• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

2000x special one

Filip I

Filip I

Active Member
Don' t know where to begin...

First of all, would like to thank you all Sansui veterans and freaks. For the last two years I am reading audiokarma. Red mostly all post about Sansui, some of them led me to the this situation today and little 2000x , one freaking magic music box. Once again, thank you all, hope will give you something back, probably not anything scientific... :dunno:

My love with Sansui started with little au 317 followed by 11000A, 9500,717 and finally 2000x that came home accidentaly ( yeah righ...).

I know that that there is lot to be taken into accouny when comparing and I am comparing in a way, but let' assume that all Sansuis went through more or less same speakers, cables... The only one that I didn't get the pleasure to fully explore was 11000a that I still regret of letting go.

Another important thing to consider I don't crank. 9 o clock is usually what does it for me. And trust me, with any sansui, be that 2000x or 9500 the space of cca. 400sqf is full of sound. ( currently using AR 17, Teledyne ) 86 db...

Now to the point. All the sansui have that beatiful sound we love them for. Some more modern, some old school but the constant remain, that seductive sound, that mighty bottom, that deep sound...

Well this little music box took it to the another level. It made everything I throw at it sound just alive like, smooth yet there in front of you. Piano, vocals, ambient music ( especially good good electro- no boom boom bass ), blues, jazz sound just right. Considering that I feed it with modest digital front end ( pc and sony cdp 915) it sound like freaking analog. No harsness at all. ( btw sony cdp 915, another hidden gem )

Oh and bass that it is able to produce...with control.

At this point I concluded that the praise for that series of recievers ( 2000,3000,4000,5000) a or x... is really a fact. There is something magic in those capacitor coupled amps that just feed your soul and ears as music should. That doesn't mean that I would miss listening to some alphas, big G, X1 and many more that came out as a result of almost fifty years of comitment and development.

You can tell that I am Sansui fanboy and I am not objective in any way but for a moment stop chasing for a watts and power, with a right speakers and equipment this 39w per channel, 2000x might surprise you in a big big way...

That's it for me. Love your Sansui, be that small or a monster one:music:
 
Register to hide this ad
I'm giving this post the respect is deserves by resurrecting this thread. I have a freshly serviced 2000X with wood case and it could just be my be all/end all for my loft office near field listening system. It was described by the OP above as a "little music box" and that is truly what this amazing gem is. Absolutely amazing sound. Perect highs. mids and lows.
I adore low watt 70's receivers and own a few other great ones but this one might just kick them all to the curb for quite a while. And that includes kicking my Boyuurange MKII SET amp as well.

If you are in the market for a superb vintage receiver at a ridiculous price, look no further and stop at the Sansui 2000X.
 
34dean said:
I'm giving this post the respect is deserves by resurrecting this thread. I have a freshly serviced 2000X with wood case and it could just be my be all/end all for my loft office near field listening system. It was described by the OP above as a "little music box" and that is truly what this amazing gem is. Absolutely amazing sound. Perect highs. mids and lows.
I adore low watt 70's receivers and own a few other great ones but this one might just kick them all to the curb for quite a while. And that includes kicking my Boyuurange MKII SET amp as well.

If you are in the market for a superb vintage receiver at a ridiculous price, look no further and stop at the Sansui 2000X.
Click to expand...
Enjoy this little ****er, most important thing, reminded me with your post, they are sooooooo freaking reliable, refresh and forget, simple thing less chance for anything to go wrong.

Mine is not leaving the house ever, ready for service but will get proper treatment soon. Meanwhile big brother au 9500 is on the watch but that is another story.
 
My 2000, 2000A, and 2000X are all favorites of mine. I tend to like cap coupled designs more than direct coupling. And the 2000 delivers in spades. With the right speakers they can get loud enough(Sansui SP-2500's @ 96db) to wake the neighbors a block away, but for in house listening they very well. Definately fight above their weight class. Mid range is a little bit more than I really care for, but other than that, they are very enjoyable and I don't get listener fatigue like I do after 4 hours with my Pioneer's.

Reliability wise, I rehabbed mine over 8 years ago and haven't had to do anything to them other than meter bias once a year and that's usually dead on so no adjustments. Best tuners I've got and they do REACH out. I live between Wash D.C. and Philadelphia, north of Baltimore but south of the PA. state line. I DO get stations from Harrisburg PA, Phila. PA, and D.C. without problems and no crosstalk between adjacent stations. Closest of the towns other than Balt., is Harrisburg @ 45 miles, with Philadelphia about 80 miles. Everyone touts the Big "G"'s, 9090's and other high powered gear. But these late 60's thru mid 70's cap coupled receivers have proven to me that Sansui had some of the best home gear in the lower end of the market. Definately UNDER THE RADAR! Granted they had problems with the 4000 and 5000 series, but they came out with fixes for them and they soldier on also. But pound for pound, the 2000 series knocks heads, kicks ass, and takes names for the next of kin.:naughty:
 
I’m with you 100% on the CC amps and receivers. Most enjoyable and engaging sound. Right up there with my tube gear. My big stuff is long gone, AU9500 and 9090.
 
