Sansui’s Auto Reverse Turntable - Luck of the drawer
A good proportion of this video was shot earlier in the year however the ‘footage’ sat unedited on my hard-drive until now. I held it back after I’d uploaded a run of videos featuring record players and felt this would be one too many.
It turns out it’s quite difficult to edit something after taking a break away from it. Looking at unfamiliar shots I was initially left thinking things like ‘Why did I shoot a close-up of that? there must have been something I wanted to say about it’.
It all came together in the end though, well, to a degree - it is a tad unfocussed.
Talking of which, last week’s video about the Laser FX didn't exactly set the world on fire either. After all these years I still can’t predict what will work. Views on that one are 30% down on the previous video - which is far greater than the usual random fluctuation, yet it has 25% more comments and it attracted 99.4% likes. Perhaps it was the thumbnail that didn’t appeal. Then again it might all just be as random as a mirror on a rubber band.
Comments (50)
I love the idea of a laser record player - your records would never wear out!! Of course, having to fork out $14000 for a hoover seems somewhat excessive. Did noone think of coating the surface of the records in clear pastic, that way they would stay clean. Plus, black vinyl isn't *that* reflective, what aboutmaking them, say, silver.. You could even have a digital version with dots & dashes instead of a wavy groove. Hey! I could be onto something here
The split-track speed comparison of that Sansui to your Sony puts me in mind of a Fellini film soundtrack!
I think the laser player is a goof up, using a laser to etch a template for a master copy in the near future will be a bet i couldn't back out on, soon we'll see the new format HD Vynal, when this happens we should see those laser players on ebay for $10.00
That laser player, would you review it when we all threw together to get you one? ;)
I don’t think there’s anything interesting left to say about it. It’s technically flawed and unaffordable.
That was a sad ending, but only one of many good companies caught by the winds of change. And the slow garbage turntable, that is tragic.
Just another observation point about Sansui- in 2001 or 2002 I bought a bargain-priced “Sansui” VCR from a grocery store (they used to bring in cheap electronics every year at Christmas time) that was pretty rubbish rebadged junk.
"It's like a Crosley cosplaying as a Sansui". Oof.
Super video as always, Mat. I only remembered Sansui as a low-end name badge in the same category as Matsui, so it was an education to learn that they were once known as a quality Hi-Fi manufacturer. Did you ever get your Gixie clock? I just received a replacement tube (FoC) for one which had failed. My review in a couple of sentences; It's quite pretty, rather fragile and not very bright - I have had to make a cardboard shroud for it so I can read the time in full daylight. I have it near my Lametric clock which is easy to read in all lighting conditions. Have a great weekend, Mat!
Yes I got it a few months back - funnily enough I'm looking at the box now and wondering whether to open it up and make a five minute video about it.
Interesting as always, Mat. That left/right differing speed/pitch sequence also has the effect of messing with the brain of my other half - a musician with perfect pitch. She was almost screaming after a few seconds. :-)
The sad thing for me was that I only realised it was running slow after I went to the trouble of wiring it in and rearranging furniture to make it fit. I’d been so caught up with shooting the video and trying all the functions that I hadn’t really listened to it. When I finally sat down and put on an album it was only when Jay-Z started rapping that I thought - well his voice sounds deeper than I remember...and that’s when it all came crashing down. I think the speed was approx 6-7% slow.
I really enjoyed your mid-episode response to all the "laser turntable" emails. The constant barrage of those messages would really get to me after a while. I hope you make an email rule to auto-respond to any emails with those keywords with a timestamped youtube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oeTqAogMvA&t=258
If I have the time, I’ll always try to explain why I won’t be covering the ELP in an email reply- but it will be quicker if I can send a link and just say ‘watch this’
Face Palm at 12:53, couldn't stop laughing, needed a laugh, Thanks another great video Techmoan
Same here Matt, I always like your videos and watch them all the way through. A lot of these things have that certain wow factor.
Mat, I always 'Like' your videos here on Patreon. I don't know how many of us Patreon supporters there are, but would it make much of a difference to the numbers if we 'Like' them on YouTube too? 🤔
Absolutely, but do it because you enjoyed the video and not because you think we are going to collectively "game" the system.
I had a pair of Sansui speakers from the early 80s...
Very interesting what your stats showed you about the Laser FX video. My personal favourites include the AV-Hifi films, particularly where you repair and bring back to life old kit. However, the four build a HiFi system videos were exceptional. I learnt so much, and had so many pointers to how to update my system that I've had since the mid-90s. Thank you, it's a great channel and deserves all its success.
I think it’s all about getting the eyeballs on them in the first place. The people who watched it like it.
I really enjoyed the video (why do we still call it video, VHS went out years ago). Like Terry I will watch anything you release as I enjoy your videos and your style. I love my vinyl but fall into category of owning a cheaper turntable (lenco l85) mainly due to lack of money. Loved seeing your 8 track. Keep up good work.
