Vintage Amps - Pleasantly surprised


A while back, i was given a non-functional Sansui AU-666, which I recently had restored for sh*ts and giggles. Hooked it up to Rega Aras in my bedroom, using a computer source with a basic NuForce uDac.

Honestly, i was not expecting much out of this combo. However, I am blown away by the sound quality i'm getting out of this extremely modest setup. It shockingly possesses much of the desirable 'audiophile traits' one would typically hope for. I'm not saying it's perfect, but for a 40 year old piece, i'm utterly stunned.

And considering the entire setup cost less than 450 bucks, including stands (excluding computer, but which i had already), i could not have asked for more.

Anyone else with this kind of experience using vintage gear?
loose

Showing 1 response by bill_warriner

Cool thread! Here's my addition: A friend gave me his old Kenwood KA-7150 awhile back cuz he knew I liked audio stuff. After cleaning the switches, I now have it playing in my little office room through some reworked Utah-built acoustic suspension 3-ways that use the little Alnico magnets and simple LF blocking caps on the mid and tweet, upgraded to film caps, of course. I had to replace the woofers with modern compatibles, so not original there either. The source is the computer digital stream into my old MSB Link DAC III and I couldn't be more delighted. Of course I'm listening near field at fairly low levels, but, like the others report, I'm blown away. Bass is clean and deep, with acoustic bass having that punch and clarity I like. Imaging is solid and deep. Good frequency balance botton to top as well. Now if I could get my "big" system to do that at higher levels in the big room...