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Modern alternative to vintage Sansui Amp


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1 hour ago, Pebbles said:

I have never heard a Sansui so do not know why they are so desirable but would the original Pioneer A-400 be a possibility for the OP? 

 

Nah, they have a different sonic signature to the vintage Sansuis. They are a nice little amp, of course, but don't fit the bill here.

Edited by pete_mac
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Great tone, lots of detail, even frequency response and lots of drive. Well that's what I've noticed.

 

I've churned through a few amplifiers and I think I've found somewhere I can stop. My Sansui just sounds 'right.

 

I'd be curious to know what you need to spend for a modern amp to sound as good.

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@Mungbean66 

I'd be curious to know what you need to spend for a modern amp to sound as good.

 

Me too. Do these amps have the musicality and rythym of  say Naim, LFD or Densen.

I just hope they're not just all retro and 'ol school' nostalgia, because I too am sick of paying megabucks

for some of the offerings of today to drive my PMC's  to party levels.

 

I do know of an acquaintance  who will never part with his Sansei AU-900 series for anything, he says he's heard them all, being from Hong Kong as well.

 

 
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They are very good, I miss my little ones, a AU-505 and AU-555, they were a little different to the various later series being capacitor coupled and all, but all the 70's and some early 80's Sansui's are very nice sounding.

Edited by muon*
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On 16/03/2020 at 11:21 AM, MattyW said:

With efficient speakers I favour the John Lindsay Hood 1969 or PASS Amp Camp Amp based circuits. Both very very nice however the ACA is brutally revealing and will show up each recording for what it is.... The Hood on the other hand is richer sounding.

 

Although my JLH 1969 amp is Chi-Fi, some of these Russian ones look interesting:

 

https://vk.com/market-101819259

I have some Amp Camp units to build at some stage.  If a bit analytical, what would you recommend to run with them?

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16 minutes ago, Mat-with-one-t said:

I have some Amp Camp units to build at some stage.  If a bit analytical, what would you recommend to run with them?

I'd say the Diatone P610 copies from David Louis would sound great with it.  :)

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On 22/03/2020 at 9:33 AM, Pebbles said:

I have never heard a Sansui so do not know why they are so desirable but would the original Pioneer A-400 be a possibility for the OP? 

Well Sansui is just that Sansui. I can't really explain the difference but to me it sounds like the detail, punch and raw power that I just couldn't feel from other amp.

I currently do have a pioneer amp (AVR so not the same) to drive current setup but I would have to say it's not Sansui.

 

I also went out and bought Rotel-A10 to try and as soon as I plugged it in, I disconnected after couple of songs. Not to say Rotel-A10 was a bad unit. In fact, it was a really great unit and sounded very clean but it just wasn't Sansui.

 

So, I think I will stick with Sansui as Sansui is the only one that can be Sansui.

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 got a sansui 919 brand new when they were released in Australia,prior to that I had a Marantz 1120 and before that a luxman 507x both brought  new, the sansui 919 stayed with me the longest yes the early sansui amps were special,wish I still had the 919.

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... I only have 1 sansui... 555A. Love it, powers a pair of Monitor Audio MA5 (old solid teak speakers) and sound amazing. 

 

What I struggle with is finding an appropriate high quality source. It's in bedroom and I want Streaming + BT + USB dongle with flac and a good quality DAC but my brain is spinning from all the different combinations....

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8 minutes ago, AstroNerd said:

What I struggle with is finding an appropriate high quality source. It's in bedroom and I want Streaming + BT + USB dongle with flac and a good quality DAC but my brain is spinning from all the different combinations....

Allo DigiOne player (streamer) plus a Topping D50s dac.

 

Gives you everything you need and will sound much better then an all in one solution at the same price. Just more cables etc.

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Quote

 in brief what do the classic Sansuis do that makes them such a classic....apart from look fantastic! Regards

 

I was late to the Sansui party but having a couple of musician friends who have Sansui rigs -  it was one of their Sansui and Acoustic Research combos that got me into HiFi.

