Anybody know anything good about these? Sansui SP-X3U

I posted much of this over on the Lansing Heritage website because, well, that's where I hang. But with a little searching over here I found this sub-forum and figured you all might have more experience with these speakers—and I'd be curious to hear what you think of them.

An original owner gave me his pair of Sansui SP-X3U speakers. He said he had used them in his home recording studio for years as monitors but moved and no longer has a studio. His wife wanted him to sell the speakers and offered to put them in her yard sale. The guy said he'd rather give them to someone who might appreciate them. That turned out to be me. Here's a stock photo of them from Google but my pair look exactly like these:



They're three-ways, 14 x 26.5 x 12.5" in heavy, sturdy MDF cabinets covered in oak-grained vinyl veneer. I took the drivers out and they are simple stamped frames with simple magnet assemblies but the crossover looks like someone spent some time on it, the mid is in a sealed tube that runs the entire depth of the cabinet, and it came new with substantial 5-way binding post set up for dual-bananas or large-gauge wire. Made in USA and rated to handle a maximum of 250-watts. The owner even had the original owner's manual. They're in very clean condition with both grilles and no sign of abuse or damage other than a 2mm hole in one grill cloth near the edge that I didn't notice until I'd taken the grilles off.

Drivers are described as:
I already have way too many JBLs and I'm probably past rationalization of any more speakers with my wife and family—unless they're JBLs. I'd like these to go to someone who's as nutz about Sansui as I am about JBL!

Initial listening assessment: If you didn't tell anyone what they were, hid the vinyl-covered cabinets and stamped frames, many would probably think these Sansui SP-X3U's were some pretty darn nice speakers. Of course I had them hooked up to a spare Crown PS-400 amp and was doing an A-B comparison using my JBL L96s and L80Ts hooked up to an identical amp. I chose the L80T for comparison because the size of both cabinet and woofer is similar to the Sansui, and the L96 because they were there, too, and are JBL icons for 10" 3-ways. I can tell the Sansui lacks bass extension of the kind that makes you really feel the instrument, compared to the high-buck JBLs, but the sound is probably on par with lesser JBLs of the LX variety in similar sizes.

The soft-dome tweeters are pleasant enough, actually a bit brighter than the L96's 044s run flat, and the mid-range is a bit "forward" as I've heard it described and as I think I understand that descriptor. But, compared to my JBLs, when playing jazz with piano accompaniment or harmony vocals, the mid-range sounds a bit artificial, not particular high-fidelity, and the vocals and the accompanying instruments seem to get muddled. Likewise piano gets a bit lost as background instrumentation where on the L96 JBLs it's truly a solo instrument playing its part and not really coming out of a can.

I suppose like most 10-inchers, the Sansui will benefit from placement and some barrier reinforcement. It's often kind of hard to judge an average speaker objectively when your main system is a 4-way JBL monitor with an 18" LF driver, and the second system is JBL L7s, but the Sansui still made a decent impression and were actually rather a surprise.

And then I took the same CD downstairs and played it on the bi-amped 4345s and wondered, "Why do I have all these other speakers?"

If you know a Sansui fan in the Mid-Atlantic area who has a hole in their collection just waiting for this model, tell them I don't accept cash but will take nearly anything JBL in trade! These really should go to someone who will appreciate them more than I ever will.

But, in the meantime, let me know your experiences with these big boys!

My favorite Sansui speaker so far. Your description about sums it up. That was my impression as well.

I had them in my sons 12' X 12' bedroom with a Sansui 4000 receiver and they had plenty of bass in there.

My son is more into his X-box then music, so the system came out to make room for a surround sound system for his gaming.

I had too many unused speakers sitting around so I got rid of a few pair. That was one of them.

They would never be in my main system, but could find a place in a bedroom, shop, or den system.

Rob

Those sure are some nice looking speakers. They look minty and new.

Sounds like you have a super great friend there.

bluesky said:

Those sure are some nice looking speakers. They look minty and new.

Sounds like you have a super great friend there.

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As I said, those aren't photos of mine, but there'd be no difference if I could shoot that well. My pair are in equally pristine condition. Truth be told, I never met the gentleman before I pulled over at his wife's yard sale to look at the speakers and he came out of the house.

I doubt he'd have given them away but where he lived no one would have paid more than pocket change for them anyway. I was over thirty-miles off the main drag and five-miles up a county road when I found them. And it was already late afternoon and no one else was at the "yard sale". People just don't "get" big speakers these days. Kind of sad.

