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January 31, 2020 - 7:26pm
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45 Year Old Sansui Au-717 Replacement?
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Cambridge and NAD have good integrated amps in that range. Might even have a phono section if you don't have an outboard. Stay analog? Why not? You already have records. Your old turntable might sound better than an entry level cd player or streamer (or maybe not), but you will probably want to play your old favs. Years ago I traded my old solid state MacIntosh gear (c. 1970)for new Rotel units. I was surprised at how much better the new (1992) and supposedly inferior Rotels sounded than my old Macs. Shows you what 25 years of improvement in solid state technology can do. sounds like the old girl was ready to retire.
I still have a Sansui 2000x I purchased in 1972. Conservatively rated at only 39 watts rms but some of the sweetest 39 watts you're ever going to hear, even at today's standards. Your old friend is rated at 85 watts but is probably closer to 100 and, again, some of the sweetest 85 to 100 watts you are ever going to hear, even today. One avenue you may want to consider is having the solid state circuitry in your old friend replaced or updated, if possible. You are going to find it very difficult, if not impossible, to replace the level of quality of the AU-717 at less than $500.00 today, especially something with a decent phono stage. If you decide to explore this avenue, I would advise contacting Sansui Corporation and asking if they have a list of technicians they could recommend. This is definitely something you'd want done by someone who knows what s/he is doing! You may also want to ask if they would recommend replacing the phono stage circuitry with original equipment parts, improved circuitry, if possible, or even an outboard phono stage. Here's a little additional food for thought: https://www.tonepublications.com/old-school/sansui-au-717-integrated-amplifier/