Japanese Tube Holy Grail? Opinions, Please!

michael

Active Member
I enjoy picking the tube stuff up but Mac's getting prohibitively expensive with Fisher, et al following. So I was thinking, "what's high-end Japanese from the 60's I need to be looking for?" I know Sansui put out some nice tube amps in the mid 60's but what're some of the more sought-after pieces?

Thanks,

Michael
 
Yeah, really none of the truly vintage Japanes tube stuff was any great shakes. Some of the very early Sansuis, with Tamura iron, might be an exception, but the Japanese electronics/technology dominance hadn't reached full flower in the early 1960's.

I would agree that the best vintage Japanese tube stuff would be Lux/Luxman, but they did use some exotic tube types.

There has been some exemplary Japanese tube equipment in more recent years, but it's botique stuff; rare and expensive.

The Japanese audiophiles do indeed covet American iron, speakers, and tubes! Can you say "Western Electric"? :)
 
I have a friend who collects the Sansui tube gear, and the AU-111 is one of the more collectable items from them. Although he does have a couple Sansui tube amps I have never seen on E-Bay or anywhere for that matter. One of them uses KT88 outputs and weighs about 60lbs. Flat black with a rosewood base. We did an a/b test against his Marantz 8Ba and it really did give it a run for its money. Seemed a little dryer on the midrange, but had great thump. He also has a Sansui amp that uses a 6R-A8 nine pin triode thats as rare as hen's teeth. He rarely uses the amp as the tubes are impossible to find (apparently a 2A3 in a 9 pin tube marketed by NEC for Japanese amps).

Nevertheless, Sansui made some fantastic gear most of which I'll guess didn't make it to North America. Good luck hunting!!!
 
michael said:
"what's high-end Japanese from the 60's I need to be looking for?" I know Sansui put out some nice tube amps in the mid 60's but what're some of the more sought-after pieces?

Thanks,

Michael
I would say Sansui, some have become more expensive than an equal McIntosh piece in SS, tubes too actually. Luxman is also a great brand with a following.
I have an early 60's Kenwood which seems to have little following. 7199
output tubes, 12AX7 pre, the rest "normal" not oddball tubes. Quite nice
really, but no real interest I have seen. Great sounding and good sized iron.
Maybe it's time will come oneday.
no respect


Carl
 
I have a Sansui AU70 in rather rough condition that I may use for parts, which is a quite few steps down from the AU111. But it really is built quite well, very heavy, with nice-looking transformers. I'm sure the AU111 is an excellent amplifier. There are some lesser-known Sansui tube receivers that are probably quite good and underrated on ebay.

Big Luxman monoblocks are absolutely gorgeous too, I'd certainly like to hear a pair. And there is a rare Denon power amp that looks like it could have been made by Marantz, POA1000B I think?
 
Some of the Japanese reel to reel tape recorders had excellent tube electronics built in. I have an Akai M8 with EL84 outputs in Single Ended mode, which gives 6 watts per channel. There's even a MM phono stage in it. This has been my main amp for the last two years, and I'm extremely happy with it. Mine cost Can$35 at a garage sale. They often sell on eBay for under $100.

Also have an American-made Wollensak 1580 reel to reel with 7591 tubes in SE mode for 11/11 watts. Nice amp, too, but I prefer the sound of the Akai. Picked this one up on eBay for $14.50 plus shipping.
 
One of my friends has a Sansui AU111 and it is a big, beautiful beast of an amplifier. It's an estate piece meaning it isn't going anywhere until his estate gets settled and that's only if his wife doesn't hang on to it.
 
never to knock the venerable au111 god, i have had my sights on an au70 for some time, since i know that 35 wrms through tubes is plenty of juice for an efficeint driver. they always elude my wallet, so i dug into the archieves learning that the 500a receiver used the same transformers, tubes...

so i say it depends more on your ear than your budget, after auditioning the 500a i knew the au70 was the final chorus in my scene. until then, the 500a continues to be so delicious that i near forget my quest for gold?
 
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i made a huge reference mistake, the 500a does not have the same tranformer and blah blah blah as the au70. it has the same transformers, tubes... as the sansui 500, which became my primary tube am with backup parts sourced from a stockpile of 500a's.
 
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