Rob: Thanks for sharing your experience with them. :thmbsp:

"People just don't "get" big speakers these days." True and very sad I've NEVER had a sub integrate bass with a small bookshelf like my AR-5s do effortlessly as one large unit.

Good luck with those Sansui speakers.

In any event...you got really lucky for sure being given those speakers! Congrads.

I know, people just don't like big box speakers anymore. Guess they just don't like that 'Rich Full 2-Channel Sound'. Guess that went out with LP records, old fashioned. Going out on a limb here but it seems to me 'people', especially the younger generation (which means persons since PCs and sub woofers), just don't even know what good sound really sounds like anymore, or they never knew, or they just don't even care, and it seems to be the later. Like my nephew, he's small speakers all the way, smaller the better, a subwoofer, an Ipod with 20000 songs, and bad sound all the way. It seems like that's what he wants, likes, truely desires, and enjoys. So be it, to each his/her own. It's like most people just have 'adapted to the new technology sound', which, to me, is no sound at all. I really do believe that it was pushed on them from industry and they just ate it up, hook-line-and sinker. Seems like that's what almost everyone wants now-a-days. Sign of the times.

I'll take those big box 'great sounding' speakers anyday. And the 'box' doesn't even have to be 'that big'. The cabinets on SP-2000s aren't 'that big' anyway. Now the old 43XX series blue front JBLs, they are big, and really nice, and command very high prices used. As mentioned before: I got a pair of AS-100s in darn near 'mint' condition at the Goodwill for $9.98. They are only some 23 inches or so high. The sound is truely suprisingly amazing, HTG. I really am amazed every time I play them. Treble is 'simply outrageous' and the bass is strong enough for sure. Why in the world everything shifted to mini speakers and sub woofers is beyond me. I think most people have just forgotten, or never knew (weren't born into the 'big rich sound'), what good sound really 's o u n d s' like. I know my nephew doesn't know, or understand, or even care. The Ipod digital generation.

Not that I'm against CDs, I like CDs for convience, and many do sound real good, at least good enough, but there is no comparison against an LP of the same album.

'S o u n d', that's what it's all about.

Give me those 'old' big box speakers anyday. I like to 'feel' the music, not just listen to it. There is no comparison, to me anyway.

I guess people don't like them cause they look too big and take up too much space. To me they look as great as they sound toooooooo!! It's kind of like having a REAL stereo.

I even have a very old Hitachi FT-J3 Mini-Componet set I bought overseas back in '83 or so. Just took it out from a 20 year hibernation a week ago, for fun, sprayed some DioxiT in the front control switches and EQ, and it cranks and sounds delicious, just like new. They just don't make em like that anymore. I used to use it when I was working in Asia. I'd put that up to 'any new stereo or Ipod setup' and 'blow their socks off' as far as 'sound quality' goes. It has detachable 'box' speakers. It sounds super and superior compared to any of the garbage you get in Best Buy now-a-days. It really did amaze me, but then again, maybe I'm just easily amazed, or maybe that's why I bought it in the first place, when they used to make systems that sounded good.

Just rambling on here, thanks, that's it for now. I'll take those 'B i g - B o x - S p e a k e r s' anyday!

Those SP-X3U speakers really look nice!

Looks like they were manufactured in 1988 only. Sold for $190 each then. Add in inflation and that is over $660 a pair.

Culpeper said:

Looks like they were manufactured in 1988 only. Sold for $190 each then. Add in inflation and that is over $660 a pair.

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Thanks for the good information. :thmbsp:

all, I've got a set of these SP-X3U Sansui's I bought new from Montgomery Ward in St. Pete Florida when I was 15. I'm now 43 and still have them although I've lived in apartments or condos since I moved to Memphis. I'd be willing to sell if anyone wants them just name a price. btw - mine are black.

thanks,
Ed

Your speakers are very similar to my model,you have the higher model in the series,I have told that they were made for Sansui by KLH.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=535870

Mines are currently connected to G4700.

I bought these in a bundle of speakers and wanted to not like them as much as I do. They are very well built with a beefy crossover the done is smooth the mid-range is not sealed and had a tube so it had a nice full sound, the bass is punchy and the weigh a lot. Mine are black and boring looking in ok shape , but the keep getting put in rotation I really like them a lot.

