Goodwill Shopping

[hcruz]

Some lurking at my local goodwill just got me these for $70 which I plan to setup in my garage.


20120416_114428_1024 by hcruz0000, on Flickr


20120416_113958_1024 by hcruz0000, on Flickr


20120416_114151_1024 by hcruz0000, on Flickr

Did a search in Google for the Sansui receiver (Sansui pure power G-9000D8) and got to an eBay auction where they list it with a buy it now of $1200
Have not done any testing on the receiver besides power it on and tuning to FM stations. Also the thing is huge, Did I hit the jackpot with this?

The speakers are Baby Advent II and have rotten surrounds on the woofers. Tweeters seem to be fine.

Can anyone recommend a replacement woofer for the Advents?

Thank you
Cruz.

[mikejennens]

If you're saying you got the speakers and the receiver BOTH for $70, you hit the JACKPOT!!! That receiver is very highly regarded by vintage collectors.
You should get the woofers refoamed on the speakers, don't replace them. There are several tutorials on-line about replacing the surrounds, and it would cost you less to do so compared to buying a suitable replacement. PE sells refoaming kits.
Great find!
Mike

[hcruz]

Great.
Yes, $50 for the receiver and $15 for the speakers plus tax.
I guess you mean this surround kit from PE.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=260-915

Measured the surround on the Advents and seems that the PE replacement is right on the money, and the reviews on the surround suggest that it will be a good match. Still, I'm curious how new surrounds will affect the performance of the speaker.

************************
Well.. In the middle of writing this I noticed that one of the advents had the surround intact so I decided to hook it up to the sansui. Didn’t get any sound so started fiddling with the source knob and boom!!! blew the surround on that one too .

I did get to try it before blowing it up with a lepai amp and after hearing them I'm totally convinced it's worth replacing the surround.

Newbie note:
I have 2 of these http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=290-306. Went to drop them on just for fun but the cut out didn't match, so no fun there.

Before

20120416_130047_1024 by hcruz0000, on Flickr

After

20120416_151445_1024 by hcruz0000, on Flickr

Oh well.. after all surrounds are sold in pairs.

[mikejennens]

I wouldn't worry about new surrounds affecting performance. Replacing them is pretty common practice for vintage speakers with foam surrounds. And... the PE technical support is very good.
There are also kits for replacing the surrounds available on line that come with a CD with an appropriate frequency to play to put the cone in the right position so the surround meets the frame and cone properly. This also centers the voice coil so you don't get any rub when the new surrounds are installed.
Mike

[brenwaterys]

With surrounds that fragile it is better to do them now than do one now and then have to do the other in 2-3 months. As others have said - repair those - don't replace the woofer. The repair is pretty easy and you will have a crap shoot at matching the original woofer specs.

[PWR RYD]

Don't worry too much about the new foam surrounds changing the woofers' T/S specs. The majority of the compliance comes from the spider and only a fraction from the surround.

[denton]

I love those late 70's, early '80s era receivers. If I had that Sansui, I'd match it with something bigger and beefier than baby Advents. Great catch.

[NickJ]

I know this probably makes me completely obnoxious, but if you can sell that Sansui for 1,000 dollars on audiogon or ebay I would sell it and buy an awesome modern discrete amp. Call me unromantic, but technology has moved on, and even though many modern mainstream receivers are more about features over quality these days, there are companies like Emotiva or Parasound that sell great amps and separates for un-inflated pricing.

Someone offered my an old Mcintosh amplifier not so long ago, but I didn't take it because I know that I would have just sold it, and I felt bad about that. Plus it was heavy. Very heavy.

I bet that offer still stands if someone wants to convince me otherwise...

[generic]

I know this probably makes me completely obnoxious, but if you can sell that Sansui for 1,000 dollars on audiogon or ebay I would sell it and buy an awesome modern discrete amp. Call me unromantic, but technology has moved on, and even though many modern mainstream receivers are more about features over quality these days, there are companies like Emotiva or Parasound that sell great amps and separates for un-inflated pricing.

Someone offered my an old Mcintosh amplifier not so long ago, but I didn't take it because I know that I would have just sold it, and I felt bad about that. Plus it was heavy. Very heavy.

I bet that offer still stands if someone wants to convince me otherwise...

If that is worth a grand. Sell it for sure. You could piece together a decent home theater for a grand. TV not included...

[Mark65]

If that is worth a grand. Sell it for sure. You could piece together a decent home theater for a grand. TV not included...

I'd say sell it if it's worth half that. Bet your a$$ if I find a deal like that at a Goodwill, it'll be on eBay THAT NIGHT. Fat chance of that around here though, loads of Emerson, Soundesign, and modern (read cheap) Fisher, etc. is all I've ever seen in my neck of the woods. Same for the pawn shops. Kinda pi$$es me off, actually. But, this is not about me, it's about the OP, and to you I say, seems like 10x to 20x profit is a pretty good day, and putting a unit like that in the garage is heresy, when somewhere there's an audiophile that will give his left nut for that thing.


