First Impressions Sansui SR-838 turntable (long)

Vinyl Asylum

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I acquired this table without headshell or cartridge.
Thankfully, I managed to obtain another table today (a Technics SL-1300). This allowed me to use the Audio Technica LS-400 cartridge and headshell that came with it for initial testing.
I inspected the AT's stylus visually and it appeared in good shape. Not risking my valuable records, I used extra copies of records I already have in mint condition.
Before firing up the Sansui I took the bottom plate off to inspect it and also to correct a pesky "Quartz" button that was failing to engage.
The unit's construction is first rate with excellent quality parts. The Quartz servo circuit is on a fairly large PC board with a couple of control ICs. I was impressed with the real gold plated plug-in connections to the boards. First time I've seen this level of quality on a vintage Japanese unit.
I don't have the spec sheet on the Audio Technica. However, I felt that setting stylus force at 1.5 grams would be a safe bet. I did this using my trusty Shure gauge.
I set the antiskating rod at about midway position (again no instruction manual, so that would need to be checked, I am sure).
The arm appears to be VTA adjustable. However, I could not see any visual indication or screw for this.
Visually, the VTA appears to be set parallel to the record surface, so I did not tinker with it.
The null points on the protractor aligned perfectly with the AT cartridge and headshell, so no adjustment was required. Whoo hoo :-)
I connected the table to a Pioneer SX-1080 receiver I have at hand. Not high end, but adequate for initial testing. The turntable had to sit on top of the Pioneer for testing so I engaged the subsonic filter to prevent any abnormal woofer cone excursions.
Here are my impressions playing different recordings:
1- I first played Dave Brubeck's Time Further Out, Six Eye original. This is a copy I bought on eBay and found it had a lot of groove distortion on my MMF-5. I found the sound nice and warm, masking a lot of that distortion quite evident on the other table. I somehow found the recording much more enjoyable and it's shortcomings forgivable.
2 - I spinned Rickie Lee Jones Self-titled LP. "Chuck E's" and "Sunday Afternoon.." sounded excellent. But the real test was the last cut of side A "Last Chance Texaco". On my MMF-5 I've always found this track to have inner groove distortion. Well, on the Sansui it was much less noticeable. As a matter of fact, it was virtually gone. Impressed!!! The dynamic range of Rickie's voice was also very convincing.
3- The next disc was Sade's Diamond Life. This mid 80s recording is very dynamic sounding. The Sansui/AT LS-400 combo did a good job with it. Although I heard some vocal "spittiness" that I believe is subdued or non-existent on the MMF-5.
4- Finally, I played Nancy Bryan's Lay Me Down. This is a second copy I bought after I felt the first one had some inner groove congestion specially on side 2. In the end, both copies sounded the same on my MMF-5. I played "Guilty" and the last cut (the real test) on side 2 "In And Out Of Time". The sound was much more open! Don't know maybe it's a "placebo" effect, expecting the Sansui to sound good.
I plan to listen to those cuts again more carefully since I taped them on a 3 head Sansui deck that's quite accurate. I also used vintage TDK SA from 1979 that I found sealed at a thrift store :-) Talk about vintage here!
Well, there are several things going on here. The MMF-5 is a more modern design with a straight arm and more refined construction. However, I have found this table to be quite finicky and takes a long time to adjust and calibrate properly for better sound.
I was surprised to hear such fine sound from the Sansui with minimal adjustment. The tests also show the Audio Technica cartridge is still in pretty good shape. One would think that 20 years or more would "rot" the stylus suspension or deteriorate the cartridge bonding materials. Well, it appears not!
I am guessing the LS-400 was quite high-end in it's day. I don't have a microscope but judging from what I heard I'm sure the stylus is elliptical or better.
Speed stability (with the Quartz engaged) was excellent. Rock solid as shown by the steady strobe and listening tests. But I guess that being a sophisticated system for 1977, it could be prone to misadjustment or other problems. My unit seems to have seen very little use judging by the "like new" appearance right down to the controls. No wear anywhere on it!
Further listening will reveal many other things I am sure. But for now there's no doubt in my mind that the Sansui is an excellent turntable. I was particularly impressed by the low noise level, wide dynamic range and inner groove performance.
Best regards,
crooner

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Topic - First Impressions Sansui SR-838 turntable (long) - crooner 22:36:25 01/14/05 (4)

Re: First Impressions Sansui SR-838 turntable (long) - Laudanum 09:57:35 01/15/05 (0)

Re: First Impressions Sansui SR-838 turntable (long) - ml69 07:49:40 01/15/05 (0)

Re: First Impressions Sansui SR-838 turntable (long) - Tightwad 22:42:43 01/14/05 (1)

yes! it's the stock arm.... - crooner 22:52:05 01/14/05 (0)

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