Sansui sr-929 (1976-1979)
A high-end direct-drive turntable with quartz-servo speed control and precision mechanical design from Sansui's flagship SR-700 series.
Overview
The Sansui SR-929 is a top-tier direct-drive turntable built from October 1976 to 1979. It was Sansui's best turntable of the LP era. It has a quartz-servo drive system for accurate, stable speed. It belonged to the SR-700 series and was the flagship of that line. It came out during a period of heavy innovation in turntable design, and its engineering is linked to Micro Seiki.
Specifications
| Drive system | Electronically controlled direct drive |
| Drive type | 2-speed, Quartz-Servo Direct-Drive manual |
| Speeds | 33 1/3 rpm & 45rpm |
| Motor | 20-pole, 30-slot DC brushless with built-in frequency generator |
| Turntable/Platter | 302 mm Diameter Aluminum Alloy Die-cast |
| Wow and flutter | 0.028% or less (WRMS) |
| Signal-to-noise ratio | 66dB(IEC-B) |
| Rumble | > 74 dB (DIN-B) |
| Speed deviation | Within ± 0.002% (Quartz Servo ON) |
| Startup time | Within 1.2 Seconds (120 °) |
| Temperature stability | 0.00003% / ° C |
| Load characteristics | 0% (up to 10g tracking force, Quartz Servo ON); 0.1% (up to 10g tracking force, Quartz Servo OFF) |
| Pitch control | ± 3.5% |
| Tonearm type | Static balanced S-shaped tonearm with knife-edge and jewel bearing support |
| Effective arm length | 240mm |
| Overhang | 15.6mm |
| Tracking force range | 2g...11g |
| Minimum tracking force | 0.5g |
| Acceptable cartridge weight | 11g...21g (with supplementary counterweight) |
| Compensation | bias and lateral balance |
| Tracking error angle | Less than 2° per record radius |
| Strobe | Built-in stroboscope |
| Power consumption | < 8W |
| Power requirements | AC 100, 117, 220, 240V; 50/60Hz |
| External dimensions | Width 490 x Height 173 x Depth 381 mm |
| Weight | 17.1kg |
Design
The quartz servo runs off a crystal oscillator circuit. The arm is a statically balanced S-shaped tonearm with knife-edge vertical bearings and jewel needle-point horizontal bearings. It sits on a massive zinc alloy base with ±3 mm height adjustment. The arm has lateral balance and anti-skate (inside-force canceller) controls, and the tracking force dial is graduated in 0.05g steps. The headshell uses gold-plated pins. The chassis rides on height-adjustable, damped insulators to isolate vibration. The cabinet is a triple-layer "Sansui black" polyester resin over particleboard, which keeps it from howling. A toroidal transformer powers the motor to minimize flux leakage. The 302 mm die-cast aluminum platter is non-magnetic, with a slightly concave mat that has pyramidal edge projections. The strobe housing around the platter has a silver aluminum finish. Cueing is a two-point viscous-damped system.
Context
The SR-929 was the flagship of the Sansui SR-700 series and the brand's highest-end turntable in the mid-to-late 1970s, when LPs dominated high-fidelity audio. It was developed with engineering collaboration linked to Micro Seiki and carried Sansui's most advanced turntable technology. It was highly regarded for build and sound quality, though period assessments often placed it just below contemporaneous flagships from Technics and Denon.
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