My CC 4000 was sweet, the only reason I let it go to a vinyl playing high school kid is I have another one in the queue for fixing.

If I can find a 2000X for reasonable coin I'll get it.
 
Definitiely get a 2000X if the opportunity presents itself. It is right in the sweet spot of power/features/sound and looks, good enough for a main system unless you want to go deafeningly loud.

Mine doesn't get the use it should (too much other gear competing for my listening time) but when it is in rotation, it is immensely enjoyable. I'd say it is every bit as good as the 5000A and X to my ears, despite the lower output power.
 
Would the 1000X sound about the same, if you can’t find a 2000X? Or is there a change in design aside from power?
 
The 1000X is in the same class, just a newer design. The 2000X is derivative of the 2000A, itself an update on the 2000 (no letter suffix). Worth noting that the 2000A and X got their looks straight from the 5000/A/X, the first of which debuted in 1968.

The 1000X is a contemporary of the 350A as it uses the same knobs and switch caps, and has a very similar panel styling overall. The 350A was an update on the original 350. One might consider the 1000X the successor of the 800 which was the next model up from the 350.

All the above are receivers with low to mid power capacitor coupled output stages that are highly regarded for their sound. Not necessarily the most accurate sounding amps, but very listenable for long periods without fatigue setting in.

I highly recommend anyone serious about Sansui own at least one of their cap coupled receivers or amps, such as the AU-101/505/555 or 777. They were a key development in the evolution of the Sansui sound, and to overlook them is to miss out on something special.
 
Great stuff, guys. I've been rotating between the 2000X and my HK 330C, which is another little gem.
 
I have & enjoy my 2000A. Listen to it everyday. With the wood case, it is a beauty. Though it seems that people find the 2000X more desirable (based on sales price I see on Ebay), I believe that the only difference is that the 2000A is 35 watts per channel, and the 2000X is 39 WPC. Really not much difference. And actually if you service one, you may find that the guts have parts from both models, since their manufacturing timeframes overlapped. You can't go wrong with either.
 
Last edited:
I see my cap coupled tribe brothers in these previous posts. I have a pristine untouched 4000 with some wharfedale Diamond 8.3's. Its a garage system - but what a system. With highest resolution on spotify and a $190 B1 audio engine for A/D convertion / Blutooth - this garage turns into a musical live stage. It is truly the great mystery in audio, why these high distortions (relative), low powerered, simplistic designs can produce such volume of sound that despite their technical - or textbook - limitations, still manages to "be the music", rather than "sound like the music". I love reading obscure papers on audio design, one thing you often come across is how quasi complementary design and cap coupling are inferior and transistory developments - true. So how did Sansui manage to wring that kind of music projection out of these 20-40 watt units ? And as for design and durability, how can it be that 50 years later, we can most often hook these audio dinosaur relics up and be like - are you kidding me.
 
* that conveys the notion just about perfectly with regard to the Sansui cap coupled sound. It really does mystify how a circuit design that is not generally highly regarded for either its technical merits or its resulting output quality (by the numbers on paper) can sound so good to so many.

And yet, the same can be said - and has been to no end - about tube amps. Rightfully, they are simplistic, even primitive cirucit designs with distortion specs that defy the notion of sounding excellent, and yet have a fanatical followiing now some 55 years into the solid state era. Many have endeavored to quantify the effect with contrivances like "good distortion", but really all that needs saying is that it just sounds right.
 
Have the 2000A recently picked up a 5000A to restore (has several volts DC offset on both channels with the F-1040 boards). Not knocking the cap coupled receivers, have a 1971 Pioneer SX-1500TD I restored currently doing duty in the living room. I like the sound of these old cap coupled designs, seem to have a thump to them that makes the music seem more lively. Curious when I eventually restore the 1969 5000A (several units already in the queue) to flip it with the Pioneer and compare the two.
 
Has anyone compared the sonic difference between the 1000x and the 2000x? I just picked up a 1000x and wondering if I should seek out one of the bigger brothers. If the sound is about the same I will just hang onto the 1000x. I would suspect them to be about the same, but maybe not.

I asked this question a while back and didn’t get much response. Perhaps no one has had both, so thought I might ask it again here in case there is some new readers.

Thanks
 
playittwice said:
Has anyone compared the sonic difference between the 1000x and the 2000x? I just picked up a 1000x and wondering if I should seek out one of the bigger brothers. If the sound is about the same I will just hang onto the 1000x. I would suspect them to be about the same, but maybe not.

I asked this question a while back and didn’t get much response. Perhaps no one has had both, so thought I might ask it again here in case there is some new readers.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I’ve had both, but not at the same time. I had the 1000X, but returned it and bought a 5000X. The 1000X had a weak tuner, otherwise I would definitely have kept it. Since I never A/B’d the two I don’t have direct comparison, but I do remember really liking the sound of the 1000X and being very impressed. That’s the reason I paid 3 times more for the 5000X - based on being so impressed with the 1000X. I’d like to have one again, or a 2000X. I’ll wait until one shows up locally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom