The Best Sounding Sansui Seperates

Duffinator

Spin The Black Circle
The Best Sounding Sansui Separates

I really like the Sansui sound and am thinking of getting a seperates/integrated setup. My first real receiver was a 3000A back in 1977 and I now have a 9090DB and a G-8000. Will the seperates be that much of an improvement over either or my receivers?

How about some suggestions of what you think are the best sounding combinations using only Sansui gear. Only caveat is I won't be paying a small fortune for a BA 5000 so you can leave that off your list. This setup will be pushing my ADS L810 speakers. Wattage is important but overall sound quality it tops. I listen to a variety of music most of it is rock/pop and I listen mostly at moderate levels but do like to rock out on occasion. Should I look for a BA/CA 3000 combo? If so what tuner goes with it? Or how about an AU 9900/11000/22000? Or maybe a AU/TU 919? I really like the dual transformers in the 717/919. Maybe a BA F1? How about some of the later gear like an Alpha series? Also consider reliability and availability of parts. So what do you have for me?
 
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If available, you may want to check out the 200 wpc 2101 or 2102, or even the 300 wpc 2301.
Yes, they should really improve your sound experience.
 
hi Duffinator,

i dont think you could go wrong with the ba3000/ca3000 combination.if you want to save a bit of cash you could pair the ba3000 with the ca2000.some people like the ca2000 even better then the ca3000.i have the ba3000 and love it.i'm, sure at 170w /ch is should be more then enough power for your speakers and if you need more wattage you can just bridge the 3000 for 340w and buy another amp.as far as the tuner goes the tu9900 will fit in with the setup nicely.
 
So far my forays into separates have been pretty positive. So much so, I've said good bye to most of my receivers. I'm still waiting for that dang Sansui amp. Should be here on the 13th. I'll let you know if there is a drastic improvement in sound quality over the 8080db.
 
I had to change my avatar for this one :)

I'll give a plug for the CA/BA-2000 amps. Warm, smooth and most of all, full sounding, not so digitally crisp as the later amps and integrates. The 110W conservatively rated BA-2000 is capable of doing physical damage to your ADS L810's :bash:
It will rock out with the needles bouncing into the red hour after hour, day after day. Smoothly. :zoom:
I have two AU-11000 integrates of the same series also rated at 110W. The lower frequencies sound equal to the BA-2000, but the mids and highs are much more pronounced. Same with my AU-9900, rated a few watts less.
I also have a AU-22000 rated equal to the BA-3000 @ 170W. It is flat too loud for my ears in my 20 x 25 cluttered room. It has the same digitally crisp sound that I personally dislike in other integrates. I would like to check out the BA-3000 with the right speakers. That would be sweet.
Not sure what the hell people do with the BA-5000's 300W, but I bet it's one of the best of all the equally rated vintage amps.

I think this series is direct competition with McIntosh... IMHO.

All this, with some late-model JBL towers rated at 250W max with built-in 200W subwoofer amps.
I am searching out the best vintage speaks to go with these amps. My old KLH's are long gone :tears: I had six of them, 100W RMS, hooked to the single output of my original BA-2000 back in the late 70s when abuse was almost expected. That's when the power protection circuit came in handy :bash:
I've fizzled two of these though, always the right channel. A $50 fix -- don't know what the tech did so don't ask :dunno:
I've always run fans on all my amps.
That's my 2¢! :blah:
 
Duffinator, you did not mention cost or wattage requirements. All the other suggestions, especially the BA series, are great ones. If you have a smaller budget, look into the AU/Tu 9500 series. The tuner is 5 gang with great specs, and the amp puts out a solid 85 wants per channel producing a warm, tube-like sound. It was one of Sansui's earlier SS models and consequently over-engineered. This set is currently under most people's radar screens and can be bought for a decent price. Several members of this forum own these compnents and love them. I've had mine for over 30 years without a single repair. Good luck whatever you choose.
 
bozak ron said:
Duffinator, you did not mention cost or wattage requirements. All the other suggestions, especially the BA series, are great ones. If you have a smaller budget, look into the AU/Tu 9500 series. The tuner is 5 gang with great specs, and the amp puts out a solid 85 wants per channel producing a warm, tube-like sound. It was one of Sansui's earlier SS models and consequently over-engineered. This set is currently under most people's radar screens and can be bought for a decent price. Several members of this forum own these compnents and love them. I've had mine for over 30 years without a single repair. Good luck whatever you choose.

Excellent alternatives bozak ron, I couldn't agree more, on each point, especially the prices. :thmbsp:
 
bozak ron said:
I've had mine for over 30 years without a single repair.
Did I fail to mention driving my amps that failed into the power protection mode, several times over many many years, driving a variety of speakers.
The ole one/two :bash:
Oh to be a kid again! :naughty:
 
bozak ron said:
Duffinator, you did not mention cost or wattage requirements. All the other suggestions, especially the BA series, are great ones. If you have a smaller budget, look into the AU/Tu 9500 series. The tuner is 5 gang with great specs, and the amp puts out a solid 85 wants per channel producing a warm, tube-like sound. It was one of Sansui's earlier SS models and consequently over-engineered. This set is currently under most people's radar screens and can be bought for a decent price. Several members of this forum own these compnents and love them. I've had mine for over 30 years without a single repair. Good luck whatever you choose.
There is no budget constraints other than I'm not going to pay a fortune for a BA 5000. Besides price I don't need that many watts. I've been looking at vintage Mac gear as well but besides the looks I think the Sansui gear could be a better value. Plus Sansui was my first piece of real audio gear so there are sentimental reasons as well. As long as the amp will drive my 810's to over 100 db that should do it. In other words probably something at 80 watts or above but could go lower. Most all the vintage gear is a good value so no concerns there. Unless each piece is going over $1K then that's getting a bit pricey. I think some of the Alpha stuff might be that high.
 
