Sansui AU-9900

Sansui Ca-2000 Pre-amplifier & Ba-2000 Power-amplifier

The Sansui CA-2000 Control Amplifier.

Sansui had come a long way since they started as a small manufacture of transformers in 1947. By 1975 Sansui had introduced the CA-2000 and Ba-2000, this pre and power combo were slightly smaller than the 3000 series but what they lost in size they more than made up for with their elegant looks and lush styling.

 

Everything was silver at the time but the black and silver styling from Sansui remained and personally, I think it's far superior. Sansui were building some of the worlds finest audio equipment but sadly the company would later hit hard times and be lost for all eternity. That is until the very early 90's when they started to fight back but even though they had some good amplifiers they disappeared again. Now you can find their name on cheap lcd tvs and £10 dvd players.



The Sansui BA-2000 Base? Amplifier

Introduced alongside the Control Amplifier the 2000 amplifier was a great big hunk of 110watt solid state goodness. First class build quality, one huge toroidial transformer with two windings, one for each channel of the amplifier. Big vu meters on the front with selectable scale and they are back-light in that lush Sansui green.



The sound is sublime, its fairly warm and sounds so effortless. The Pre & Power combo is very "lush" sounding rather than "high-end" but, when mated with the right speakers, envelopes you, there is an overwhelming force making you tap ya foot, it seems only Sansui units have this "magic". I can play the same music on the same speakers but with a pioneer sa-9900 in the driving seat I feel nothing. No emotional response from the music, that is a serious negative and I shall be writing an article going into further detail soon.

By this point you may think I'm some sort of "Sansui FanBoy". Well, I am, but only because they have proven themselves worthy. Trio 600, Pioneer sa-9900, revox B750mkII, acuphase pre-power, the list goes on but nothing captures me in the music like these. I find the build quality exquisite, I really love the looks and the sound is sheer bliss. Sansui equipment has a serious fan base and all the high end amplifier models are well respected, Its just a shame their speakers don't deliver!

Sansui sp-2000 Speakers

Sansui SP-2000 vintage speakers.

A 4 way speaker consisting of 6 drivers per side. 12" bass with alnico magnet system, all other drivers are alnico as well. 2 mid-range, 2 tweeters, a super tweeter and a massive bass port. 

Made in Japan by Sansui 1968

30hz - 20Khz test chamber

25hz - 20Khz normal room

max power 70watts

8 ohm impedance

spl 101db

cross over points 1500hz, 5000hz, 10000hz

653mm H x 380mm W x 323mm D

Teak veneer

20kg each

 
              


These should have been everything I was looking for but sadly, a major disappointment. To be fair, I think the cross overs were way past their best. All I could hear was mid-range, loads of it, not good mid-range either. By adjusting the tone controls on the back I could just get them bearable. Shame, I think in a bigger room I may have seen their magic but in my setup, they had to go. Back came the IMFs, more on those later.