Sansui TU-5900 AM/FM Stereo Tuner — Dolby FM, Made in Japan

An analogue AM/FM stereo tuner from Sansui’s strongest years, built in Japan in the mid-seventies as the matching partner to the AU-series integrated amplifiers, and a good deal more serious inside than its modest size suggests.

Sansui built the TU-5900 to sit beside an AU amplifier rather than beneath a lesser one, and the front end reflects that. A low-noise dual-gate MOS FET leads into a precision three-gang frequency-linear tuning capacitor, with ceramic filters handling selectivity and a phase-locked-loop integrated circuit doing the stereo demodulation. PLL demodulation was the good way to do it and not yet the common way — it locks the stereo subcarrier rather than chasing it, which is why a well-kept tuner of this generation still separates channels cleanly on a weak signal where cheaper contemporaries collapse toward mono.

Selectivity is rated at 60 decibels, which is the specification that decides whether a tuner is useful in a crowded band. Ottawa, Gatineau and the border stations put a great deal of signal into the same stretch of dial, and a tuner that cannot reject the neighbour two notches over will never quite settle. This one will.

Two features raise it above the ordinary. There is a Dolby FM output, for the broadcast noise-reduction standard a number of stations ran in the seventies — and in practice a useful extra output that feeds a Dolby-equipped tape deck directly, whether or not anyone is still broadcasting the encoding. And there is an antenna attenuation switch, which matters more than it sounds: if you live close to a transmitter, a strong local signal can overload a sensitive front end and spray images across the dial. The attenuator pulls the input down and puts the band back in order. Most tuners at this price simply did not offer the option.

The AM section is properly implemented rather than an afterthought, with its own two-gang tuning section covering the full broadcast band.

Condition is Very Good and it has been through our Level One service: cleaned inside and out, all controls and switches deoxidised for smooth silent operation, illumination checked and replaced where needed, and full bench testing across both bands. It tunes, locks and holds exactly as it should, and it presents well on a shelf.

A few relevant specifications:

A properly engineered analogue tuner from the era when Sansui was building to a standard rather than to a price, matched to the AU amplifiers and ready for another few decades of broadcast.

Available for pickup in Kanata, or shipped across Canada and internationally — we have sent equipment to fifteen countries in the past year, each piece packed in-house in 275 lb test double-wall boxes. Live shipping rates for your address are calculated at checkout. Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Available for audition by appointment in Kanata.

Sansui TU-5900 AM/FM stereo tuner Specifications

• AM/FM stereo tuner, analogue dial
• Low-noise dual-gate MOS FET front end
• Three-gang frequency-linear tuning capacitor, FM; two-gang, AM
• Ceramic filter selectivity, 60 dB
• Phase-locked-loop stereo demodulator IC
• Dolby FM output
• Four-channel adaptor facility
• Antenna attenuation switch for high-signal areas
• FM tuning range 88 to 108 MHz
• AM tuning range 535 to 1605 kHz
• Frequency response 30 Hz to 15 kHz, FM
• Output level 775 mV
• Made in Japan, mid-1970s
• Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 16.9 x 5.2 x 9.6 inches (430 x 132 x 243 mm)
• Weight: 14.1 lbs (6.4 kg)

✅ Good News for International Buyers

This unit is switchable between 120V and 220V, so it can be set to suit most markets worldwide. No step-down transformer is required — only an appropriate plug adapter.

✅ Buy With Confidence — The Radique Promise

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back. That’s the Radique difference.

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