SuiDog said:
I had to change my avatar for this one :)

I'll give a plug for the CA/BA-2000 amps. Warm, smooth and most of all, full sounding, not so digitally crisp as the later amps and integrates. The 110W conservatively rated BA-2000 is capable of doing physical damage to your ADS L810's :bash:
It will rock out with the needles bouncing into the red hour after hour, day after day. Smoothly. :zoom:
I have two AU-11000 integrates of the same series also rated at 110W. The lower frequencies sound equal to the BA-2000, but the mids and highs are much more pronounced. Same with my AU-9900, rated a few watts less.
I also have a AU-22000 rated equal to the BA-3000 @ 170W. It is flat too loud for my ears in my 20 x 25 cluttered room. It has the same digitally crisp sound that I personally dislike in other integrates. I would like to check out the BA-3000 with the right speakers. That would be sweet.
Not sure what the hell people do with the BA-5000's 300W, but I bet it's one of the best of all the equally rated vintage amps.
Some excellent advice here. I was watching the recent BA/CA 2000 combo that sold on ePay the other day very closely. Besides those I really like the looks of the AU-9900 and it looks to be an excellent value.

Any other suggestions? Anybody here own the Alpha gear?
 
I have a Sansui AU-717 amp that I love the sound from, and hooked up a TU-217 tuner to is as I never was much of a radio dog. But the big Sansui integrateds are bulletproof, sound great, and rugged. Mine drove a pair of Infinity Reference Standard 1.5's for years as loud as I ever needed them and I'm a classic metal fan, so they got a good workout.
 
look for the philips separates

amp is 578 or 5781

pre is 572 or 5721

tuner is 673 or 6731

The 1 at the end indicates a black version. the tuner is highly rated. amp is 210/channel and is very industrial looking, two big meters and lots of cooling fins.
 
krimney said:
amp is 578 or 5781

pre is 572 or 5721

tuner is 673 or 6731

The 1 at the end indicates a black version. the tuner is highly rated. amp is 210/channel and is very industrial looking, two big meters and lots of cooling fins.
That's an interesting suggestion. Got a link to more information?

Scorp, I'm very interested in an AU/TU 717 combo. I've always liked the dual power supplies in them and they look cool. Seems to be one of the most popular combos and from what everyone says for good reasons. The BA/CA combo also sounds interesting if I could find some locally. A BA 5000 just sold on ePay that was local but it was a beater and still went for over $600.

Keep those opinions coming. :yes:
 
Another plug for the BA-2000! I use this with my McIntosh C26 preamp and it sounds very good! I have a TU-717 tuner that I love also, though I don't listen to FM like I used to... I'd love a CA-3000....because of the cool meters of course! :)
 
More support for the CA/BA-2000. I've got this set up with the TU-9900 & AU-11000, and I just can't speak highly enough of it. It's an absolute privilege to own. More punch than I could ever need, and sounds beautiful. Looks damn hot all set up together too!!!
 
WOW, nice to see a following of the Professional/Definition Series. :banana:

I got a CA/BA-2000 pair off eBay for $499 that are damn near immaculate. I won another BA-2000 for $145, good to go. I won't list the others :blah:

The next series integrated amps & tunas with black face/knobs are also very desirable; AU-919/717, TU-919, etc..
Especially if you get a competent tech like Echo Wars to work some magic on em :zoom:

My 3 BA-2000's sound identical and have been serviced & tested by Doug @ Audio Specialties in Portland... he did same with all of my gear.

Good luck to you Duffinator! :thmbsp:
 
sansuisammy said:
More support for the CA/BA-2000. I've got this set up with the TU-9900 & AU-11000, and I just can't speak highly enough of it. It's an absolute privilege to own. More punch than I could ever need, and sounds beautiful. Looks damn hot all set up together too!!!
So how do the CA/BA combo sound compared to your AU/TU combo? Is there much of a difference? So does the TU 7900/9900 match up with both the AU 9900/11000/20000 and the BA/CA series? I really like the looks of these series of components and if they sound as good as they look this is probably the direction I'll head in.

Unless a nice AU/TU 717 combo drops in my lap. So does the AU 717/517/719 have dual transformers but the AU 919 doesn't? What's up with that?

Isn't the TU 9900 hard to come by? I'm not listening to a lot of FM would a TU 7900 work just as well?

Suidog, sounds like you need to unload some of the gear. Any plans of traveling to Sacramento soon???
 
Hi SuiDog! You mentioned Doug at Audio Specialties! I'd like to give this guy a plug also! I have been bringing my stuff to him for years and he has been very reasonable. I traded my dead AU-717 for partial payment towards my Mac C26, and he was very fair! Nice guy, knowledgeable and does great work!
 
I echo Suidog's sentiments on the separates vs. intergrates (intergratum?gratex?) - my au 9900 does have more pronounced upper and midband, whereas the ca2000/ba2000 combo i've heard is a bit more laid back at higher khz - subjectively, of course.

it's almost impossible to 'audition' these components before buyign them but I think the key is matching - have a good old search of the forums and see what people say about each one, and especially what sources they use. Personally, with an older cd player and warm turntable, the upper boost of the amplifier is a boon, but if you were considering an incisive, brittle sounding cd player, like higher end Chord the like, the seperates may suit you better.
 
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