K
kajguy03
Guest
Hmmmm....now this should be a fight!
yrly
Breaking records is good?
I owned a 2325 and currently own the 990DB which is the black faced 9090DB. I would take neither. MCS 3125 or Fisher RS-1060 for me. Go over to this thread and take a look at the MCS 3125 nudie!Nudie receivers
hotgas
Super Member
I'd not touch that MCS 3125. It looks so lame in my opinion. I'll take Marantz for sure. At this level I don't think I can hear any differences among them so my preferences are based on others such as name, looks, and how much money one can get from Ebaying. Who cares about performance since your ears can't hear the differences anyway!
yrly
Breaking records is good?
I think the MCS 3125 is a darn impressive looking piece of gear. You really have to see it in person to appreciate it. Some dislike it but I think its an impressive piece. Same goes for the Fisher RS-1060 I guess, looks rather drab in pictures. Part of the problem is you do not get the full size of the receiver in an adequate scope. Its even worse for the RS-1060, looks so small in a picture, does not seem like it would stand a full two feet wide. Anyway I can hear a difference between all four of these. The MCS 3125 is easily the best sounding of the four. Much clearer for one thing. Followed by the RS-1060 a little softer sounding, than the Marantz 2325 same as the RS-1060 it sounds softer (there is not really a whole lot of difference between those two in sound quality, if it was for sound I would take either, if it was price lets just say I got two RS-1060s for the price that will get one 2325), then the Sansui 990DB (or 9090DB inside its the same thing). I have for a long time failed to see what the hype behind the 9090DB was. I never purchased one because they tended to run expensive. I got one cheap recently and was not overly impressed with it. Don't get me wrong its plenty good (currently now resides in my computer room here), more so than most stuff available today. But why so much money for it? It's tuner is nothing better than any of the above mentioned units. It is not any more powerful. It does not sound any better (I think it sounds dry for some reason). There is no way I can complain about it for $25 though. It may be personal taste. If I was going Marantz it would be up the ladder from the 2325, the 2385, and it would be hard to stomach spending that kind of dough. After all I paid under $100 for that Project One Mark 1500. Of course it is all opinion and thats just my sentiments!
K
kajguy03
Guest
Originally posted by CDFixer
Me, I'm a Sansui kindad guy, your right after listening to the 8080/9090DBs for so long I can't hear anything anymore. (Maybe shoudn't have cranked u'm quite so high)
Well, I'm a Marantz kinda guy.....and here's the support for my position:
Gotta go with the 9090DB! I own both models so I can speak from experience. The Marantz is also a superb piece but the sansui just sounds better to me. The tuners are comparable and phono sections are about the same. The 9090DB seems to have the better ability to create a more lifelike soundstage. Just my 2 cents worth!
I'd like the chance to compare them. Both nice models, and would be tough to go wrong with either one.
CDFixer, what nine receivers do you have? All Sansui, or a mix of models?
I'm down to the Concept 16.5, the Onkyo TX-8500 Mk II, TX-7000 & TX-5000, the Nikko NR-1015, NAD 7100, & the Yamaha R-2000.
That's more than I thought I had. Yikes.
CDFixer, what nine receivers do you have? All Sansui, or a mix of models?
I'm down to the Concept 16.5, the Onkyo TX-8500 Mk II, TX-7000 & TX-5000, the Nikko NR-1015, NAD 7100, & the Yamaha R-2000.
That's more than I thought I had. Yikes.
CDFixer
Number 1 USC Trojan Fan
Mine are all Sansui X0X0 Models, 2 8080DBs, 4 9090DBs, 3 990DBs, a 7070 and one 8080DB that was parted out sometime ago (I bought it as parts). I am putting it back together as a kinda ground up restoration project. I have most of the parts what I don't have I will find soon enough.
Lefty
Super Member
Well BOTH are great recievers to own and I have had both through here but not at the same time. Sticking to the NO perfect receiver exists thyme, here are a few subjective opinions from memory.
Marantz--- poorly designed lamp backing bezzel that tends to 'melt', deform and become super brittle making lamp replacment a real chore. Kind of depends if the prior owner kept the unit turned on many hours and mounted in a cab of some kind. Better tuner section then the DB. I tend to lean towards the Marantz styling more then the Sansui. Every vintage collector should have at least one Marantz peice. It's got gyro tuning dammit....
Sansui--- always felt the heat sinks were too small for this power level. Volume knob too small and concentric with the balance control. DB features no longer useful and just add more controls and circuitry to go bad. Microphone input was pretty cool feature, you could mix in the mic level with whatever else is selected. I added a desk mike mostly for the visual effects, very cool....
Last but not least Sansui published the worst service manuals of all the brands of that era that I have come across... hope you don't ever have to use one.
Lefty
Marantz--- poorly designed lamp backing bezzel that tends to 'melt', deform and become super brittle making lamp replacment a real chore. Kind of depends if the prior owner kept the unit turned on many hours and mounted in a cab of some kind. Better tuner section then the DB. I tend to lean towards the Marantz styling more then the Sansui. Every vintage collector should have at least one Marantz peice. It's got gyro tuning dammit....
Sansui--- always felt the heat sinks were too small for this power level. Volume knob too small and concentric with the balance control. DB features no longer useful and just add more controls and circuitry to go bad. Microphone input was pretty cool feature, you could mix in the mic level with whatever else is selected. I added a desk mike mostly for the visual effects, very cool....
Last but not least Sansui published the worst service manuals of all the brands of that era that I have come across... hope you don't ever have to use one.
Lefty
yrly
Breaking records is good?
Was listening to my 990DB Monday night for several hours and agree about the Sansui's small volume knob, its well so small! Feel like you have to twist it with a pair of tweezers or something, ok well not really that bad.
As far as heatsinking, it never really did get too warm during the moderate levels, but a lot of my other receivers have better heatsink designs. It would not be terribly hard to hook active cooling up to one of these receivers. Get a tiny 12V DC adapter, plug it into the switched power outlet on the back of the receiver and hook a small DC computer fan or two up to the adapter, then position by the heatsinks. This is more than adequate in my estimation.
As far as cosmetics, its all about the black one, I don't care for the 9090DB's costmetics but it looks darn awesome in black. Take a look at a 990DB and see what I mean.
As far as heatsinking, it never really did get too warm during the moderate levels, but a lot of my other receivers have better heatsink designs. It would not be terribly hard to hook active cooling up to one of these receivers. Get a tiny 12V DC adapter, plug it into the switched power outlet on the back of the receiver and hook a small DC computer fan or two up to the adapter, then position by the heatsinks. This is more than adequate in my estimation.
As far as cosmetics, its all about the black one, I don't care for the 9090DB's costmetics but it looks darn awesome in black. Take a look at a 990DB and see what I mean.
Thatch_Ear
Addicted Member
I find the tuner and preamp sections in the Marantz to be top notch but find the amps a bit shrill compared to Sansui and Pioneer. In fact I find the preamp section of a 2226B and a Carver M-400 to be an exellent combination.
