Sweet Sansui AU-317 Integrated Amplifier Repair & 'Rant' About Bad Technicians!

[@PrimeHiFi]

Unfortunately, hack technicians who do dishonest work are ubiquitous in this industry. I deal with it all the time. Some customers are very hard to persuade too. They firmly believe that their chosen technicians are operating in their best interest - but it couldn’t be further from the truth! Honest and skilled technicians such as yourself are a diamond in the rough. I constantly steer people away from other shoddy technicians in AU in favor of yourself. They all have had great experiences with you and it shows. You have a genuine passion and drive because you respect your customers - and even more importantly - respect the equipment you work on as if it were your own. Great to see another video, Mike. Hope you’re happy and healthy. Great work on this 317, I’m sure your customer is very happy!

[@LiquidAudio]

Thanks Connor, always appreciate the kind words and hope all is well over on your side of the world!

[@THEtechknight]

Back when I was doing electronics repair as a dayjob (now its just a hobby) I saw this kind of thing frequently, and especially in car audio. I had to go behind so many other "technicians" and fix some of the most ridiculous bodges ive ever seen. Also, First time viewer of your channel so the algorithm is working. :-) Glad you are one of the true ones.

[@LiquidAudio]

Thanks mate!

[@quiksr20]

Really enjoyed this video as a new green tech... You hit the nail on the head with so many statements.. I know im new but I go above and beyond to learn the "Right Way" to do stuff.. 1st - Fix/repair before you ever consider a recap... Dont go shotgunning, 2 - Use real parts from Mouser/Digekey or equiv 3 - Ask questions on places like AK.. Were all learning but its important to learn the right way so you dont make stuff worse.. And always use the right substitutes and be clean with your work, That flux and glue left behind is just sloppy lazy work.. Great job and I cant wait to attack my own AU-317 I recently picked up... New Subscriber!

[@LiquidAudio]

Thanks and good on you for approaching things the right way. Finding good advice can be helpful, my only caution would be that forums are usually not the right place. They are as likely to lead you down the garden path as help in my opinion, so try to become 'self-contained' in that sense. Every day is a learning experience though. Best of luck with the 317 repair!

[@quiksr20]

Thanks I agree, ive stuck the few techs that are known heavy hitters and stick to their advice when im not sure vs random people@@LiquidAudio Appreciate the reply.

[@apollorobb]

I deal with that same horseshit here in the US as well. I just rebuilt a Marantz 1060 for a friend that has previously been at another local shop and that amp was as you guys say a dogs breakfast . Mismatched drivers and outputs, Resistors in the driver section were way wrong and the guy told the owner he couldnt fix it because he couldnt get the transistors. So i put all new silicone in it and recapped it and replaced the resistors the idiot put in it and bobs your uncle she sings like a champ. So YES i hate stupid people that try to rip others off. Good on ya for fixing it correctly. You earned a sub from me

[@redsnappa7837]

Great video! If only you were not 12,000 miles away I would bring my beloved AU-317 II in for a service

[@glenz1975]

I've worked on a number of these AU-317's and lots of other Sansui/Pioneer over the years and being a vintage audio tech, I've seen this sort of thing on several occasions, half baked botched amateur repairs made worse by the previous muppet putting in crap parts as well..did I hear Suntan mentioned? Almost every Sansui from this era using those resistors, they always go sky high. Unfortunately it happens way too often and these so called experts are the ones who get away with it, but we the good honest blokes would get roasted if we did such a thing lol..Great video mate and liked the way you pulled that tech up on his b/s..I hope he's watching the video! Keep up the good work 👍 Cheers from New Zealand. .

[@LiquidAudio]

Thanks and glad you enjoyed it! I’ve been calling this stuff out for years via my very popular Hall of Shame, there is far, far worse over there - liquidaudio.com.au/hall-of-shame/

[@glenz1975]

@LiquidAudio Yes I just checked it out, wow there's some good stories there for sure! Am going to spend sometime reading through them 👍

[@cam001nz]

Agreed with you fellow Kiwi

[@verdict1163]

I love my 1968 Sony STR-6060FW and it has remarkably served me well in daily use for the past ~7 years despite being completely original. However, it could use some refreshing up, which I have been reluctant to do simply because of the lack of competent techs. And I live in a major US city. I admire your cautious approach and if Aus wasn't so far away, I would definitely send it to you. I'm afraid of somebody butchering it and changing the sound signature.

[@quiksr20]

I love my 6060FW... One of the best Sony ever made, when they were aiming for McIntosh for a brief moment.

[@robertthrossell4321]

Welcome back 👋

[@analoghardwaretops3976]

I have the AU 217 going great guns since my dad purchased it in 1980 in "seconds sale" I dont know how many years the previous owner used it.. I just do a regular annual cleaning ..never ever.. fiddled with the bias pots .. Just once, re applied fresh thermal compound after removing the old... Sounds as good today as when we first got it...