If I had to define that quality - an AU719 powering a pair of AR3's - the first thing I noticed was how three dimensional, 60's jazz stuff sounded on vinyl. By that I mean that the middle and lower frequency response was more dynamic and detailed than I had experienced with almost any other setup. What really struck me was the richness and depth of the mid range - in this case the snare and toms, upper bass register and middle of the piano and the melody range of the horns all had a 'real'  positioning and presence in the image. The other factor was the bass response - immediate - but with all of the sonic quality of the instrument , not just 'moving air'. 

 

By the time I decided to go down that road it was almost impossible to find a 719 or similar for under 1k and AR3's fetch silly money now. My own setup is far more modest - AU5900 into AR2a's but it still has some of that quality - in fact I'd argue the Sui /Ar2a combo has a different, even more detailed mid range response. The 5900 just doesnt have the bass power/punch of the bigger Sui amps or even my AU317-  but its fine for my smallish room. Oh and I love the look of those mid 70's Sui's too!

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Goodaye all

 

Had one of my AU505 next too my AU70 a little while ago, they sounded so similar.

You can hear that Sansui got the tube sound in there early solid states right.

 

Both are clear and detailed and with the right speakers can shake the house.

l have got to the stage where l cant justify another Amp, but a Alpha would be nice.

 

My garage system would put most to shame. AU505. TU505 and  TDL Compact studio's in each corner.

Every one enjoys it then.?

 

The AU717 is still on the bench.

 

regards Bruce

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Just been A/B -ing the CA700 with the Sui 5900. I have had newer Rotels and Marantz's but never kept them - I like these two amps for now for different reasons - at least until I can get my hands on a bigger Sui without losing whats left of my Super!

 

I just noticed a CA700 on eBay for 2K.....wow!

 

Anyway I could go into detail about the music - but suffice to say it ranged from fairly spacious Jazz and acoustic stuff to some Bartok -all on Vinyl.

 

The Sui has been sitting idle for a little bit so I took the top off and gave it a once over with DeOxit to quieten a couple of pots. Just brilliant - beautiful mids even as I cranked it , no harshness and a lovely no hype bass response.  Monk playing Ellington- there was more clarity from the piano and snare as expected. I love this 'little' amp! Clarity and just a hint of rawness and drives a nice sonic image out of a pair of pernickety but unique sounding speakers.

 

44DE0E33-9FDC-4F34-A072-94755CA8F396.jpeg

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Interesting thread. I have no experience with Sanusi but would love to give it a go. Budget would probably be somewhere between 1K and 1500 say. Could be tempted to go higher if it's an end game scenario.

 

Could I ask some advice here for some recommendations? Driving the Eos Reference (about 91db but do seem to like a bit of current) listening to a variety of classical (Beethoven, Mozart piano concertos, Bach etc. so like detail soundstage dynamics and ability to deal with large orchestral pieces) and also the usual CSN&Y, Beatles Floyd etc. Smallish room so doesn't need to be party levels.

 

Looking for a tube like sound smooth with detail sound stage and all that good stuff. Given those requirements and necessary output power levels (i.e. not sure if the lower wattage models would suffice) I'd really appreciate some suggestions so I can keep an eye on the Classifieds. 

 

Cheers in advance.

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On 23/03/2020 at 11:29 AM, sloper said:

I am yet to meet anyone who owns just one Sansui.  Regards Bruce

To all that haven't heard or are planning of owning a Sansui some day........Warning, Warning!!!

 

It will take a chunk of your daily life searching for other models to buy. You may need to give up one bedroom or rooms for storage. You may come across your partner starting to ask you questions for eg: Why do you need so many amplifiers lol. You may need to invest in a trolley to transport them (model dependent). So think really hard before buying as it can be a vicious disease but good for mental health ?

