According to the downloaded schematic of a Sansui 5000X those aren't the BJT,s I was talking about .
The schematic for the 5000X shows =2SC871 ,there is no mention of 2SC1815 /2SC1015 ---
courtesy of HI-Fi Engine .
@Wiseoldtech: I agree that it's not very smart to just look for the first thing that comes up on google and blindly do what they say, thats why I spend quite some time while searching for info and only when I find something that is backed up by measurments and obvious knowledge I consider to implement the changes shown. So what would be your opinion of this? They seem to do this on a commercial basis... Vintage Hi-Fi Audio Restorations: Shaans Sansui 5000X Restoration
Keep the =2SC871 .
2SC458 can be uprated .
2SC627 are a bit special= high voltage --gain typical =360Hfe .
2SC458 can be uprated .
2SC627 are a bit special= high voltage --gain typical =360Hfe .
I checked, and on that website, I cannot find anything related to "about us" at all on there.
Normally, any "professional" services have an "about us" listing, with credentials, certifications, dislaimers, etc.
And any "customer reviews" if at all listed, could be false, thus promoting the site, as we've all seen before with many internet-based shops.
I might sound suspicious, but I'm not one to "buy into" just any long-distance internet services.
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My justification towards these types of services stems from actual experiences.....
For instance - a local customer brought me in a Pioneer SX-1250 monster receiver with a problem.
Prior to him bringing it in to me, he had shipped it far away to some service center in Texas for "restoration", and that outfit, plus shipping fees, cost him $450.
The receiver came back with poor packing, damaging the rear exposed heatsinks.
Additionally, the unit had the same issues as before it was sent - namely distortion, noisy controls, etc.
When I took the cover off this unit, it looked exactly like a well-used receiver would after 30+ years - it had a thick coating of dust thruout it - untouched, undisturbed - signaling that it wasn't even worked on!
The customer was extremely agitated when I showed him the receiver.
He was out $450 for nothing!
It needed extensive restorations, and extensive time to perform them.
As I remember, it took me several months of labor, ordering parts, etc.
Running a busy repair shop for decades, I had other customers to tend to as well.
But once this SX-1250 was done by me, it sang sweetly, ran cooler, and the customer was happy, yet telling me that he had another SX-1250 to bring to me, but which I politely declined. I just couldn't deal with another one with my busy schedule.
My final costs to the customer were about $1100 parts/labor/warranty.
Bottom line, you have to really dig into and find reputable services today, since many are just out there for the money, and will not perform the work they advertize.
Pictures and websites are not a true rendition of quality service.
This is the reality of the internet, unfortunately.
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I think their choices are logical and probably fine from an engineering standpoint. Which is probably not much different from how the Sansui engineers made their choices when designing it. So I am not really worried. I think their goal is probably longevity, which is why they saw every crusty old transistor as a failure waiting to happen rather than trying to keep everything original which an audio purist might do.
I don't think they did this for pure audiophile motivations. They either did the work to get paid by someone or they bought the unit and restored it in order to sell it. They are a restoration business after all. For that business, if the unit works and is less likely to malfunction, then it is a success regardless of any other concerns. For sonics they probably just stuck to "safe" choices. Spending hours and hours auditioning different capacitors or whatnot might actually make the business not viable in terms of dollars per hour, and from an audiophile perspective replacing the polyester caps with almost anything would still be an improvement. And considering we still want to restore it after decades despite that original design choice, surely this is an acceptable strategy.
I am not worried about anything being damaged by the new transistors, if they are installed correctly. I am more worried about making sweeping changes to a whole circuit board and then having to track down a bad solder joint or something later. That's why we say if it's not broken, don't fix it. You may be making over a hundred solder joints, a lot can happen. Of course many people do more than that routinely with no problem. If you're confident in your soldering then don't get cold feet now.
Here's the "about us" section Vintage Hi-Fi Audio Restorations: Restoration Service Outline
you both did convince me to leave the original transistors for now though. Although I am confident with soldering and never had to chase down bad solder joint when done with a unit I want to be able to at least notice if there is a difference in sound between old and new tranaistors which requires me to listen to it for a while and if it plays well and sounds good I think I'll just leave it as it is.
Thank you very much for helping me with this decision!! If it still makes popping noises it might be the time to finally build this "carlson Super probe" to find the faulty component without just guessing and replacing blindly.
Thanks again! will post the results here as soon as its done...it will take some time though, I rather go slow and leave things tidy and clean.
you both did convince me to leave the original transistors for now though. Although I am confident with soldering and never had to chase down bad solder joint when done with a unit I want to be able to at least notice if there is a difference in sound between old and new tranaistors which requires me to listen to it for a while and if it plays well and sounds good I think I'll just leave it as it is.
Thank you very much for helping me with this decision!! If it still makes popping noises it might be the time to finally build this "carlson Super probe" to find the faulty component without just guessing and replacing blindly.
Thanks again! will post the results here as soon as its done...it will take some time though, I rather go slow and leave things tidy and clean.
I hate to sound suspicious, or negative, but the truth is.....
That "about us" page from your link tells me nothing about the background or credentials of the individuals who are providing the services.
For all I know, it could be some kid who reads things off the internet and supplies carefully worded and impressive technical terms, something easily gotten from numerous blogs, discussions, etc.
And pictures galore of repair details are just that - pictures, anyone can do that to add to the impression that they're some trusted business.
And it's been done already, trust me, I've seen such things before.
The guy who brought me his unrestored Pioneer SX-1250 gave me the web site of that Texas-based so-called restoration facility that literally stole $450 from him, and it too was a dazzling, impressive work of art.
Besides, I became suspicious of that small-ish $450 cost, because I knew it was not condusive to the current going-rate of the needed repairs.
Heck, the 4 main power supply caps alone cost me substantially more than $100!
He even showed me the service receipt with its detailed parts and labor (but obviously not done) work that was performed, and confirmed when I took the lid off that filthy, dusty receiver - the dust was so thick and undisturbed that you couldn't see most of the parts!
It was a rip-off, plain and simple.
Even MY $1100 service charge was being sensible, I could have charged more for the work I had to do.
But alas, this is the world of today, with the lovely internet and its potential to rip off people.
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Hi Arne,
Glad you've decided as you have -- it makes far more sense to me.
Remember, such web sites are selling a job that they want to do for you, not necessarily a reasonable, technically sound course of action for an audio hobbyist tech to undertake.
The more times they strike those phrases that resonate to audiophiles, the less stock you should place in it.
You'll have fun tracking down the source of the popping -- and may even learn more from the effort.😉
Cheers
Glad you've decided as you have -- it makes far more sense to me.
Remember, such web sites are selling a job that they want to do for you, not necessarily a reasonable, technically sound course of action for an audio hobbyist tech to undertake.
The more times they strike those phrases that resonate to audiophiles, the less stock you should place in it.
You'll have fun tracking down the source of the popping -- and may even learn more from the effort.😉
Cheers
Well, the things you and wiseoldtech pointed out just make too
much sense to ignore it and also it would be kinda stupid to go with such a shotgun aproach after it took me weeks to get every single switch and pot out, disessemble them, clean, polish and lube and reinstall them. so I'm gonna keep it as slow as I began and I'm sure I will be happy in the end 🙂
thanks again and talk soon 🙂
much sense to ignore it and also it would be kinda stupid to go with such a shotgun aproach after it took me weeks to get every single switch and pot out, disessemble them, clean, polish and lube and reinstall them. so I'm gonna keep it as slow as I began and I'm sure I will be happy in the end 🙂
thanks again and talk soon 🙂