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Early Sansui integrateds, big ADS speakers, and power amps...

bhairavi

bhairavi

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Hi folks,
I've collected several early Sansui amps and some ADS speakers in the past year, on my journey away from bluetooth speakers.

When I posted about my first ADS acquisition, the L1590/2s, someone commented that they do well with a lot of power, and also the synergy with mosfet amps.

I recently got some L1090/2s and moreso than the 1590s I noticed how thirsty they are. The 1590s sound pretty great on the AU-717. But my AU-888 and 4000 can't make the 1090s get that loud, they don't really seem to open up until the 1-2 o'clock position. I'm aware that I have to be careful, both about overdriving (not a danger in this case) and clipping. The 1090s are actually for my folks and will be driven with a Yamaha CA1000. That should be sufficient for them. BUT I'm also about to go get some 1290/2s later this week, which are meant for my current AU505/777D/888 system.

I'm not keeping all these amps and one or two will probably go. But I want to hear them on the 1290s first. Given how hard it is for them to drive the 1090s, I assume I'll need more power.

SO the main Q is: if I use the 505/777/888 as preamps, and find a decently powered mosfet power amp such as a B&K, Hafler, Bryston, ADCOM - am I going to lose that FAT Sansui sound? I assume some of the sound is 'baked in' to the preamp section, but of course some of the fatness of the cap-coupled amps will be dimished...

Is there a mosfet amp that would provide good synergy with ADS and early Sansui?
 
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I'd be trying some more sensitive speakers with those lower powered amps instead. It seems to me you're working backwards: finding a synergy between a particular amp & a speaker can be magic.

I ran into the same thing trying to drive inefficient speakers with my AU-999.

but hey, good luck & it might be a fun experiment
 
Agree, I'm mystified why you'd try to run a low powered amp with speakers that need a lot of power to sound good. But as @bolero said, it may be a fun experiment to try different configurations.

I believe there are other (non-Sansui) amps with a "fat" sound that could power your speakers (Mcintosh comes to mind from what I've read). Might need to consider that.
 
I dunno, because I want to be done searching for components! It's fun and a bit addictive but time-consuming and I'm a bit obsessive. I know these are hardly novel traits in this hobby, but to be quite honest I don't want it to be a hobby. Once I hit a certain mark I can let it be - I just want to be settled in with a bunch of equipment that gives me the sound I want. I didn't consider that I'd need more power for the ADS.

I do have KLHs and A200s I'm driving, but I wanted both systems to have a pair of ADS floorstanders cause they sound so good. I guess I might try a B&K power amp to see what is all the fuss about mosfets.
 
You should try to audition Klipsch Cornwalls, or La Scala with those lower power amps. Just so you know what it sounds like.

Or check out what the single ended tube guys are using

Lots of people enjoy audio going through lots of gear, not trying to dissuade you. But you owe it to yourself to hear :)

Otherwise my vote would be Bryston 4b
 
Just connected my rehabbed Sony TA-F444ES II to my 1290/2s, fed with a WiiM Pro. Sounds great, even better with room correction EQ enabled (though the difference takes some getting used to).

I'm now motivated to recap my GFA-545 and B&K ST-1400 II and have started that process. My wife says she misses me... :)
 
Well y'all are telling me to try other speakers or amps and I tell ya - I don't wanna! I don't want to know what else is out there - it's taken up a lot of my mental energy to get this far. Now I just want to blast some tunes. If I have to buy a power amp to do it then so be it.

Also, I just, uh, accidentally won an auction for a AU-7700. Will be interesting to see how much more juice that is compared to the 888. Nominally, not much. Then again, the Yamaha CA1000 is only 70w and seems to not have any difficulty driving these 1090s. (I had to make sure these two would play well since I'm gifting this to my folks.)

Anyway, then I'm going to have a 505, 777, 888, and 7700. Likely will sell at least two. Same with speakers - I'm going to end up with 1590s paired with the 717, KLH 23s/A200s paired with the older Sansuis, and then maybe a mosfet power amp for the 1290s I plan to bring home. My 4000 gets relegated to the workshop, along with the L400s I also plan to buy.

That leaves me to sell the KLH 17s, 6s, and probably both the 505 and 888. Leaning towards selling those as they have accompanying tuners that I'm never going to use. Also it'd let me recoup some of the cash I've thrown at all these amps!

TimPD said:
Just connected my rehabbed Sony TA-F444ES II to my 1290/2s, fed with a WiiM Pro. Sounds great, even better with room correction EQ enabled (though the difference takes some getting used to).

I'm now motivated to recap my GFA-545 and B&K ST-1400 II and have started that process. My wife says she misses me... :)
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I have an incoming 777D that I'm probably going to recap. But I'll wait until I've sent the wife and kids on a trip to visit family during winter break!

bolero said:
But honestly if you're going that route, I'd get a killer tube preamp instead.

Or you could get a Sansui alpha

Or C2301 + B2301
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:\ missed an x701 recently, someone was selling for $300. The trouble is by the time you read up on something and convince yourself it's worth is commensurate to the hype about it, it'll be sold. And it takes up too much time to get a solid idea of an entire line of amps. I'd like to get off, please!
 
