The stock unit sounded bass heavy with some high frequency roll-off. Details are semi 'veil-ed'. The stock AU-4400 had a more balance presentation but lack the punch of the AU-217. Personally I prefer the AU-4400 to the AU-217.
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| Front |
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| Rear |
Once recapped, the AU-217 can be a real shocker! Most of my visitors who heard it though it was atleast a 70-90W RMS per channel unit as it was able to make my Celestion SL6S sing with ease - packs a much bigger punch than the Arcam Alpha 8 power amp of 50W RMS per channel!
The quality of reproduction is heavily influence by the four 100uF 50V caps which are arranged in a 'L-shape' next to the large PSU caps. The other influential EC caps are the two 470uF 50V caps near the middle of the motherboard.
Please note there is a group of ceramic caps on the opposite side of the amp (away from the transformer) which influence the HF and should be replace with caution.
On my AU-217, replacing the large PSU caps resulted in extremely minor improvements.
In the past, the unit was only slightly warmish after running the unit for atleast 8-12hrs a day during the weekends.
Since you are unable to bypass the tone controls, it was necessary to replace all the non-EC capacitors there. I replaced them using Wima's of equivalent value and the effort was immediately rewarded with a fluid and transparent presentation - eventhough the tone controls were left at '0'.
Weakness includes limited connectivity to single pair of speakers,and, no speaker selector.
Otherwise quality sound at low power consumption!!!
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| View from rear after recapping |
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| View from side after recapping |
Excellent post! I'm about to recap my AU-217 in the next month or so. It's going to be my first recap but the unit definitely needs it -- lower frequencies on one channel can sound distorted / static-y.
ReplyDeleteWould you recommend replacing the PSU caps for the minor improvement? And, would you recommend replacing the ceramic HF caps? I'm pretty good with a soldering iron (and if I mess up, my coworkers are better) so nothing would be difficult.
Great job!
Hi sailorben,
ReplyDeleteAs per in the post, did not find the ROI worthwhile after I changed the main PSU caps.
Recommend you leave the ceramic HF to last and replace only the other electrolytics first.
Replacing the poly's in the tone controls will definately help since these can't be bypass.
Hi there,
ReplyDeletejust bought a sansui au-217 for myself, the unit plays well and the sound is good. I noticed one speaker (chanel) consistently has less low (less movement and punch)
Do u thinks caps are the problem here ? Could also try cleaning the front panel ?
Hi Paulus,
ReplyDeleteIf the stereo image presented (assuming spkrs are properly placed, etc) is in the middle when the balance setting is at zero, then it is working fine - that is how stereo functions.
Hi would you have a list of capacitors you have used in this job? what was cost of them?
ReplyDeleteHi Radek,
ReplyDeleteApologies, no.
What I do remember is the medium size caps near the PSU caps are Panasonic FC e.g arrange like an "L".
The PSU caps was not a well known brand.
Used Wima(s) to replace the misc poly(s) in the tone controls.
The blue/purple caps in the pix are OSCON though you can use Panasonic FC, Elna(s) etc - really depends on how deep your pockets are. The other caps hidden by the phono board were Rubycon - black colour caps in the pix.
All cap values are as per original.
Please do note the small value ceramic(s) on the extreme end are used for "tonal ladders" and are of pretty good quality. You need to be careful when replacing them.
The other cap to be careful with is the yellow ROE near the centre of the pix. You should use something better than what I initially chose, maybe a Paper-In-Oil cap (PIO) as it has quite an impact on the overally tonal quality.
Best wishes!
Sorry, left out the last part of your query. If I remember correctly, cost for the parts was about SGD$50.
ReplyDeleteHave sold the AU-217 a while back to the friend of the buyer for my newly recapped AU-5900 acting as pre-amp to drive two Arcam Alpha 9(s) as mono-blocks!
ReplyDeleteI just picked up one of these, and upon getting it home, realized that the one channel was a bit weak. I cleaned all switches and pots as best possible, checked all fuses werent cracked, and swapped inputs and outputs. It balances fine at the headphones, so would this suggest it isn't in the preamp section? Is the MKii schematic applicable to the Mki? As well, does anyone have similar experiences?
ReplyDeleteApologies as have not review Mk2 schematics.
ReplyDeleteI do remember there was some mention of the Mk2 in DIYAUDIO and the circuit had many 35V capacitors vs 50V components in Mk1.
I own an au-217. It shows some problems now. The relay inside the amplifier goes OFF when the amp is switched ON. For few seconds we can hear a rattling sound (like scratching) before it goes OFF. Please you give me some advice to rectify it.. what all areas should I check to correct it??
ReplyDeleteI will be thankful if you can reply me at prabhaindus@gmail.com
Suggest you take it to a proper repair shop.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise you could damage your speakers or worst, especially if you are not electronically trained!
Very nice sound of Sansui AU 217
ReplyDeleteYes good value for the $
DeleteI am being absolutely no sound out of the right speaker which speaker is in working order and the speaker wire is without fault. Any ideas or pointers that I could check out or double check to ensure everything is in the right please thank you for your time and consideration on this matter
ReplyDeleteBest take to a shop to get it look at if was working the last time you used it, if you have no knowledge of the internals.
ReplyDeleteThe 17 series was introduced in 1978.
ReplyDelete