Built like a tank, sounds like a full, rich, tube amp.

Kind of large and ugly and you never know when you'll have shell out for a cleaning of the pots or other components.

OK, OK, I finally admit that audioreview is the best site for audio. Without it, I would never have imagined buying this Sansui 7070. How can such a hunk of ugly fake wood and silver metal compare to the snazzy gear coming out of Japan these days. Well, I was blown away by the rich, full, powerful sound from my JBLs after connecting this 7070. I think there is no better deal out there for stereo receivers. Well, I don't know about other vintage gear. I did have a 9090DB which was in really bad shape. I almost gave up on vintage stuff. But I saw how many audioreviewers plugged this 7070. So, I snatched one up on ebay for a song...and shipping was a reasonable $20. I had been using all sorts of gear lately, but this Sansui is a keeper. Run out and get one on ebay (I just saw another one go for $70!).

Similar Products Used:

Sansui 9090DB, Proton, NAD, Marantz solid state

RAW MUSIC POWER AND LOOKS COOL

CABNET

WOW,I COLLECT RECIEVERS,HAVE 26 RIGHT NOW THIS 7070 KEEPS UP WITH THEM ALL EVEN MY G9700.LOOKS COOL,REPLACED ALL THE FUSE LAMPS THERE ARE 5 AT 1.00 EACH.

Similar Products Used:

PIONEER 980,SANSUI G9700,PIONEER 9100

Great power, Vintage styling that dosent look cheapy

Only thing that went wrong with it is two of the blue blacklights have fizzled out. Once in awile the do come back on.

I bought this stereo from a local pawn shop that didn't know anything about vintage recevers. My brother worked there at the time and he made me an awesome deal. He He. This is an amazing component.

Super clean, powerful sound. Lots of inputs and outputs - way ahead of it's time for the late 70s. Will drive 2 pairs of huge speakers with ease. Precise analog FM tuner lets you zero in on even the weak stations.

So old, most shops won't even touch it (in the rare event you might need to fix something). Definitely dated styling if you care about looks. Too wide for a 19" rack. Need speakers with thermal overload protection (really!) or high input ratings 'cause this baby can overload even 100 watt speakers if you get carried away (OK, that's not really a weakness)

I bought my Sansui 7070 from a frat brother in 1980 after he moved up to a 9090. It was about 2 years old at the time and the $200 I paid was about half the cost of a new one. I have used it regularly since and the only problem it's ever exhibited is one of the tuner display lights goes off intermittently (but infrequently enough not to bother with). It is an amazing piece of equipment! The distortion-free sound is not matched in anything today for under $1000. Once you pick one up and carry it a few feet you know this is serious hardware! I have a new Sony DE875 receiver for the TV with about the same size case as the 7070 that is only 1/4 the weight of the sansui. The new stuff is all about looks but no guts. The Sansui's are all about massive transistor linear amps with heat sinks. The specs on it say 60 watts x 4 channels, but that's RMS - it will PEAK at close to 200 watts per channel. I can't seem to part with mine even after all these years because it just sounds soooo good. My neighbors, on the other hand, would probably like me to get rid of it...

Similar Products Used:

N/A

Lasts forever, Sounds Excellent! Looks Great as well. As good as ANYTHING in it's class.

They stoped making them! Only available used now.

Sansui's mid priced line of the series built in the mid to late '70's had a lot to offer for the money. I purchased my 7070 in the fall of '76 on sale for $349.00. After over 25 years of hard rock played Loud through (2) pairs of speakers this baby hasn't mellowed and neither have I. It's been in the shop only once for a bad relay that was replaced. With a true 60 watts RMS per channel I'll put this gem up against ANY receiver in it's class! My 7070 was played almost every day with no problems. It was one of the best things I ever purchased and I will never sell it. It is semi-retired now in favor of it's big brother the 9090DB. (See my review for this.) These are readily available on ebay and in my opinion one of the best values for the money. They sound as good or better than any Marantz I've heard for about half the cost. If your looking for a great receiver built in the "golden era" of audio when quality was important consider the Sansui 7070.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz Models;2325,2330,4240,4300 Pioneer SX-1980, Lafayette 5555 Sansui Models; 5050,6060,8080DB,9090DB

