AU-20000 - Should I?

ThaiBerra

ThaiBerra

Member
Hi,

After quite some time without any chance to expand my Sansiu collection I have just got the opportunity to
bid on a AU-20000 that looks like it is in near mint condition. (Removed mentioning of price - Sorry!!)

Should I go for it?

How does it compare to the BA/CA-2000 combination?
(the Sansui's I'm listening to most of the time)

//Bernt
 
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Au 20000

Hi Bernt

The there is no answer to your question. I have an AU 11000 (similar they say to a BA/CA 2000 combination) and an AU 20000 (similar to the BA/CA 3000 combination). Both are wonderful. The 11000, unlike what you have, does not have the meters. The 11000 was introduced in 1975 at 180,000 yen, the 20000 in 1977 at 280,000 yen. Specifications for the AUs and the BA 2000, CA 2000, and CA 3000 (but not the BA 3000) can be found below:

https://translate.google.com/transl...=http://audio-heritage.jp/&edit-text=&act=url

(Click Sansui then integrated or separates)

I believe, but am not positive, that the AU 20000 is much harder to repair than the BA 2000 or AU 11000.

But, the AU 20000 is, in my opinion, beautiful and near mint condition sounds so appealing. But, I've turned into a collector. One option would be to upgrade the BA 2000 to a BA 3000 and keep the CA 2000 instead of spending a lot of money on a CA 3000 and the extra maintenance problems that go with it. The CA 2000 is still supposed to be a wonderful preamp in its own right. Depending on price, I would go for the AU 20000 although I will not promise that you will hear any difference.

Marc
 
It's not always about the sound with these units, as you've already mentioned the dreaded "collector" word.

Having said that, they do have great sound quality, and as you know, they can be difficult to service.

Oh, and dare I say, that once you have the CA-3000, you will not be a happy boy until you find yourself a nice BA-5000 to go with it.
 
I have the 888, 999, 9900 and have had 6500, 555a, eight. The 9900 is still my favourite, despite it having some quirks. The series amps do sound lovely - despite my 9900 having some quirks....
 
I have the AU-20K for my bedroom system and a CA-3K driving 2 BA-3K's in mono, in the living room.
Some people LIKE the CA-2K pre over the 3K but for me it's WAY to close to call.. and this further assumes both pre's were dialed up to the 10.5's.... I LOVE my 3K's and will not get rid of em... ever... NOW between the 20K VS the CA/BA the noise floor is SLIGHTLY higher on the AU-20K but it's REALLY minor. and the AU-20K is not THAT hard to work on, yes it's jam packed but IMHO as easy to work on ... it's just a bit heavier so it's more of a burden to bench wrestle...

Mike
 
Lost one - got a jackpot!!

First the very bad news! :pity:
After a couple of days serious thinking I decided to give the AU-20000 a new nice home in my "vintage-den"
in the basement (and even got the needed Ok from the wife) I contacted the seller (who at our first contact
promised that the amplifier was reserved for me) just to be informed that he allready sold it.

Then on to the good news! :yippy:

Later that same evening I was contacted by the person that sold me part of his Sansui collection last year
(AU-7500*2, TU-7500*2, AU-9500, TU-9500, AU-999, AU-555, AU-555a and an AU-11000).
He wanted to know if I was intersted in buying some Sansui's that a fellow collector wanted to sell due to
lack of space when moving from his house to a small apartment. The offer were to good to refuse and the
coming week I'm going to drive the 900km needed to pick up all the new "family members":
Sansui SE-7
Sansui AU-517, Sansui TU-517
Sansui AU-717
Sansui AU-719, Sansui TU-719
Sansui BA-F1, Sansui CA-F1
Sansui AU-X901
They are all in mint or near mint condition, all are working except AU-717, TU-719 and the BA-F1.
All are original inside (never been repaired or tampered with) so I'm really prepared for a long cold winter
with a lot of recapping & restoration to be done.
The Mouser orders will certainly cost me a small fortune but I see all the money, work and all the hours
that that I'm putting into these "musical instruments" as an investment.

Right now I'm in Sansui heaven!!

Bernt
 
And of course, just because you've acquired all this great Sansui gear, does not mean that you have to stop searching for a good AU-20000, does it?
 
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