Sansui TU-888 (1970–1973)
The Sansui TU-888 was a solid-state FM/AM tuner sold from 1970 to 1973 at an original price of $229.95. Sansui's 1971 catalog called it their best tuner of the period, and the engineering backs that up. The FM front end uses a five-gang tuning capacitor to eliminate spurious responses, with PNP transistors in the RF and mixer stages. A crystal filter in the FM IF stage handles selectivity. An IC serves as the FM IF amplifier, which was forward-looking for the era.
The front panel has a wide/narrow IF bandwidth switch, a muting switch, and an "FM Stereo Only" switch. The signal strength meter defeats the muting circuit automatically when reception is weak. The FM section is rated at 1.8 µV sensitivity, 1.5 dB capture ratio, 60 dB selectivity, and less than 0.5% distortion, with frequency response of 30 Hz to 15 kHz ±1 dB. On the AM side, sensitivity is 18 µV with 30 dB selectivity.
The TU-888 is a big tuner: 16-3/4″ wide, 6-3/16″ high, and 11-3/4″ deep, weighing 17 lbs 10 oz. The finish is simulated walnut grain. It draws 30 watts.
Documentation on the TU-888 is thin beyond this single catalog listing. No period reviews from independent test labs have surfaced in the Archive's sources, and no collector market data or common failure points are recorded. What survives suggests a well-built, feature-rich tuner from Sansui's early-1970s push upmarket. A period advertisement in Studio Sound (November 1971, p.9) emphasized the company's commitment to audio purists who preferred separate components. How the tuner was received remains undocumented.
- FM Tuning Range: 87.5–108 MHz
- AM Tuning Range: 522–1605 kHz
- FM Sensitivity: 1.8 µV
- FM Capture Ratio: 1.5 dB
- FM Selectivity: 60 dB
- FM Distortion: less than 0.5%
- Power Consumption: 30 W
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