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Haha this thread is funny though!

AU-7700 might do it, good sound & grunt for it's rated 55w. May need a restore though. Mine lost low end probably due to old caps.
 
@bolero your suggestions are not taken lightly! But I can't make room for any big honkin speakers.

The gear buying is indeed out of hand and I need to stop!

I guess I could just NOT get the 1290s, and stick with the A200s. But it seems wrong. Especially for 500 bucks...
 
PS it was a load off my shoulders when I sold off the Wharfedale Lintons I bought - I considered them far too expensive at 1300. I don't really feel like having any piece of equipment that I've paid more for than the 1590s which I got for 800.

I've also meticulously kept track of what I've paid for everything I've bought so far - point being I don't intend on taking a loss. Plan is to break even, minus whatever gear I keep. Might not look like it but I'm not one for collecting things for the sake of collecting - I don't want to put a nice pair of speakers or an amp away for another day. Just want good sound without having to obsessively compare.

When all is said and done, my goal is unchanged from the one I formulated when I got my hands on my first real piece of gear (by my standards -- the Sansui 4000): 3 systems with a total of 4 amps and 4 pairs of speakers. Nothing more. I kinda fudged it by handing off the CA1000 and 1090s to my folks, but once I saw how much they enjoyed the system I had set up, I knew I had to get one together for them.


Working plan:
TV system: 717/L1590s
Workshop: 4000/L400s
Living room: 777+7700/KLH 23s+L1290s (and maybe a power amp...)


For all I know I'll hate how the Sansui sound through the power amp and then I'll go right back to finding a more suitable integrated or separates, or speakers, as folks here are suggesting.
 
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From what little I've researched (and what little is out there), the magic of the AU-7700 is in the preamp section. That being the case, any of the mosfet amps would most likely be a good choice.

I don't know the specs for the others, but my B&K ex4420 puts out 200/350w with 70 p-p amps and a damping factor of 450. (I like it a lot.) When driving my KEF 104/2's, and using the same preamp, I prefer it to my Sansui AU-919.

Here's a good read on the ADS lineup. https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/a-d-s-line-pecking-order.44406/
 
rickb119 said:
From what little I've researched (and what little is out there), the magic of the AU-7700 is in the preamp section. That being the case, any of the mosfet amps would most likely be a good choice.

I don't know the specs for the others, but my B&K ex4420 puts out 200/350w with 70 p-p amps and a damping factor of 450. (I like it a lot.) When driving my KEF 104/2's, and using the same preamp, I prefer it to my Sansui AU-919.

Here's a good read on the ADS lineup. https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/a-d-s-line-pecking-order.44406/
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Nice, thanks for the info re: 7700. I'm looking at a B&K EX-442. Those seem to be rated the warmest/most 'musical' FWIW, among the ADCOMs, Brystons, Haflers.

And I think I've read that ADS thread cover-to-cover twice already :D
 
The volume pot on the AU-888 does not ramp up the volume real quick, so you may have to turn up the volume a bit more than you are used to. I use my AU-719 with ADS L1290 II. It has no trouble driving them. Unless you listen super loud, the AU-888 should be fine.

Rob
 
Robisme said:
The volume pot on the AU-888 does not ramp up the volume real quick, so you may have to turn up the volume a bit more than you are used to. I use my AU-719 with ADS L1290 II. It has no trouble driving them. Unless you listen super loud, the AU-888 should be fine.

Rob
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Okay yeah it definitely feels different in that regard and when I first fiddled with it I thought it seemed a bit anemic. So if I have to be over at 2-3 o'clock sometimes you think it should be fine? I mean obviously I'll listen for distortion/clipping, but I was afraid to go much past noon because usually the volume pots are already reaching close to max. Linear vs logarithmic, yeah?

I think my perception was also skewed a bit because the ADSs sound a bit muffled (and also quieter at any given power level) compared to the A200s which are very forward.

At baseline the opposing tendencies seem to make a nice balanced sound - the 'neutral' Yamaha sounds real good on the ADS, and the 'thicc' Sansui sound real good on the A200s.
 
As a fan of ADS (I know why you love them so much) and Sansui I would suggest you sell some gear, keep it simple, and buy a bigger Sansui integrated - AU-919/AU-X1/AU-X901 and there are more. If you want MOS (yes, you do) I would suggest the AU-a907 Limited - that machine paired with your big ADS would deliver the silkiest and fattest sonic experience you've heard - money back guarantee!
 
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JimEGR said:
As a fan of ADS(I know why you love them so much) and Sansui I would suggest you sell some gear, keep it simple and buy a bigger Sansui integrated - AU-919/AU-X1/AU-X901 and there are more. If you want MOS (yes, you do) I would suggest the AU-a907 Limited - that machine paired with your big ADS would deliver the silkiest and fattest sonic experience you've heard - money back guarantee!
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Tempting! Yeah I guess it would make sense. Once I've auditioned the 777 and 7700 and A/B'd them with the 888 I'll know if I need to move on to bigger/more modern amps.
 
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