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BA-3000 upgrades?

BHamm

BHamm

The pendulum swings.
I wanted to see what the opinion of others would be regarding upgrading a BA-3000 power amp. Assume the amp is stock with no issues. Do you leave it in this unmolested condition, or do you try to improve its already impressive performance. By improvements I am referring to replacing caps, upgrading binding posts etc. Also, what have others done in the upgrade area for this amp and what was the outcome? Any thoughts?
 
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I picked up a Ba-2000 from Duffinator (when he got a 3000) for a nice price- had some upgraded caps (black gates and nichicon).

Sounds great.

Maybe he can chime in as to what was done.

I want to molest the 2000 by adding upgraded speaker wire connectors on the arse end.
 
thedelihaus said:
I picked up a Ba-2000 from Duffinator (when he got a 3000) for a nice price- had some upgraded caps (black gates and nichicon).

Sounds great.

Maybe he can chime in as to what was done.

I want to molest the 2000 by adding upgraded speaker wire connectors on the arse end.
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Hi Paul,

I heard the BA-2000 you got from Duff at his place. It looks great in your rack. Duff now has a very clean BA-3000, which for his huge speakers sound better. So you are in favor of upgrades. Thanks for the input.
 
thedelihaus said:
I picked up a Ba-2000 from Duffinator (when he got a 3000) for a nice price- had some upgraded caps (black gates and nichicon).
Click to expand...
Bhamm knows where I got the BA-3000 from. ;) I got the BA-3000 for a nice price so I was passing along the Karma. :thmbsp: I'm glad you are happy with it.

I thought there was a noticeable improvement with the caps upgraded in the BA-2000. That improvement could have been the Black Gate and Nichicon caps, the fact the there were some original caps out of spec, or a combination of the two. I suspect the latter. The tech that B and I use told me that the Black Gate caps take time to break-in. I have been somewhat suspect of break-in theory but to my ears the sound really did change after 20-30 hours for the better. The sound stage really opened up. Add to that my experience with my new Dacmagic and it's improvement after 20-30 hours and I'm now a believer.

But I'm more suspect of improvements changing power cords and binding posts . The BA-3000 has a heavier gauge power cord compared to other vintage equipment, similar to the one on my Pioneer SX-1250. And the binding posts are nicer than the spring clips on other vintage gear I've owned. IMO I would not expect the same sonic improvement upgrading them as adding nice quality interconnects to a vintage TT that has cheesy thin ones like my Technics SL-1700 MK2.

If I was going to do anything I'd most likely replace/upgrade caps in the signal path since they are over 30 years old. But even that has it's pros and cons. One AK member I've met a few times and chat with frequently (and respect his opinion a lot) has recapped several pieces of gear, mostly Sansui, and says he rarely hears an improvement after the recap. Maybe he'll post his thoughts on this subject later.
 
Duffinator said:
Bhamm knows where I got the BA-3000 from. ;) I got the BA-3000 for a nice price so I was passing along the Karma. :thmbsp: I'm glad you are happy with it.

I thought there was a noticeable improvement with the caps upgraded in the BA-2000. That improvement could have been the Black Gate and Nichicon caps, the fact the there were some original caps out of spec, or a combination of the two. I suspect the latter. The tech that B and I use told me that the Black Gate caps take time to break-in. I have been somewhat suspect of break-in theory but to my ears the sound really did change after 20-30 hours for the better. The sound stage really opened up. Add to that my experience with my new Dacmagic and it's improvement after 20-30 hours and I'm now a believer.

But I'm more suspect of improvements changing power cords and binding posts . The BA-3000 has a heavier gauge power cord compared to other vintage equipment, similar to the one on my Pioneer SX-1250. And the binding posts are nicer than the spring clips on other vintage gear I've owned. IMO I would not expect the same sonic improvement upgrading them as adding nice quality interconnects to a vintage TT that has cheesy thin ones like my Technics SL-1700 MK2.

If I was going to do anything I'd most likely replace/upgrade caps in the signal path since they are over 30 years old. But even that has it's pros and cons. One AK member I've met a few times and chat with frequently (and respect his opinion a lot) has recapped several pieces of gear, mostly Sansui, and says he rarely hears an improvement after the recap. Maybe he'll post his thoughts on this subject later.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you appreciate the BA3k. This is the kind of opinion I wanted. I really want to know a specific upgrade path, instead of the shotgun approach and throwing everything at it and hoping it sounds better. What have others done and was it worth it?
 
