The Mind Blowing Sansui 800

[henri-61]

Oh Boy!-Another great story on the beauty of fate and the importance of garage sales-I live in Brooklyn and you don't get too many thrift shops or garage sales,but coming back to my Detroit area homeland in august for a visit, as soon as I got into Mi.,I got off to get fuel and saw 10 garage sales, because everybody's shufflin' and movin' to keep up y'know?-so,after a few quick stops I found a nice 65' Panasonic radio for three bucks,moved along,really tired,got out to the country and wearily went to 1 LAST garage sale (14 hr. drive)..1st. thing I saw was a free pile and there it was,a ready for the ditch,dirty as hell 1972 OLSON RA-195 in a wood case-cleaned it,lubed it up,old english,and viola!,a beautiful as holy heck,scratch free gem with major 25 honkin' wpc. that thru a pair of Infinty Qe shelfers will draw the cops!-There's nothing AT ALL info wise on this unit..Anyway..two weeks later I'm in the same area and I see a community garage sale at a center that's ending in 10 min. so I blow past it..get that stupid feeling and turn around..go in..not much,but I found a nice $3 Panasonic radio again from about 68' with a clock and a wood case ..ok ..whatever, it's in nice shape..so I'm paying the lady and she says "I got an old AMP",she say's "at least I think that's what you call it" at home that's been sitting since 1980 or so-you can HAVE it.. can't recall the name"(yikes!).she brings it back to the center the next day.."it's heavy,my friend helped me" and there it is..a dirty as hell 69' Sansui 800 in a wood case!!..thrashed,smoked out..really a mess,I get back, blow it out, spend 5 hrs. on it, only a bad stereo light -It is now dang near showroom and I'll tell you-thru my buddy's SP-2500X's, this is serious Sansui from the heart of the fidelity wars-I feel my 5000x is the king of all SS, but lord have mercy..I can't imagine anything sounding this good-Lou Rawls,Iggy,Brubeck, all sounded crazy good.. a dead silent amp section..and those tuners that Sansui's known for-My first vintage piece was a 2325 15 yrs. ago..just sold it..I've still got nice units but man I'm sorry-next to a Mac (and maybe them too)-I'm losing it over Sansui's sound,they articulate everything SO ****ing well thru the right speakers-My bro's 4000 is also a little badass..their design can be an acquired taste,but EVERYTHING I've heard from before 1973 is really quite special.Thanks to all on this great site..but I am truly smacked by this thing..oh and BTW -Hit those sales!.. and save these vintage doggies from extinction!! because life is short and VINTAGE AUDIO RULES- oh..and See The Tubes!!-Dave

Sansui 1000A-5000x-8080db-Sony 7065A-(2) Laffy lr1500ta's-HK-520
Marantz 2015-2215-2226b-2245-Revox-G36
Pioneer CS88A's-Dynaco A-35's....'more beautiful than Cher'

 

[mroboto]

Model 800 is underrated like a bottom of the line compared to higher numbered units, but it rocks.

You can feel the bass vibrations when playing half of a watt with it, ( to a point TOTL units can't )

He's not a great performer with ultra power hungry little speakers, but with big, great high efficiency speakers, it's impressive.

My only amp who have an equivalent or most impressive bass response at low power is a tube amp.

22W RMS x2 @8Ω / 28W RMS x2 @4Ω
50W IHF @8Ω / 70W IHF @4Ω

 

[DCinDC]

My first Sansui experience was with an 800 and a pair of AR2ax.

You wouldn't think that it could push those dummy loads around. It can. Quite well.

 

[gdwrench]

This is the Reciever I've been employing up until my recent G 801 acquisition and now resides in my daughters possession. It's an excellent sounding amp with some nice efficient speakers. It won't be going anywhere soon. :thmbsp:

 

[surfnsound]

Just got mine recapped (only the 'big' caps) and indeed, sound is fantastic. Superbe bass. I compare to G-3000 and 771 (both original, the 771 sound a bit dull and probably needs work).

It looks much more bad ass then some of the bigger receivers such as my 7070 which sounds great as well. Can't say what is better, 7070, G3000, 771 or 800. They are all different but the 800 seems to have the best bass. Radio is also fantastic.

I play it through Wharfedale Dovesale 3. Also recapped the crossover in these with great result.

Do you have a manual for the 800? I would love to know about the little mpx screw in the back. Also fm muting seems to switch on by changing the switch at the fm antenna.

Here is a video:

 

[mroboto]

I think that the FM muting function is variable, by this button.

Manual: http://speedy.sh/NBRTy/Sansui-800.pdf

 

[Go Giants]

I have a Sansui 800 and a 4000. Both great receivers with really good amp sections. I rate my 4000 up there with the Mac1700 I'm running now in a spare bedroom.

I think the Mac has a little more laid back sound. The Sansui a little more lively. Both receivers drive my KLH sixes with no issue. The 800, while lower powered drives them as well.

These late 60's early 70's Sansui receivers and amps are tanks. Well built and pretty reliable. I know the 5000 is well regarded too. Similar to the 4000 I believe but a little more powerful. 55 wpc into 8 ohm if I recall.

 

[Go Giants]

I have a Sansui 800 and a 4000. Both great receivers with really good amp sections. I rate my 4000 up there with the Mac1700 I'm running now in a spare bedroom.

I think the Mac has a little more laid back sound. The Sansui a little more lively. Both receivers drive my KLH sixes with no issue. The 800, while lower powered drives them as well.


These late 60's early 70's Sansui receivers and amps are tanks. Well built and pretty reliable. I know the 5000 is well regarded too. Similar to the 4000 I believe but a little more powerful. 55 wpc into 8 ohm if I recall.

The Mac 1700 is rated at 40 wpc. The Sansui 4000 is rated at 45 wpc. The Sansui 800 is rated at 22 wpc. As with most of the vintage equipment I have, I believe these are understated numbers. They all seem much more powerful than their stated specs. For instance, another AK member mentioned in a previous post that his Mac 1700 benched at 60 wpc. I believe it based on listening to mine.