Mark

[mikejennens]

hcruz,
What do you have for an amp now? It might be that you could keep the Sansui and use it for your amp. If it works well, you might actually have something you really like. Those receivers were known for being well built and sounding great. If it needs work, there are folks on the Audiokarma forum who know those old receivers very well and are always willing to help.
Mike

[hcruz]

I have an onkyo nr509 receiver for HT and I'm sure my wife will veto any swapping because of pandora functionality. I also have a Crown xls 402 that I'm content with so I guess will follow the advised here, this one will go to eBay and I could get another crown.

I'm not familiar with emotiva, how do compare them to crown? All I want right now is decent sound in the garage. Currently I have the little lepai driving outdoor type speakers as a permanent setup.

[hcruz]

BTW the receiver is working perfectly as far as I could tell.

[Whitneyville1]

There's a huge difference in most of today's "150 watt per channel" receivers and that Sansui...it's called RESERVE POWER. You could hook a 2.83 volt light bulb of what ever the rated wattage per channel that Sansui is and walk away until the light bulbs burned out without hurting the amp section. That's why lifting the thing gives you a double hernia. You may need some new filter caps in it, but other-wise, that beast can be handed down to your great-grand-children. It's like the difference in a 427 Big Block, a 429 Side Oiler, a 440 6 Pack and a 2 liter Turbo thing. There's no replacement for displacement. You say you've got a turbo and nitrous and 4 valves per jug on your little motor, BUT, I can do the SAME THINGS to my BIG MOTOR.

[Mark65]

you could get this one...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harman-Kardo...ht_3744wt_1185


It might be a little bit of overkill for the garage, but it's not vintage, so....



Mark

[bkeane1259]

.....somewhere there's an audiophile that will give his left nut for that thing.

LOL.....but yeah, I totally agree. If the OP didn't buy it because he really wanted a "vintage Sansui" then he should very much launch it and buy some new stuffs!!

[generic]

I have an onkyo nr509 receiver for HT and I'm sure my wife will veto any swapping because of pandora functionality. I also have a Crown xls 402 that I'm content with so I guess will follow the advised here, this one will go to eBay and I could get another crown.

I'm not familiar with emotiva, how do compare them to crown? All I want right now is decent sound in the garage. Currently I have the little lepai driving outdoor type speakers as a permanent setup.

Why would you need two crowns? The Crown XLS 402 is a very nice amp. It's what I'm using right now.

The difference between a Crown and a Emotiva is the Crown is a ugly brick work horse and the Emo has a pretty case. I seriously doubt you could actually hear a difference between them, but the Crown has more headroom.

[hcruz]

Why would you need two crowns?.

I don't really need another one but will be nice if I do. The one I have I use it in the garage some times but I also lugg it around doing karaokes with my friends and will be nice to have an amp permanently setup that could go beyond of what the lepai could do. It doesn't have to be a crown, but if mr. sansui pays for it, why not then?

[johnastockman]

I have an onkyo nr509 receiver for HT and I'm sure my wife will veto any swapping because of pandora functionality. I also have a Crown xls 402 that I'm content with so I guess will follow the advised here, this one will go to eBay and I could get another crown.

I'm not familiar with emotiva, how do compare them to crown? All I want right now is decent sound in the garage. Currently I have the little lepai driving outdoor type speakers as a permanent setup.

New tech will get you more functions and a lot of integration. Those Sansui units are tanks and rarely fail. We hardley ever saw one in for repair. A friend still has his 9000 that he bought new and it works great, sounds excellent...for 2-channel music of course. A girlfriend of mine got a 70's-era Sansui at a second-hand store. All it needed was a good exterior cleaning and some Caig sauce in the potentiometers and it works great. Man, I didn't know they were selling for so much. Replace the surrounds on the Advents; I think there are specific surround kits just for those drivers...also for the Large Advent woofers. Although I have taken many Large and Baby Advents and rebuilt them using a DIY design, the original OEM is appealing to a lot of people. If superior SQ is your goal, then a re-purpose would achieve that, but for your needs, go with the surround replacement kits. Just make sure to keep the voice coil centered while doing it, either with that CD that was mentioned or some shims. My first attempt at surround replacement was done without any experience, advice, knowledge or a way to center the coil. The voice coils rubbed after I was done. Some kits come with shims, but you can use strips of playing cards. Good luck, great score!


John A.

[TrickyMike]

Still, I'm curious how new surrounds will affect the performance of the speaker.

I have those exact Advent speakers in my garage. I refoamed them with a PE kit a few years ago and have had great results. Nice score!
X2 on keeping the coils centered. Easy to do, though, via any of the methods mentioned. I used some card stock I had laying around. Also cut the dust cap carefully... wouldn't want to inadvertently cut one of the wires.