[@LiquidAudio]

Good job there and well done on resisting the temptation to fiddle! Properly adjusting an amplifier like this though is an important part of routine maintenance.

[@richieharkness5535]

Awesome video, mate! - subscribed!

[@C_Dana]

Shot gun approach rarely works and always takes more time. The flux crap was totally amateur. It's pretty easy to clean up your soldering mess. Too many hall of "shamers" out there. We call those folks "ID" "TEN" "T"s. "ID10ts" Glad you're doing the right thing, hence why I subscribe to your channel.

[@mcgjohn22]

those 317 sansuis will run for quite a long time. I have one that sees 24/7 duty on my PC to drive my PC speakers. Its been powered on for over 10 years now.

[@mdzacharias]

These guys have no proper training or experience. I was inexperienced too, after two years tech training in 1982. Even then I was careful to leave a unit better than I found it, and did not lie to customers about the nature of the work needed or done. 40 years later most troubleshooting is easy.

[@iamspyvspy3077]

Love your no-bullshit videos :) Previous repairer was a monkey ! Suntan lolol

[@rajoconnor]

Same thing here in the USA. Looks like they just threw parts. I agree and tell people all the time. There is a threshold of pain and not every piece can be economically repaired.

[@giandujavettorello6184]

Good morning and happy new year! If you put subtitles in Italian, you'll do me a favor. I'm happy to follow you, you're smart! 😉👍

[@jubemarsh2202]

Actually, in the Sansui and Pioneers Ive found open Bias pots.... Which blew the drivers and outputs.

[@LiquidAudio]

Sure, it can happen anywhere, it's just a rare failure mode, as I noted in the video!

[@Trucam2020]

Thanks for shering

[@rscelectrical7091]

Great work as always, unfortunately the butchery carried out by Unqualified / Unskilled repairer's is something i see on an almost daily basis. It gets extremely wearing after a while, doesn't it ?. Keep up the great work buddy 👍.

[@LiquidAudio]

Yes indeed, this is so common I have a page dedicated to it! - liquidaudio.com.au/hall-of-shame/

[@KnollyMetoo]

I have AU317 and sometime it have a cracking sound what could I do to fix it

[@LiquidAudio]

Take her to a good specialist rather than general electronics repairer, this should be a straightforward repair for the right person.

[@briangoldberg4439]

Thanks absolutely nuts. I was getting ready to run to the defense of the repairer until I saw what they wrote. That's so much BS, and they are just a lair. Same thing when you go to get a car repaired and they don't know what's wrong so they make something up. People with no integrity

[@atw4321]

Im still learning have some skill BUT i know i dont know enough to work on other peoples equipment so i only work on mine if i mess up on something it my stuff

[@wizardx4187]

suntan jaycar's finest

[@Seiskid]

Not a fan of the recapper brigade. People gotta actually diagnose. What failed. And Why. As for BS he fed the customer. Shameful. Honesty is everything.

[@paulhall5498]

i dont know if you know this but there is a sheild missing over the phono board

[@LiquidAudio]

Correct and well spotted, my test amp is a 317 and I've worked on many 317s over the years, I mentioned this to the owner, it was lost before he purchased it.

[@paulpaulzadeh6172]

I got dizzy 😮with your camera movement

[@LiquidAudio]

Sorry about that, one take, hand-held, whilst working will do that, plus probably too much coffee, as usual!

[@richardstaz721]

Could the camera work be a little less "swingy".

[@alfaholic3]

I really wish I could send my amps to you but being in SA shipping would be a PITA. I just have no idea who to trust down here. If anyone knows of a good repairer in SA please let me know.

[@LiquidAudio]

Great question, can anyone help this man out?!

[@barrysheridan9186]

It is possible to start doing this work, but you need to do some research first. Apart from the theory of how this stuff works there are some superb sources, Audio Karma for example, that can help avoid these sort of botches. Interesting rant.

[@christhirion9474]

Elimination by substitution 😂😂

[@LiquidAudio]

And then STILL no elimination!

[@syedmahdi8947]

Sir, where in New Zealand, you are located.

[@LiquidAudio]

I'm located in Perth, Western Australia!

[@syedmahdi8947]

@@LiquidAudio Thank you❤.

[@garygranato9164]

low quality trimmers as well ! !

[@wedoshotz6645]

I've seen a fair amount of garbage "repairs" done & I agree with you. Now, to be fair, sometimes you could tell that the repair had been done decades ago, before the ease of ordering parts & finding schematics online. Those I'm willing to give a pass on. But whomever did this work was obviously very green.......monkey see/monkey do.......no actual repair accomplished. The 317's are very easy to work on, so there's really no other excuse.