Duffinator said:
I'm also interested to see what others have done. Dr. Audio, have you performed any upgrades to yours?
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I don't have the BA-3000, I have the AU-9900, which has a similar power amp, I believe. I think I replaced the caps in the power supply in mine, and maybe the preamp. The mains had already been replaced when I bought it. I used Panasonic FC caps and it sounds wonderful. The other thing you might want to do is replace the pre-driver transistors, not the TO-220 ones, the ones with the smaller tab on them. They are crap and go intermittant.
 
BA3k

Duffinator said:
I must have you confused with Casey. Casey have you done any upgrades to yours?
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Mine has been off to Echowars for repair, I don't think there are really any upgrades to consider, the only chronic issue I am aware of is the meter driver diodes are prone to failure, the symptom is a power meter that will not move until you "slam" the volume control, then it will work normally till the next time you turn the amp off.
Keep it clean, and make sure it can breathe.
Casey:music:
 
Here are a few things you can do:

* Upgrade RCA Jacks
* Replace all capacitors (I used Nichicon KZ, Panasonic FC, Elna Silmic II, and Nichicon Muse Fine Gold)
* Replace relays
* Replace fuses
* Upgrade fuse-style lamps with new LED ones for the meters
* Replace signal path resistors with 1% PRP Audio Resistors
* Reseat the TO-3 outputs with new thermal grease

Clean and calibrate and then BOOM! you have one of Sansui's best power amps for decades to come!!

(I can't take credit for the red automotive paint job or the RCA jacks - that was done by the previous owner)
 

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nosirrah said:
Mine has been off to Echowars for repair, I don't think there are really any upgrades to consider, the only chronic issue I am aware of is the meter driver diodes are prone to failure, the symptom is a power meter that will not move until you "slam" the volume control, then it will work normally till the next time you turn the amp off.
Keep it clean, and make sure it can breathe.
Casey:music:
Click to expand...

I asked about that issue before for a CA-3000. They were heat sensitive diodes I believe. Very happy to hear there is a fix. Let us know what you think when you get it back.

xoaphexox said:
Here are a few things you can do:

* Upgrade RCA Jacks
* Replace all capacitors (I used Nichicon KZ, Panasonic FC, Elna Silmic II, and Nichicon Muse Fine Gold)
* Replace relays
* Replace fuses
* Upgrade fuse-style lamps with new LED ones for the meters
* Replace signal path resistors with 1% PRP Audio Resistors
* Reseat the TO-3 outputs with new thermal grease

Clean and calibrate and then BOOM! you have one of Sansui's best power amps for decades to come!!

(I can't take credit for the red automotive paint job or the RCA jacks - that was done by the previous owner)
Click to expand...

Thanks for this list. Looks pretty comprehensive. I will be printing this out for future upgrades. :thmbsp:
 
Here it is what I have done on this BA3000:

wmg7oheiwbrdhoysbcrc.jpg

That is Regulated Power Supply Board without main capacitors, and with already cleaned deadly glue, but deadly glue still is around those resistors, to clean this, I removed resistors and then cleaned that part of board.

uzcx23114i8umfuccm53.jpg

That is the same restored board

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The same restored board, other view

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restored driver boards

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new emitter resistors on power stage

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because the new MILLS MRA12 emitter resistors are large than old ones, I adopted heat sink to accept them
 
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That is BA3000 in the middle of restoration

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again power stage with new emitter resistors

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connection point on new main capacitors (nichicon KG Super)

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old and new main capacitors

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Black Gate capacitors

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Driver boards with regulated power board, all restored

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Testing (that G8000 below is mine)

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Test signal on speakers output (10kHz)
 
Duffinator said:
Nice work! Any difference in the sound quality after you finished the restoration?
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More stability at high power, very deep and controlled bass, treble tones are much more clear now, but during the next time will be more softer than now, because new capacitors need some time to adopt. But what I can hear now, it is really deep and controlled bass. Middle tones are very very nice, especially vocals!
 
I highly recommend replacing the 2 transistors with the smaller tabs, located near the heatsink, but not mounted to it. I have found they go intermittent.

wfzze452rasnb376hp.jpg

restored driver boards
 
Nice work everyone! I think my next move is to replace those potentially intermittent transistors.

That's TR08 and TR09 right? What replacement do you recommend?

Kale: lovely black gates! I wish they were still available.

I am also going to replace VR01 (4.7k) and VR02 (1k) with Bournes 25 turn pots while I am under the hood.
 
Interestingly I just realized my driver boards don't look anything like the ones in your or Kale's pictures (or the service manual for that matter).

That is strange...
 
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