Seeking no-sh*t opinions, reviews, of CA-2000 pre.

[thoriated_tiger]

Howdy folks..

Been using a CA-2000 pre to drive a Dyna Stereo 70. I know this is bass-ackwards from 'conventional wisdom,' but we all know vintage buffs fly in the face of 'fashion' anyway :tongue:

I've scoured the web up and down looking for a review on the CA-2000. And I mean a real review from a magazine, not some idiot on some review site mouthing off nonsense. Came up with nothing.

My take on the CA: Very polite, but extended treble..mid is a little sucked out? Good bass. Built like a tank, feels like lab equipment. Doesn't sound harsh at all, no typical SS *zing* on the top. And that's through Klipsch speakers. :D I've also driven an SAE Two 100wpc "amp", with the usual HF tizz. Works *great* with the dyna.

As far as I know the bulk of the signal goes through FETs.

I"m currently on the very preliminary stages of re-building a PAS3 tube pre, on which I will unleash a larger power supply. The Sansui has an excellent shot at staying in my system. The only thing I think the PAS will get me is a slightly better midrange? *shrug*

I could live with the CA for many more years :)

Eventually, I wish to find it a mate.. say, a nice BA 5000 or 3000.. amd use it as an office system :D

So what do you folks think of the CA-2000? :)

[BeatleFred]

Here's a review for you- Thanks to my good friend, car67, who was so kind to send a copy of it to me, long distance, from Australia to New York:

[BeatleFred]

Sorry about the large size- I thought I had cropped out the pic of the unit itself to save on space. Anyone know the best scanner settings to've posted this in the optimal way?

This is a review from a '77 (British?) hi fi mag. The CA-2000 was reviewed along with about 10 other preamps.

The consensus is it ranked #4 in the 10. Though the other 3 (Lux C1000, Lecson AP1, and Naim NAC 12 were not without some drawbacks).

I have a CA-2000 and I think it is a superb preamp.

[thoriated_tiger]

Funny how they kinda panned it.. I find it to be rather refined, if a little 'polite'.

Imaging is most definitely *not* a problem. With Klipsch SF2 and a decent amp, I get holographic apparitions all the time :)

Did reviewers of the era also pan the BA-series amps?

I think that fella needs his ears cleaned :rolleyes:

[thoriated_tiger]

I guess the group's feelings for the CA-2000 preamp are not quite as warm and fuzzy as compared to Sansui's receivers, judging by the solid failure of this thread to generate replies..oh well.

Is the BA-series power amps just as ignored here?

[BeatleFred]

Hi Tiger:

I dunno about the other guys, as for me- I am usually swamped in trying to keep up with email correspondences, and keeping track of all the messages I post or reply to on various sites. I literally can spend hours & hours on this computer involved in just the hi fi stuff alone. That has been the case pretty much this entire weekend (which as they usually do- fly by sooo fast). I have a lil' problem with my car that I have to tend do-which I meant to do this weekend- but I get so distracted with the hi fi stuff, that all the other things I need to do away from this computer, doesnt get done. So, I apologize to anyone if I cant reply to your post right away, but there's just so many hours in a day, and sometimes its difficult to get everything done that you want to do. Its an uphill battle for me to get myself brought up to date with everything thats on the large To-Do List. And I'm a single guy with no kids! I cant imagine if I were married and had kids to tend to, how I would ever find any time whatsoever to take care of my own things. Maybe thats why at 39, I'm still single:)

I also just had a setback with a reoccuring problem with my AU-X1 amp- so I have been spending some time contacting some people about the problem, so just typing in lengthy emails- the messages just dont get written on their own- I have to type it all in word by word- so just handling my emails is VERY time consuming. I might have to start thinking about voice-recognition software to substitute for typing. That would definitely save alot of time:)

But otherwise, I think the lack of replies is simply because not that many other people here have a CA-2000 or other Sansui preamp. They tend to have either a Sansui receiver or integrated, so they might not feel they have any comments to make based on personal experience. As for me, like I said before, I have a CA-2000, I think its a great preamp, and I am very happy with it.

Sincerely, B/F.

[Kamakiri]

Originally posted by thoriated_tiger
I guess the group's feelings for the CA-2000 preamp are not quite as warm and fuzzy as compared to Sansui's receivers, judging by the solid failure of this thread to generate replies..oh well.

Is the BA-series power amps just as ignored here?

I get the feeling that the lack of replies is perhaps indicative that not many people have had experience with them, above all else.

[moondog]

I'd like one!!! Who's buying? :D
Moonie (needing new company)

[thoriated_tiger]

Welp, if no one has said it, I will.

Get one. Its a sleeper. I paid a pittance for mine, and all it needed was a squirt of cleaner on a few pots, and a dab of flat-black paint on one corner of the Sansui nameplate. :D