Edited by Sansui77
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On 02/04/2020 at 1:58 PM, lemarquis said:

Interesting thread. I have no experience with Sanusi but would love to give it a go. Budget would probably be somewhere between 1K and 1500 say. Could be tempted to go higher if it's an end game scenario.

 

Could I ask some advice here for some recommendations? Driving the Eos Reference (about 91db but do seem to like a bit of current) listening to a variety of classical (Beethoven, Mozart piano concertos, Bach etc. so like detail soundstage dynamics and ability to deal with large orchestral pieces) and also the usual CSN&Y, Beatles Floyd etc. Smallish room so doesn't need to be party levels.

 

Looking for a tube like sound smooth with detail sound stage and all that good stuff. Given those requirements and necessary output power levels (i.e. not sure if the lower wattage models would suffice) I'd really appreciate some suggestions so I can keep an eye on the Classifieds. 

 

Cheers in advance.

I would suggest any of these. 

 

70's lineup

 

AU-999 (Must be restored!)

AU-9500 - I really like this model but others differ

Pretty much the AU series lineup and depends on power output to drive your speakers but @ 91db there shouldn't be an issues with most of the models in that series.

 

Newer models from the 90's that could be imported from Japan are the Alpha range. May need to stretch the fund though.

607 NRA / 607NRAII 

 

Or this

 

 

 

 

Edited by Sansui77
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Many thanks for the suggestions. :thumb: That 607XR looks beautiful, within budget and at 90W seems ideal. 

 

Will keep an eye out for the Alpha series from Japan and the others you listed. I'd probably prefer something from the 90s.

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20 minutes ago, Thelastjedi said:

Would a Sansui 317 or 555 be able to run a pair of Focal Aria 936? The focals are 92db

They might need some more power than the AU-555 can provide, at least 50w by Focal's specs.

 

Stereophile measured them as having a sensitivity of 89.5dB(B)/2.83V/m—close to the specified 90dB, even though they are rated as a nominal 8ohm load, they do drop to 2.8ohms minimum. Confirmed by the stereophile measurements.

 

"specified as having a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and a minimum impedance of 2.8 ohms; my measurement (fig.1) confirmed the minimum value at 108Hz, but as the impedance stays below 4 ohms from the upper bass though the lower midrange, where music has high levels of energy, I would recommended using a amplifier rated into 4 ohms with this speaker."

https://www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-936-loudspeaker-measurements

 

1114FA936fig1.jpg

Edited by muon*
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On 04/04/2020 at 8:06 AM, Sansui77 said:

To all that haven't heard or are planning of owning a Sansui some day........Warning, Warning!!!

 

It will take a chunk of your daily life searching for other models to buy. You may need to give up one bedroom or rooms for storage. You may come across your partner starting to ask you questions for eg: Why do you need so many amplifiers lol. You may need to invest in a trolley to transport them (model dependent). So think really hard before buying as it can be a vicious disease but good for mental health ?

Trolley yes.

Gave up a tube  amp cos it was too heavy for me and went to a D class.

 

Recently bought a Sansui AU517. Some how overlooked the weight and found myself struggling with it and nowhere to put it down.

 

Seem to be heavy lumps for the rated output.  I've had power amps with much more power weigh much less.

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8 hours ago, eman said:

Trolley yes.

Gave up a tube  amp cos it was too heavy for me and went to a D class.

 

Recently bought a Sansui AU517. Some how overlooked the weight and found myself struggling with it and nowhere to put it down.

 

Seem to be heavy lumps for the rated output.  I've had power amps with much more power weigh much less.

There's plenty of D class light weight plastic lumps that have high outputs ? but it's not about high output for me, it's about how it's built for the end result, sound reproduction. Some of the higher end Alphas weigh 35kgs with the Tamura Transformers weighing in at 13kgs on their own. Some are just making an output of only 85w a channel but it sure does put a smile on my face when I hear them. One of the main reasons Sansui's sound so good is because of their heavy lump transformers ?

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