at $50. I think I left a little money on the table.

Well what about a Nakamichi DR-3. It's no Dragon, but still a nice deck:

[Schumi]

Man I would love to take that off your hands, but I'm more in the market for a Rotel system right now...

[LeeH]

OK... here's another. Denon DCD-3520 What's it worth? Have I mentioned that the Goodwill in my neighborhood has REALLY good stuff?

[Chocaholic]

That old Sansui stuff is great gear. I have an AU-717 integrated amp and TU-717 tuner that I bought in the late 70's. It's the heart of our sunroom system and is used at least weekly to this day. Awesome sound. I still lived at home (high-school) when I bought it. I turned 50 last week.

[masraum]

I have an old Sansui Z9000. I think that's supposed to be a pretty good unit.

[imcarthur]

You might not want a reality check but much of that old gear was pretty mediocre & only has value for nostalgia sake. They were built well, with big power supplies & hefty chassis's & the light shows were cool but any good integrated amp (vintage or new) will kick their butt sonically.

Old CD players have no value. Old tape decks about the same. Turntables (not the plastic kind) have more. Amps & preamps (esp tubed) will be the best.

Just saying . . .

Ian

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

You might not want a reality check but much of that old gear was pretty mediocre & only has value for nostalgia sake. They were built well, with big power supplies & hefty chassis's & the light shows were cool but any good integrated amp (vintage or new) will kick their butt sonically.

Old CD players have no value. Old tape decks about the same. Turntables (not the plastic kind) have more. Amps & preamps (esp tubed) will be the best.

Just saying . . .

Ian

Interesting... I had the Sansui hooked up and thought it sounded better than my Pioneer Elite VSX-41 (110W/channel). I agree that MOST old CD players have no value. Look this one up... it's not your average old CD player.

[imcarthur]

I have no doubt that vs a NEW receiver, an old receiver might be better. Japanese receivers of the last 2 decades are built for features - nothing to do with sound quality. Cheap crappy power supplies with cheap crappy output devices for the masses. But compared to a good integrated amp - NAD, Rotel, Cambridge Audio etc etc - well, there is no comparison.

For CD players, there has been some technological improvements. The DACS & improved isolation have led to solid real improvements. The big problem is that lasers will fail & it is never worth repairing an old one. I have an original QUAD CD player & a Denon DCD-whatever in my audio graveyard in my crawlspace.

Ian

[IROC]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

I have no doubt that vs a NEW receiver, an old receiver might be better. Japanese receivers of the last 2 decades are built for features - nothing to do with sound quality.

Interesting to hear you say this. I have an old (?) Denon receiver that I bought new around 1987 and I would swear that it sounds better than much of the newer stuff of the same price range/brands. It seems to me that they paid alot more attention to THD back then?

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by IROC

It seems to me that they paid alot more attention to THD back then?

Yes, they did. This was fueled by the Stereo Review mindset that lower THD = better sound. All through the late 70s & early 80s the race was on for lowering THD. But at the same time there were (and are) amps that measured poorly for THD & sounded wonderful. Specs won't tell you how something sounds.

Ian

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

I have an original QUAD CD player & a Denon DCD-whatever in my audio graveyard in my crawlspace.

From what I've read the DCD players have a strong following today. If yours works it might be worth digging it out. The only price references I can find is one on Ebay with a $300 buy it now price and a guy on an audio forum who was happy to find one for $265. I think the msrp was $1800 on the 3520 with typical retail around $1500 in 1988.

[Rot 911]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

That old Sansui stuff is great gear. I have an AU-717 integrated amp and TU-717 tuner that I bought in the late 70's. It's the heart of our sunroom system and is used at least weekly to this day. Awesome sound. I still lived at home (high-school) when I bought it. I turned 50 last week.

I have the same set up I bought at the PX in Heidelberg back in 1976 and still using it today!

[m21sniper]

I have an early 90s Onkyo rack system with Bose and Cerwin Vega speakers that still sounds great.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

* * *

Old CD players have no value. * * *

Despite that, I will give you five bucks for your QUAD CD player.

[imcarthur]

Haha. It's yours if you want to pay shipping for it, Randy. And it will have to cross the border . . .





It's the Original Quad CD player which they eventually called the 66 (not the highly regarded 67 unfortunately). No chassis screws, no shipping screws, no power cord (I used it for something else sometime long ago) & lots of dust. I do have the remote, however. I bought it wholesale in 1989 - I was the Quad rep at the time. I had a laser repair done once a couple of years later. I have no idea if it still works.

Overall, a fairly dark sounding CD player. It sounded better with the cover removed iirc.

I also have the matching power amp: the 306. But I think that one has an iffy left channel (output is slightly skewed iirc). I'd want a $50 Pelican Parts coupon for that one though . . .

Ian

[kstar]

Some of the old Sansui stuff is special, some not.

I had a SC-1110, AU-317 and the TU-717 that I got in 1978 - even had some Sansui speakers which I think were not so special, but they were "loud" which is all that mattered when I was 12.

This was the black stuff and it was all rack mounted.

I just came across the warranty papers and schematics the other day. That stereo was the most important thing in my life for a while. LOL.

[IROC]

As for "vintage" I have a pair of Advent speakers (the original Advents - not the later Crutchfield crap). I had to re-foam them, but they sound really, really good.