Sansui 881 Vintage Receiver

Review of the Sansui 881 series of vintage receivers. Made from 1974 - 1976.
I am a long time collector of vintage stereo gear like receivers, speakers, amps, turntables and cassette decks from brands like McIntosh, Sansui, Pioneer, Yamaha, Klipsch, JBL, Marantz, Sony, Dalquist, Frazier, Acoustic Research, Bozak, IMF, Advent and many others. Be sure to subscribe so as not to miss future videos.
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Video: • Sansui 881 Vintage Rec...

[@anthonyhfe6450]

Hi guys and gals, just answering some questions in the comments, since I own one. The output stage is discrete, using four of the same type NPN transistors (two per channel). This topology changed in the x0x0 line, which uses one NPN and one PNP transistor per channel, known as a complementary pair, which most manufacturers offered from then on. That makes the 881 rather unique. I also have the 7070 which is a beast and sounds just like the 881. As far as the intermittent lights, simply resolder the fuse (light) clips to the circuit board, as mine had some cold solder joints on the bulb clips, whereby the board was heated up enough but the clip wasn't, so the solder didn't wick to the clip too. Make sure to remove the bulbs before soldering. Also, clean the clips with a cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol. And re-tension them by squeezing them in slightly, and you'll be good to go. My 881 was given to me, ready to be recycled. I saved it, and got it working again. It needed a handful of parts, but she's perfect now. It's one fine sounding receiver that I will never part with. 👍 Thanks for the videos ! Happ Listening!

[@stereoniche]

Thanks Anthony!

[@mikecampbell5856]

Great receiver and review as usual. I have an absolutely mint Sansui 5050 that I got for 75 dollars. I think it has a warm vintage sound and it is very pretty.

[@stereoniche]

Love the x0x0 series as well. All great performers.

[@AudioElectronicsChicago]

I have this one fully recapped and serviced in my collection!

[@ispylofu]

One of the best sounding Sansui I have. I used to have two.

[@rp9035]

I bought a 771 new with the Sansui speakers while in the Navy back in 1976. Can't remember what I paid for it but it was cheap.

[@JosePerez-yx4gq]

Great video, thanks ❤

[@stereoniche]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stevezeidman7224]

Just caught up with this today. One of my best friends had a 661. Great FM and Phono sections. It was terrific. I have a 5000 but I think I like those mid 70s models a bit more.

[@steveoszman8746]

Have one and it's a balanced, nice sounding machine. This to me represents the high tide mark for solid state. Yes they require maintenance, and its worth the trouble.

[@stereoniche]

Completely agree! Not a watts powerhouse by any means, but give them a little TLC, pair them with the right speakers and you have a fantastic setup.

[@dennishill290]

Ahhh...back n tha day.... 🔊🔉🔈... !

[@usmanelectronic9806]

Hello Dear 👋

[@carlfranz6805]

Still my first love. Lent it to my sister, not sure where it is now. Sigh. Going price is $500 which I don't have.

[@dustinrilcof2504]

I have been a Sansui guy and have owned many except for this series. Like the form factor. I had problems with flickering lights with my 9090 and bulbs burning out quickly. I have had a 5000x as well. Does this fall somewhere in the middle between the 9090 And 5000x for treble extension?

[@festersuncle6298]

I own the same receiver. I noticed your 881 has the same left side tuner light bulb intermittent dimming issue. Why is that.....?

[@stereoniche]

I have not dug back into yet, but as Anthony noted, there is quite a bit of comment with regard to cold solder joints as a weak point. Mine seems to vary in voltage, so I suspect it is a cold solder joint issue as well.

[@festersuncle6298]

@@stereoniche Probably, I watched a 881 video where a cracked joint was the fix. I want mine to be perfect in and out.

[@deanmorris9622]

I’m guessing if a receiver will run two pairs of 8 ohm speakers (I assume in parallel based on the warning), then it can de facto run one pair of 4 ohm speakers?

[@stereoniche]

That was my thinking as well, but again, I could not find a definitive 4 ohm confirmation.

[@danielknepper6884]

It's easy to tell whether or not a receiver can handle 4-ohm loads. Hook up one set of speakers and run the switch to speakers a&b. If you hear sound , then the receiver's rated for 4 ohms

[@danjohnson7727]

I acquired an 881 just over a year ago in really awesome condition complete with the original operating instructions. I love this thing btw. As I’m driving a pair of Paradigm 4 ohm 9se Mk2 speakers I thought I’d best double check. Upon review-under “placement of speaker systems” it states “if you are connecting one pair of speakers they may have any impedance from 4 to 16 ohms”

[@stereoniche]

@@danjohnson7727 Thanks Dan! I did not see that in my digital copy.

[@usmanelectronic9806]

Hope you are fine. Can you sale sansui amplifier 881 ?

[@stereoniche]

Sorry, no, it is not available for sale. There will be some items for sale, but unfortunately, not the Sansui 881

[@sidesup8286]

Were there LOTS of people complaining in the 1960s, in the first 5 years of solid state equipment, that the music sounded harsher than tubes? Was it the same kind of complaining as when cds first came out? The very early transistor amps were said to have sounded harsh. The first few generations of cd players sounded harsh. There were efforts to come out with cd players which did not have a harsh high end. In response to people used to tubes for years, who were all of a sudden hearing harshness in their music, Was there a similar thing and period with transistor amps? Trying to make them sound less harsh, more musical, and have more the kind of sound people were used to all those years. It sounds like the Sansui being talked about.. If it is warm and sweet; which is not the direction transistor sound were headed by the late 1970s, Was there a period in between the horrible sounding early transistors, and the less horrible but still bad sounding transistor amps/receivers of the late 1970s in which designers tried to go back in time to warmth & smoothness, before the low harmonic distortion spec wars started, where they used negative feedback to get lower harmonic distortion numbers, and it actually grained up the sound.

[@sidesup8286]

Negative feedback was known to help with lowering harmonic distortion numbers, and Good Specs Sell !...The circa 1960 Citation II tube integrated amp which was KING sonically, used much negative feedback in it's circuit; but it was used expertly and intelligently. The latter 70s receivers often had amazingly low harmonic distortion figures, but negative feedback contributed to Transient Intermodular Distortion (TIM) which was a much audibly nastier distortion than harmonic distortion. Some companies like Sony, Luxman & Yamaha continued to design for better sound subjectively. While other companies went at it. Was Yamaha's coming out with a "Natural Sound" logo in response to this? Also around this time, like the Cavalry To The Rescue, a lot of Class A amps started popping up. The biggest area of improvement with Class A is sweetness in the highs with no grain, and overall purer and deeper tone colors.