FS: Possibly The Best-Sounding Sansui TU-X1 Tuner On Earth

Item: Sansui TU-X1 tuner modified massively by Joseph Chow of Audio Horizons, California

Location: Sydney, Australia
Price: $4,900 ono (plus shipping and insurance)
Item Condition: Reconditioned chassis. Front fascia shows some wear. Electronics are as new and better.
Reason for selling: Financial stress
Payment Method: Cash on pickup or PayPal 

Shipping and Insurance: National and international shipping, packaging and insurance available at cost. Will be double-boxed and padded for protection. But pickup preferred.
 

Extra Info:

Background

I had this Sansui TU-X1 shipped to Joseph Chow for a total overhaul and massive enhancement. This was the most extensive TU-X1 modification he has ever done. The list of mods is huge, but here is the bottom line from one of Joseph Chow's emails:

"...sound the best I have heard from over 10 of TU-X1 upgraded in past". By extension, since Joseph Chow considers the TU-X1 is potentially the best sounding tuner in the world, this may actually be the best sounding tuner on earth!

Who is Joseph Chow:

Joseph Chow is considered by many to be the most accomplished vintage tuner after-market engineer alive today. He was on the development team of several of Kenwood's later supertuners, and was part of Larry Schott's team at Proton, which developed the revolutionary Schott tuner circuit. He is a legend in his own lifetime.

Just some of the modifications to this tuner:

• replaced all power supply caps by higher value better quality caps
• replaced all 8 (noisy) DC power supply diodes by FRED diodes
• replaced signal path coupling caps by Jantzen Superior Z-Caps
• replaced all internal point-to-point wiring by high quality audio grade cable
• replaced all lampwire internal power cabling by high quality audio grade power cable
• replaced two-wire lampwire external power cable by earthed Furutech audio grade IEC socket
• isolated the power transformer
• isolated and filtered grounding noise
• replaced RCA sockets by heavily plated audiophile grade sockets
• replaced primary fuse by Audio Horizons Platinum fuse
• reworked the antenna connections for best performance
• checked and, where appropriate, replaced filters, resistors, etc.
• replaced variable output circuitry by audibly superior fixed output connections
• separated AM and FM outputs so each is completely independent of the other
• reconditioned internal and external chassis including wet/dry sanding and multiple coats of paint
• cleaned power supply board
• cleaned FM board and lubricated FM tuning mechanism
• aligned 7-gang FM tuner
• cleaned AM board and lubricated FM tuning mechanism
• aligned 3-gang AM tuner
• spectacularly improved already amazing FM performance, to an unprecedented level
• improved AM performance of this unique, insanely over-engineered AM tuner 

Pictures:

photos of rear etc, to come

Best case cost of getting it done yourself:

• Buy a TU-X1 (at least US$2000 = AU$2700 [more likely US$2500-$3500])
  • examples (unimproved) currently available:
    • On German eBay €2999 (about AU$4650) + shipping
    • On Audiosound Germany €2799 (about AU$4340) + shipping [ but damaged glass and front bottom corner ]
    • One sold this week on German eBay for €2999, so these figures are not pie-in-the-sky
• Ship to Joseph Chow in California (say US$75 = AU$100 if bought in the USA, or US$400 if bought in Europe)  
• Standard and advanced enhancement by Joseph Chow (US$750 = AU$1000)
• Additional components (AH fuse, Jantzen caps, AN RCAs) (US$300 = AU$400)
• Shipping to Australia (US$500 = AU$660)
• GST and import charges (AU$640)

Total (assuming you can find a TU-X1 for $2000 in the US) = $5,500