Great handling power, gorgeous imaging and colouration, rock-solid technology, no goofy gimmickry

Puchbutton switches & lamps apt to cause rather discocerting performance problems [easilly fixable though] , esp with the right channel, see review--->

Hey everybody, as they say about the 7070, if you can find one, grab it. Heres the story on mine: The unit worked rather well for about the first hour I had it home from the thrift store, and then the right channel 'went out' so to speak.I paid an initial $32.00 for mine & dumped $90 more into it for an overhaul at the SoundIdea in town. As it turns out, I noticed a lot of other reviewers in this column had similar difficulties. According to my overhauler [who is also a 12yr acquaintance and friend] the difficulties can be traced to several burnt out indicator lamps and really gummy pushbutton contacts. The problems are of course due to age, not design. It is generally the case that when these units go out, the problem is often rather mundane, so beware if anyone is really pushy about trying to offer explanations like '....the transformer is intermittent' or '....yeah, the whole channel is burnt out, that'll cost ya' and so forth. And in my estimation, up to but not exceeding $100.00 in refurbishment for this beast from the east or its direct descendents is well worth the outlay.

Similar Products Used:

various Kenwood, Pioneer & Hittachi units....

1970s model. Pure, clean, powerful sound. No distortion. Quality components and reliability.

Could not withstand a 100 million volt lightning strike. All house electrical and electronics destroyed yet this device only lost a few preamplifier ICs, resistors and diodes.

After $17,000 damage this was my most important loss. The quality is not replaceable.
I have been unsuccessful trying to fix this receiver because of the lack of a schematic. The signal is good up to the preamp PC board and appears to be OK in the power out circuits. Several components on the board are not identifiable. I would appreciate any information on schematic availability. hrb@ziplink.net

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Sansui RV 7500 AV

Bulletproof sound, staggering spare power, clean tuner

Power supply, particularly relays

The 7070 I owned was $100 in a pawnshop in Lansing, Michigan. Tremendous, brutal power, but clean and razor-sharp. This unit replaced a 1963 HHScott tube amp, and was every bit its equal. It's rated at 60 watts, but I regularly metered clean peaks over 200. No matter what the material or what the source, this beast could move furniture and clean your drapes any time you wanted. I stupidly sold it to my brother, who left it with his trashy first wife, who probably pawned it for drugs. After ten years of suffering with McAmplifiers, I found an 8080 and life was good again, albeit louder. The only flaw the thing had was a flaky power-on relay, which just inspired me to simply never turn it off!

Similar Products Used:

Sansui 8080, some big-ass Kenwood & Pioneer gear of similar vintage

Simple, Powerful, Durible!, Reliable.

I can't find any

I love this reciever!, I'm listing to it now, And I am so greatful to have baught this amp for $8 bucks at that garage sale. This amp blows away alla da new recievers I have seen, The new recievers aren't made right, I've seen some really crappy designs of them. My Sansui 7070 is so clean and solid, It sounds like an tube amp. I am running four perless eights off of this 7070, and it just HITS so hard, I live in the woods, see and the nieghbors live aways away, and they can still hear the mids and trebs just as clear as the earth shattering bass. So I have just got to say New stuff sucks!!! Hang on to those old power houses! they sure can put on a show for your ears.

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Sony str-135

Indestructible, with awesome power beyond any rational person's needs. The equivalent of a 1967 427 Corvette, with the build quality of a Packard.

none, except needs a good supplemental antenna.

I was surprised to see the existence of these reviews for this receiver, but not at all surprised to see how much they are loved. I am the original owner of my 8080, and it has never seen the inside of a shop. And a good thing too, because it's so well built, you'll get a hernia lugging it in. There is more power than anyone could want for any purpose. It is never taxed in order to deliver, which probably explains why they last so long. Sound is clean and clear. I recently treated myself to new KEF Q35.2 speakers, and my system is better than ever. Truly a remarkable, one of a kind piece of equipment.

Similar Products Used:

none. My first and only receiver.