Austin Stereo Blog

A few things we've discovered after working on stereo equipment for almost 40 years.

Some things to know about vacuum tubes

Something really appealing about vacuum tubes. Especially on amps like this McIntosh MC240 where you can easily see them. Do tube amps...

The Sansui 9090DB Dolby Card Bypass

The 9090DB was an outstanding receiver. Unfortunately, the now nearly useless Dolby section causes more problems than it solves. On...

These speaker connectors might destroy your amplifier.

These are adapters to connect large gauge speaker wire to a vintage "quick connect" style speaker connector. The fact is, these are...

A warning about patch cords

Cables like these are no friend to vintage amps and receivers. Most connectors on mid century audio are stamped metal, and were never...

Safely packing amplifiers and receivers for shipping

Peanuts, air pillows and bubble wrap won't cut it. If your amp or receiver can move around in the box even an inch, that's bad. ...

Sansui 9090 display lamp mode switch mod

This is a Sansui 9090 pc board just behind the front panel. We are seeing more and more examples where the display power switching has...