B2102/C2102 in da house!!

Hi,

Pete (pete_mac) and I have been looking for these for a long time, and finally the opportunity came up to get hold of a set to add to the collection.

Fresh out of the boxes (I'll let the photos do the talking) -






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The B2012 came in its original carton together with the owners manual, and warranty card.

These shiny black units are hard to get a good photo, and they are fresh out of the boxes and have not been cleaned or detailed, but both these are in top physical condition.

Both units will get a complete makeover before they are used in anger.....

And if anyone wants a scan of the B2102 owners manual let me know.

Cheers

John

Congratulations John - I have that pair too ! - mine are in similar condition.

I'd like to know your thoughts on the possibilities of reducing the heat coming off the heatsink on the PSU board regulator - mine is very hot indeed. There doesn't seem to be much if any 'wiggle room' to reduce the input voltage and thus the dissipation of the three pin regulator - or much room for more heat sinking.

Anyway no rush - you'll see what I mean

Unbelievable condition! Do they power up?

Nice find,congrats John. After i saw your preamp picture,i notice that the on off tape button of my C-2101 is broken but it works. Mine looks flat.

Congrats - beautiful internal build, looks serious...in a good way.

stereofun said:

Congrats - beautiful internal build, looks serious...in a good way.

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The internal lay-out looks very nice indeed (also the pre), and yes it puts out some serious power.
But the structural build quality is not what you would expect (I have the 2101 version, basicly the same): Take off cover and bottom plate and there is not much structural stability left in the main amp (heat sinks can be moved around a little bit as I recall). And the sides of the pre-amp are plastic.
But remember we are talking 1984-1986: Those were the "cost cutting" days and over here in Europe, Sansui (and other brands) got into "survival mode" with cheap plastic designs and "all-in-one" plastic stereostacks. Specialised Hifi stores got out of business, CD replaced the turntable etc..

Mayby Skippy can comment on build-quality later on.

But you can drive anything with these (nice and loud!).
Actually great combo.

The 2101 (often without pre) I see relatively often advertised in Germany, so they probably were popular there in the days. I seldom come across the 2102 version. Most are not in such great cosmetical condition as Skippies (congratulations!).

I actually got my C-2101 pre-amp for cheap locally and got my B-2101 main amp much later from Germany.

-John-

I think, even from the era they came from, those could not be considered as BPC. Where do you all find used stuff that is so clean. In Florida, most equipment has terrible dust and humidity caused corrosion on all the components and the frame. Nice find. :thmbsp:

skippy124 said:

...And if anyone wants a scan of the B2102 owners manual let me know....

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I would be interested as I also have both the B2102 and C2102

Dad and I had a bit of a listen to the B-2102/C-2102 combo last night feeding a pair of Paradigm 9SE MkIII floorstanding speakers.

MY WORD!

I'm very well accustomed to the Paradigm 'house sound' for this particular series of amps (as Dad owns about four pairs of various sizes and models) and the 2102 combo really suits these speakers.

They are reasonably laid-back, dark, warm speakers which are very very easy to listen to but not ultra-revealing. The best sound to date with these speakers (and their cousins) has been restored AU-717s and AU-719s, but compared to my AU-X701 and various modern speakers in recent times, I tended to find the sound lacking in outright resolution and clarity.

The 2102 combo really 'shines a light' on the inner detail of the music and produces the most wonderful sound when paired with the Paradigms. The stereo imaging is razor sharp and the tonality is just lovely. In particular, the placement of voices and instruments within the sound stage really surprised me with this combo.

To say I was gobsmacked with what I was hearing would pretty much sum it up perfectly. I've heard some pretty expensive rigs that didn't sound as good as this. It is probably the most enjoyable audio-related hour that I've had for quite some time. Nothing beats going into a listening session expecting the sound to be 'nice' and instead being quite simply blown away with what the sound being produced.

I can't wait to borrow this combo some day in the future and unleash it on my rig. My spidey senses tell me that the sonic signature of the 2102 combo is much the same as my beloved AU-X701 - but with more grunt.

Colour me impressed (and frankly amazed!) :thmbsp:

Move over BA/CA-F1... there's a new pre-power king in the Mac Collection!

E x c e l l e n t r e v i e w ! - Thanks for sharing :thmbsp: :tresbon:

stereofun said:

E x c e l l e n t r e v i e w ! - Thanks for sharing :thmbsp: :tresbon:

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No problem!

In retrospect, I shouldn't be talking-up this combo, as I really want to be able to score a set myself at some stage.

So... let me rephrase my previous post.

The B/C-2102 combo sounds like a monkey beating on a soggy cardboard box. Wet, wild, woolly and devoid of anything that remotely resembles musicality. Avoid at all costs. If you happen to own this combo, throw it on ebay immediately for and pray that someone will take it off your hands.

There... that oughta do it!

skippy124, congratulations! Very nice find in great shape.

Cheers,
John

Gorgeous!! Please post your restoration process on the 2102. I have a 2101 (since 2007) that powers my dual 15" subs.....serious beef!

Cheers!

Zeke

Glad you like them John my dad would of loved to finish the rebuild but never got the chance glad to see them go to the right person,Thanks Again.


R.I.P Bassnutt aka Butch

S&WMP10 said:

Glad you like them John my dad would of loved to finish the rebuild but never got the chance glad to see them go to the right person,Thanks Again.


R.I.P Bassnutt aka Butch

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Indeed, Dad and I absolutely love the sound of this gear. Your father's passion for Sansuis lives on inside this combo. We're privileged to have it. :thmbsp: