5000A/X vs. Eight??

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in decisions - but as Smurfer77 says, you can always sell, so don't make this into an irreversible lifetime sentence. Only by trying various models/topologies will you eventually find your favorites. If you were to try one of the single digits, I'd say go with a Six or Seven - they are amazing - and probably a bigger jump from the 5000 / Eight as you not only go direct coupled but also full complementary. This will present you with a more "modern" branch of the Sansui sound from the golden decade. Then from there you can see in which direction the sonics are to your liking - back in time or forward

I currently have my 5000A hooked up to two pairs of EPI M150 speakers. When I have it cranking (Volume knob at or near 12 o'clock) the heat sinks on the back get uber toasty- like you can't hold your finger against them. The unit doesn't smell like it's overheating or burning or anything like that. You can feel some heat coming off the back of the unit and the sinks are super hot. Is this normal for this volume level? Will it hurt anything or am I stressing the unit? This is the root of why I am looking at adding a second receiver to this setup. I don't want to kill my 5000A.

That's too hot for a vintage Sansui ! - I assume you have checked bias ? Does it get this hot with other speakers ?

It does not get hot with other speakers. When I had my EPI M202 speakers hooked up to them in 16 ohm mode it didn't get nearly as warm. The sinks only got warm to the touch. I know there is some mystery over the exact impedance of the EPI speakers, so I'm sure that plays into it. When I run it at the 10 o'clock position, the sinks get warm but not super hot. Once I get past that, they get really warm. The 5000A was professionally repaired and serviced (1040 boards fixed, main filter caps replaced, cleaned, and adjusted) about a year ago. Must be the speakers. Time to double up on receivers so it runs cooler! I was to run out of Tape 2 (I have my equalizer in Tape 1) from the 5000A into the AUX port of a second receiver. I noticed I don't need to have the Tape 2 button pressed to get sound out of the playback ports on the 5000A. I guess that's normal?

So I did the Tape-to-Aux thing where the 5000A is now feeding into the AUX of the 2000X. Got both units POUNDING away and the 5000A is just warm, not hot. Definitely the speakers are stressing the unit when all four are hooked up and playing.

I have both the Sansui 5000X and Sansui Eight Deluxe. I slightly prefer the 5000X. I have run KEF 103.2 speakers and also some open baffle speakers with them. Neither of the receivers have been restored. My 5000X does have the updated boards.

Watching "the auction site", I have noticed something. There seem to be more repair parts available for the 5000A/X than the Eight. I don't mean caps and transistors, I mean knobs, cases, buttons, tuner parts, switches, connectors, and stuff like that. Being able to easily obtain and replace broken components is always a big bonus. I'm guessing the larger parts supply for the 5000A/X is due to them being more popular? I'm still trying to understand how the Six, Seven, Eight, and 7000 fit into the Sansui lineup. Were these the TOTL receivers that were above the x000 line? Or were they more equals that just offered something a little different? I can't imagine something in the Sansui line that is of higher quality than my 5000A and 2000X!! They are amazing units.

The Eight is better built than the 5000A/X series, in my opinion. Same power, if I remember correctly.

Three potential reasons for larger parts supply that I can think of:

• 5000 series was produced for much longer period, and at lower price point than Eight...so more were sold.
• 5000's parted out due to driver board failure.
• Higher desirability of the Eight means fewer of them get parted out (more of them get saved/restored)