Sansui SP 70 Journey, Two Months In.

Bodyblue

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I am a not a fan kabuki speakers at all.....in fact I dont really care for 3 way speaker much. I just prefer a really good two way speaker system. As an example of vintage speakers I own: Marantz Imperial 6s, Small Advents and Realistic Nova 6s in the order of preference.

As a result of my preferences listed above I have not been much interested in Sansui speakers that I have run across over the years. BUT any vintage speaker with real wood veneer cabinets on CL or Facebook Marketplace usually will get me to stop and at least read the ad. Late last November I saw a nice looking set of SP70s listed on FM. I had never even heard of them before and when I Googled them I was rather astounded to see that they were two way. I thought "Hmph, aint that the dangdest thing" and moved on. As I browsed speakers listings (really looking for a set of OLAs) I kept seeing the SP70s. I was bored one day and messaged the seller and asked to see a pic with the grills off. After telling him they were screwed on I got the pics and saw everything was in perfect condition. I asked him a few questions (he said he was willing to make a deal but I really was not looking for them) then did not think about them for a few more days. I finally was bored one day and messaged him an a decent offer (but fairly low) and to my surprise he accepted it.

After having them for a few days I put a thread up in another forum. I was not sure how much I liked them because they were rather different than I thought they would be. Now after almost two months of listening I think I finally have a handle on them:

The first thing that surprised me was how bright they are (in a pretty soft bedroom). The first system I had them hooked to was a Realistic SA 2001 (60wpc) Integrated (which I had just got). I think my confusion about them was caused by not being used to the SA 2001 so I changed them to being run by a Sony STR 5800 that I had been using to run Small Advents in the same room. We listen to this system every single night as we fall asleep (using a Sansui Timer). SO after all of the above, here is what I finally think about them (not that means much I know):

They are very bright and detailed, (surprising for a dome tweeter in speakers this old) a little too much for me actually so I have the rear selector in "Soft". Even though they say they are rated for 30 watts max, they need more than that to sound good, which I also found surprising since they are a ported design. When I first brought them home I tried them in the dining room with a Pioneer SX 680 I grabbed to demo them. I was rather disappointed and wondered if I just should flip them but decided to try them in the more powerful bedroom systems. The 60 wpc Realistic and 55wpc Sony really bring out the lower end, which they really need. I have pushed them mildly hard with both systems and they did not seem to strain at a SPL that I could not stand for long.

At first I thought the bass was a bit lacking and compared to the Small Advents and the Nova 6s I had been using, they are. But they are more detailed than either of the other two and after a bit of EQ boost for the lower end they end up to be a nicely balanced speaker. They really are not the best for hard hitting rock but they will still shake the room........Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" really show what they can do (as with most speakers) on the lower end and Dianna Krall's "Garden In The Rain" and "Moonglow" show how accurate they are. I think like most speakers, one has to get used to how they sound and these Sansuis are no exception but they took a bit more time and a bit of tinkering to get them sorted out.

It is a shame that Sansui speakers get tagged (for better or for worse) with the "kabuki" moniker. I have ended up impressed with what a two way Sansui can do. They have a big cabinet for an 8in woofer with a nice tweeter and that is all they need to sound nice......I will be keeping them and will be put in rotation with the Nova 6s.

As for looks, they are a solid 10 out of 10, I love them. The cabinets are in simply superb condition and the wood grills have a chip here and there but overall are in very good condition. The detailing of them overall and the quality of their construction is truly excellent. They blow the Advents away in that regard.....

One of my better $75 investments.

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I just wish there was an easy way to clean those grills. Dust collectors in my place. Be careful of those wood grills, pretty delicate at this point after all the years. Sansui sure made some really nice looking equipment.
 
good description, I also think that all speakers need some time to adapt to their sound, do not disappoint if you give them enough time, and I also love those grids:)
 
I scored a pair of SP-30 or SP-35's (cant remember which) cheap at an auction a few years ago.

One of my big regrets was selling these - they had a horn tweeter and Im sure what looked like a Philips bass driver (this would be unlikely, surely?). They sounded huge, detailed and lively.
 
