The most common restoration task. Reliable choices for audio paths include Nichicon FG/KG [7] and Elna Silmic II [7]. For power supplies, Panasonic FC/FM [2] or Nichicon HE [2] are preferred for their durability.
Scratchy sound is often just dirt. Use DeoxIT D5 [16] for metal switches and DeoxIT F5 (FaderLube) [16] for carbon-track volume and tone knobs.
Restoring a vintage Sansui amplifier requires a mix of general electronic components and specific "trouble" parts known to fail over decades. Since Sansui ceased operations in 2014 [23], you won't find new "official" factory parts, but high-quality substitutes are widely available from retailers like Mouser and DigiKey [9]. Essential Replacement Parts sansui amp parts
Certain original transistors, such as the 2SC871 [7], are notorious for becoming noisy or causing crackling. BC550 [7] is a common modern equivalent recommended by restorers.
Original single-turn pots for setting bias and DC offset can be touchy. Replacing them with multi-turn trimmers [14] makes fine-tuning much safer and easier. Maintenance & Cleaning The most common restoration task
A critical safety item. Many vintage Sansui models (like the AU-317) use resistors designed to "open" under fault conditions; these often drift in value over time [15] and should be replaced with modern flameproof versions.
This community is the best place to find verified substitution lists [9] for discontinued Japanese semiconductors. Scratchy sound is often just dirt
Though registration is often limited, this is the gold standard for downloading service manuals [9] that contain full parts lists.