When I trying (and failing) to sell stereo equipment in the late 1970s, we sold the full line of Sansui products. Even by 1977 or so, it seemed a tough slog to sell Sansui against Pioneer, Marantz and even Harman Kardon. The higher-end black Sansui products were gorgeous and sold ok, but the main line silver stuff just didn't do that well. They did go into quadrophonic in a big way. I wonder if that as part of their downfall.
It probably didn’t help. Whilst I applaud their forward thinking attitude, ultimately the public decided that stereo was good enough. Of course quad is one of the many topics I hope to cover over the next few years.
I watch all the videos to the end, no matter the subject. You could probably make a video about a rock interesting. Always looking forward to the next one
I’m happy to hear that.
Well dang, I didn't realize Sansui turned to such crap later on. Admittedly I've never owned anything of theirs beyond the '70s, but still, what an unfortunate end! Love using their old spring reverb units.
Interesting video and smart title. I'm so used to people getting drawer and draw mixed up in correspondence that I thought this was another one, but I should've known this was just a play on words. Clever! :-)
Yes - there's a different title on Youtube, I don't think everyone there would get the Wordplay.
I was a young kid in the 80s but my dad always preferred pioneer to sansui. I wonder if thats a US vs UK thing? Maybe just the area where i'm from. You'd find tons of pioneer fans, but anyone you'd talk to would say sansui was always crap.
I don't think I ever heard the name Sansui growing up. To me now when they were at their best they feel like a slightly more upmarket and exclusive Sony - but that's just me talking about something I know very little about (as per).
I enjoyed this video. I learned new stuff (also reading these comments which are wonderful). I wonder what would happen when you release the laser turntables part as a standalone video. OK, it's not a very positive story, but why hide it inside another video? You could even release it in another channel. Anyways, you probably rejected this idea, but it would be interesting to hear why.
I don’t think there’s enough there to make a stand alone video about something I’ve never used. However I may make it into a stand alone unlisted video that I can link people to whenever they mention it again.
Impressed you resisted calling the gutted brand 'Sadsui'. 😃
I wonder if anyone has made a device that could just scan an entire record much like we do a sheet of paper, and then reconstruct the tracks in software and play them?
I’m sure I’ve seen something like that - I think there’s a museum that uses something along those lines.
It's always kind of sad when a respected brand just becomes a label attached to inferior products. Seems to happen a lot in the software and tech industry.
As always Matt, thanks for the show! )))
HEY! Have you heard of these laser turntables?!? They're new! Great video as usual and appreciate both the history (as others have noted) and the warning about old quality brands being gutted.
I really enjoy your history lessons on the audio products, but events like the downfall of Sansui bring up many questions. Why did the bottom fall out of the high-end audio market? Why did it fall when it did? Aren't high-end audio devices still being produced? Not asking you for answers, I just find these questions intriguing because they are really social more than technology issues.
In my opinion (and it’s just that - no facts) - stack systems killed quality HiFi. Once you’d bought a system with all the components in one go in a nice cabinet with a smoked glass door - there was no need to buy anything else and no upgrade path. If you bought separates you were always looking at the next upgrade, a new record player or tape deck - but if you’d already got everything then you just stuck with what you had. Then companies like Amstrad made systems that to the average person looked like they did everything a more expensive better quality system did at less than half the price. You had your two cassette decks, graphic equaliser, record player, CD etc - it did the same so why pay more. Of course they were a lot worse quality, but to the average punter they looked much the same. So then you get companies like Sony and Pioneer trying to compete on price with something that is knocked together and designed to last just long enough to get it home. The super high end remained unaffected as their customers were never going to buy a Sony or Pioneer anyway - but high-end consumer brands had the rug pulled from under them.
Great review with much appreciated background toppings. The headphone section didn’t mess me up too much:-). The 70’s systems look so good next to the plastic fantastic 80’s tat. That ‘lazer’ vid deserves to do better than that - as has been suggested a different thumbnail might help.
Haha... that Cuba Baion section! It will indeed mess up all the headphone users. It was hard to listen to on my studio speakers too. Sad story about Sansui though, could have been so bloody good product line if only... :/
BTW, what vinyl album had that selection on it?
My 2 cents about the Laser FX video not doing well - a lot of your videos are appealing because of the nostalgia of seeing something from one’s youth back in action, or perhaps being brought back to life after decades of neglect. That nostalgia is key, and perhaps with such a niche and obscure product, not many people experienced it when it was in production, so perhaps it wasn’t as appealing.
Yes your guess is as good as mine on this. I’m going to change the thumbnail to see if something lighter might make it stand out.
Sansuis can be... finicky. I've got a P-L51 as my primary turntable and it nearly went in the bin more than once. It was advertised as working, arrived not working, took 4 visits to my repair guy over 8 months, and on the last visit he said he didn't want to see it anymore. After that I think it learned it's lesson and works perfectly. (Knocks on wood) But yeah, I know your problems all too well.
Thanks Mat. I enjoyed the video.
Damn, I read the title as "auto rewind turntable". Then I remembered this. https://images.complex.com/complex/image/upload/c_limit,dpr_auto,q_90,w_720/fl_lossy,pg_1/blnyghydjnghlboift6d.jpg
Yes I’ve been meaning to get hold of one of those for a while.