I just wish there was an easy way to clean those grills. Dust collectors in my place. Be careful of those wood grills, pretty delicate at this point after all the years. Sansui sure made some really nice looking equipment.

The grills look like teak to me and they are indeed a pain to clean as you can see. The Advents sound better but the Sansui cabinets are miles above them.
 
Trying running them on "soft" treble setting to tame the brightness?

Yes, I am running them on "soft". The picture above was taken when I brought them home before they were in the bedroom. I am amazed how bright 45 year old dome tweeters are on them. I have an EQ on both systems in the bedroom (THE HORROR) and the Advents have a slight boost on the top end and the SP70 has a bit bigger boost on the bottom end. My wife and I were in the bedroom for 2 hours before lights out and we listened to the SA 2001/Advent combo to mainly 70s rock. At 8 I turned on the Sony/Sansui system to the soft stuff we listen to while going to sleep and for the first few minutes they sounded a bit "hollow" but then after my ears adjusted to them and Chris Botti's "Summertime" came on, I was amazed. To mangle a quote from a Corn Flakes commercial, I "Heard them again for the first time". The way I have them set up they are smooth and balanced and I really, really like them.

An interesting comparison is them and the Realistic Nova 6s that are in rotation with the Sansuis. The Realistics are not nearly as sensitive (acoustic suspension) and not nearly as bright.....but they have a tighter bass sound that I actually prefer. The Novas dont sound as good at lower volumes as the Sansuis however so it just goes to show that at least for me, I like different speakers for different situations.
 
I have the SP-2000 at home which I recently recapped and they have not only the treble adjustment but also a mid adjustment, so if you turn both mid and treble to 'soft' because I like the bass. what surprised me about the sansui box speakers is how they disappear... it doesn't sound like the audio is coming from a box to me; maybe the tweeters have good dispersion. Check out Allison speakers if you get a chance, particularly the One, Two, Four, Six, Seven or Nine.
 
I have the SP-2000 at home which I recently recapped and they have not only the treble adjustment but also a mid adjustment, so if you turn both mid and treble to 'soft' because I like the bass. what surprised me about the sansui box speakers is how they disappear... it doesn't sound like the audio is coming from a box to me; maybe the tweeters have good dispersion. Check out Allison speakers if you get a chance, particularly the One, Two, Four, Six, Seven or Nine.

I agree about how they seem to fade into the background, especially at the lower volumes we use when playing them as we fall asleep. We have it loud enough to hear how good they sound, not a whisper, but loud enough to just feel them. At that level they are just really smooth and balanced. I am really enjoying them.
 
I bought a pair of these cheap. Really beat up cabinets mainly all the corners knocked off. Also, a large impact lump half way up at the back. They both have U nails and the remains of thick wire poking out of the U nails on the rear of them. Looks like someone hung these on the wall. I mean seriously? Big and heavy and hung on wire?? So I know where the impact lump came from.

Thought of trashing them. Should have. But I got a tech to replace the caps. He also had to replace the tweeters with modern equivalents as one had blown. I'm now in the process of learning how to restore cabinets. Gonna be a long project, but they sound so good I just have to. Rebuilding corners is not easy.
 
I agree about the SP2000s. They sound fine to my ears with the pads on 'soft', but as others have noted, they are a bit light on the low frequencies for such a large speaker. That's not an issue with lots of the acoustic stuff that I listen to.

..... I'm now in the process of learning how to restore cabinets. Gonna be a long project, but they sound so good I just have to. Rebuilding corners is not easy.

I have restored the cabinets on mine, but I had no damage to contend with other than scratches. It was not a bad job. I have some experience with doing that kind of thing. I took off the existing finish with acetone, and that worked well. I then worked up a finish, French polish-style with orange shellac, rubbed out with 0000 steel wool and waxed. It would be less work to just use a satin polyurethane, but probably take a bit longer overall due to longer drying times.

They really look nice. Buy them now while the conventional wisdom is that 'they suck'.
 
Mine will be a struggle to look good. Probably end up with them looking good enough to go in a dark corner. The other option is to take them to a cabinet maker and get them re-veneered. That isn't a cheap option, so depending on cost I may look for an alternative pair and make a good pair from both pairs.
 
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