This is going to be a bit of a long story, but the short of it is I just picked up a very nice pair of Sansui SP-300 speakers and couldn't be happier with them.
Anyway, here's the long story:
I drive to Peoria, IL once a month for Air National Guard drill, and I found a shop that does repairs on audio equipment. I got released from duty a bit early, so I headed to the shop to ask about doing an FM alignment on my Technics SA5370. The place is Electronics Diversified, and has been in business since 1948. They've specialized in sales and service of high end audio since 1954, and have been owned and operated by the same guy since 1964.
Anyway, we start chatting about vintage audio, and he flips on a Dared hybrid integrated amp and starts playing some jazz through a set of Altec Lansing 878A Santiago speakers. AMAZING sound. All of a sudden, he decides to give me a tour of the back rooms. They have 13,000 square feet of stuff in the back, from vintage receivers and amps to turntables and tape decks. There's an entire room filled with loudspeakers stacked in rows clear to the ceiling, and a room full of replacement drivers from every manufacturer you can imagine dating back to the early '50s.
As I'm walking through, I spotted a set of Sansui speakers with very nice cabinets. I looked closer at them, and they're SP1500s. I have a set of SP1200s that I bought for my garage with some water damage to one cabinet. I've moved the garage system into the living room and would like a nicer looking set of speakers with maybe a bit more bass than the 1200s, so I asked him about the 1500s. We carted them up to the showroom and disconnected the Altecs and hooked up the SP1500s. I was extremely disappointed. They were so heavy on mid-range they were almost unbearable. Nothing like my SP1200s.
So Don, the owner, says I've got another set of Sansuis back there, but the cabinets aren't quite as nice. So I followed him back to set of SP2000s, and the cabinets are still nicer than what I have, so we cart them to the showroom and hook them up. These had a bit more bottom end than the SP1500s, but still way too heavily biased towards the mids. I told him how disappointed I was and one of his employees spoke up and said "What about that big pair of Sansuis way in the back?" Don looked puzzled for a moment, then he smiled at me and said "Oh, you're going to like these." I followed him into the speaker storeroom again, and he pointed at a large pair of speakers with the typical Sansui grill, but a different logo than I'm used to. I looked closer and the tag on the back said SP-300. We carted these up front and hooked them up. They were instantly better than the 1500s and 2000s, and nearly as good as the Altecs. Don said they hadn't been played in 15 to 20 years, he's had them so long he couldn't remember so to just sit and listen for a bit. 2 or 3 songs into it the sound started to get better, and during the fifth song, all of a sudden, something magical happened. The sound changed. The caps that hadn't had power through them in years came to life and the sound rivaled the Altecs. I was blown away. This pair of Sansui speakers sounded like an expensive set of vintage Altec Lansing 878s! The bass had less punch than the Altecs, but I attribute that to the difference between 12 and 15 inch woofers. We sat and listened, and just enjoyed it, and nearly 4 hours after I entered the shop, Don and I started talking price. I wound up paying $350 for them. I know, that's at the top of what they go for, but the overall experience was a blast. I love walking into a shop and being treated like the owner has known me for years.
Anyway, here's the long story:
I drive to Peoria, IL once a month for Air National Guard drill, and I found a shop that does repairs on audio equipment. I got released from duty a bit early, so I headed to the shop to ask about doing an FM alignment on my Technics SA5370. The place is Electronics Diversified, and has been in business since 1948. They've specialized in sales and service of high end audio since 1954, and have been owned and operated by the same guy since 1964.
Anyway, we start chatting about vintage audio, and he flips on a Dared hybrid integrated amp and starts playing some jazz through a set of Altec Lansing 878A Santiago speakers. AMAZING sound. All of a sudden, he decides to give me a tour of the back rooms. They have 13,000 square feet of stuff in the back, from vintage receivers and amps to turntables and tape decks. There's an entire room filled with loudspeakers stacked in rows clear to the ceiling, and a room full of replacement drivers from every manufacturer you can imagine dating back to the early '50s.
As I'm walking through, I spotted a set of Sansui speakers with very nice cabinets. I looked closer at them, and they're SP1500s. I have a set of SP1200s that I bought for my garage with some water damage to one cabinet. I've moved the garage system into the living room and would like a nicer looking set of speakers with maybe a bit more bass than the 1200s, so I asked him about the 1500s. We carted them up to the showroom and disconnected the Altecs and hooked up the SP1500s. I was extremely disappointed. They were so heavy on mid-range they were almost unbearable. Nothing like my SP1200s.
So Don, the owner, says I've got another set of Sansuis back there, but the cabinets aren't quite as nice. So I followed him back to set of SP2000s, and the cabinets are still nicer than what I have, so we cart them to the showroom and hook them up. These had a bit more bottom end than the SP1500s, but still way too heavily biased towards the mids. I told him how disappointed I was and one of his employees spoke up and said "What about that big pair of Sansuis way in the back?" Don looked puzzled for a moment, then he smiled at me and said "Oh, you're going to like these." I followed him into the speaker storeroom again, and he pointed at a large pair of speakers with the typical Sansui grill, but a different logo than I'm used to. I looked closer and the tag on the back said SP-300. We carted these up front and hooked them up. They were instantly better than the 1500s and 2000s, and nearly as good as the Altecs. Don said they hadn't been played in 15 to 20 years, he's had them so long he couldn't remember so to just sit and listen for a bit. 2 or 3 songs into it the sound started to get better, and during the fifth song, all of a sudden, something magical happened. The sound changed. The caps that hadn't had power through them in years came to life and the sound rivaled the Altecs. I was blown away. This pair of Sansui speakers sounded like an expensive set of vintage Altec Lansing 878s! The bass had less punch than the Altecs, but I attribute that to the difference between 12 and 15 inch woofers. We sat and listened, and just enjoyed it, and nearly 4 hours after I entered the shop, Don and I started talking price. I wound up paying $350 for them. I know, that's at the top of what they go for, but the overall experience was a blast. I love walking into a shop and being treated like the owner has known me for years.
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