There's no doubt that Sansui speakers have gotten relentless bashing in many places online, and even in conversations I've overheard among audio collectors and purported audiophiles. This hasn't helped their perception or reputation with the public at large.

It is also true that Sansui went through some very bad times mid 1980's to early 90's before they pulled back to being just a high end amp maker for the Japanese market only. Speakers made in this time frame (the dark age of Sansui as I call it) are tainted by the perception of them making cheap plastic stuff that didn't hold up. Some of their speakers from that era are, well, not great. Essentially garden variety rack system stuff sold at JC Penney.

That said, I think another reason Sansui gets trashed for their speakers is that the stuff from their golden era (say 1968-79) was often perceived as overwrought and sold by the pound, based on having a lot of drivers in one cabinet. Until the SP-X series came along (cost reduced versus the earlier SP series) the models with multiple drivers were designed that way for reasons of getting more consistent response across the whole frequency range so that there weren't strange peaks and valleys. This may not always have worked out in practice as intended, but in find most of the speakers in my collection to sound quite good, even if they are different from what is considered state of the art presently. Speaker design and analysis was definitely not as advanced as it is today, and that factors into this as well.

I look at many of the SP-X models as being aimed more at an over the top aesthetic - 18" woofers in 5 way 7 speaker systems and such - intended as the proverbial party speakers. And that was a big market at the time they were made, so Sansui was building what would sell in conjunction with 160-200 WPC class receivers and amps. And sell they did, by the truckload. Perusing Ebay in 2019 shows a lot of these were made and sold for there to be so around still 40 years on.

Yet another issue: Sansui, as did many other well respected speaker builders (JBL, Altec, Klipsch just for a few examples) made frequent use of horn tweeters and also (less frequently) horn midrange drivers in a fair number of their designs. This increases efficiency and also give the sound a bit of an edge that you don't get from cone, dome, and ribbon tweeters that are typically more popular since the mid 1990's or so. These are often perceived as smoother sounding than horns. They do clearly have a different sound quality to them, I won't dispute that at all.

Most people have grown accustomed to the presentation of these non-horn type mid and high range drivers for about 30 years now, and so any speaker system with horns may sound somewhat harsh by comparison. For whatever reason, this is deemed undesirable by a lot of people who have spent decades listening to speakers without horns. Old habits - and preferences - die hard, I guess. Personally I like a sparkling high end and the presence a good horn midrange gives to the sound, so it is what I've come to prefer in going on 3 decades of serious listening.

To the SP-X3U in particular, I'm not familiar with these personally. They look like a decent enough 3 way system, but they are all vinyl covering (which is, admittedly, typical of most speakers in the era these were made) and they were made in the USA. The latter tells me these were contract manufactured to Sansui specs by some other outfit, probably to save the cost of importing them from Japan. Not knowing who actually made them and not having seen or heard a pair in person, I'll reserve judgement on these but being they were subcontracted, I'd generally not think of them as "true" Sansui speakers.

It may even be these were simply a OEM sticker slap job done for Sansui as 1988 was a very rough time for the company and their resources to develop a ground up speaker design to be contract manufactured in the US were probably pretty lean by then. That doesn't mean they are bad speakers, but it makes me leary of considering them Sansui speakers in the truest sense of the word. If they sound good, then that's all that matters.

It'd be interesting to learn who the OEM was on these. There were a number of other Sansui speaker models made in the US for sale there in the mid to late 80's, so clearly they had abandoned the idea of building speakers in Japan and sending them over by freighter at that point. I'd love to know who they retained to make these and if they were (any or all such models) custom designs or just cookie-cutter speakers that could be customized with a choice of finish and name badging. There was a lot of that going on in the late 80's, so it is well within the realm of possibility Sansui did just that as a cost control measure.

Interesting to see this thread alive again after over ten-years!

As the original poster, it is a coincidence that the Sansuis have only recently been returned to me after several years in my brother-in-law's home. He just ran out of room with two rescued greyhound recently added to the family! Look to be in the same shape they were when they left here ten-years ago.

So, once again, if there are any Sansui fans near Central Virginia jonesing for a pair of these, I'm happy to help make your dream come true. I haven't counted recently but I believe I'm up to something like 19-pairs of JBLs now. I've even added a Fender amp with a D123, for fun. Come and save me from myself.