As an X1 owner yourself, you know how much heat the phono section generates, so you get where I'm coming from. I've never come across a phono stage that gets this hot. Reminds me of the heat a Class A amplifier generates.
Is the AU-X1 a must have Sansui?
- Thread starter jefferylhenr
- Start date
As an X1 owner yourself, you know how much heat the phono section generates, so you get where I'm coming from. I've never come across a phono stage that gets this hot. Reminds me of the heat a Class A amplifier generates.
Yes, even more than the AU-919 ! - when I put the phono cover on I use thermal compound so the heatsinks on the phono modules can take advantage of a bit more surface area.
When I first saw the AU-919 Phono amp, I could scarcely believe it, and was suitably impressed.
(this was well before I had sight of the X1 
).
Sui-Yogi
Super Member
+ the VAS on the power amps.. to my understanding.
True , even that I have the X-11. By little that I have studied the X-1 MM circuit, it’s much possible that the X-11 PCBs for R/L can fit in there and in my understanding this can be considered a factory upgrade ( if possible) ….
Was just looking back at this stunning quad pack and noticed all 4 were powered up at once. I would imagine if all four were powered on at the same time those massive capacitor banks probably vacuumed up enough electrons to make even the neighbor's lights dim! Haha.
StirFriedFrp
Member
Are the AU-X1 and AU-X11 similar, in terms of the heat that the phono stages generate?
Next year I plan to send my AU-X11 to my tech for an overhaul. He already suggested, based on his experience with the AU-X1, to improve the heat absorption. But I’d like to know if that also makes sense for the AU-X11.
I agree with what @Bumpalump & @Hyperion said about adding thermal grease where the heatshield cover attaches to the phono cards. Also be sure your tech refreshes the thermal grease on the transistors on the boards and obviously be sure to run your X11 in a well ventilated area (a tight enclosed space is a no-no).
Aside from that I would not worry too much, these run hot by design, not because there is a fault.
Sui-Yogi
Super Member
If you don’t use the MC head amp ( or don’t have an MC cartridge ) then you might as well disconnect the primary's from the PSU
( Pins: 39,40,41,42,43,44), when and if you ever use it ,reconnect . It’s plugs socket's.
The department will run significantly cooler.
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Well, just to tell you how fickle I am, I found a Harmon Kardon Citation II to go with my citation I. After a 3rd and 4th update to the citation I, it is now dead silent. The Citation II as well. Together they are beyond fantastic. I also bought a Luxman L-509x which was un-used to compare and contrast. And, I have the Luxman side by side with my Alpha. Push come to shove and I had to part with one? I would probably keep the alpha….
Still looking for an X-1 and an AU-111. My 1000a turned out so nicely that I am stuck on tubes it appears.
I A/B tested the Citation II with I and my Accuphase C-200v and they both have their pluses, but the Citation I is just so damn musical with classic era high res jazz albums.
Still looking for an X-1 and an AU-111. My 1000a turned out so nicely that I am stuck on tubes it appears.
I A/B tested the Citation II with I and my Accuphase C-200v and they both have their pluses, but the Citation I is just so damn musical with classic era high res jazz albums.
Plimpington2
Super Member
The question answers itself. Once you have a genuine collection going, your decision to acquire another item has very much less to do with sound quality (or sound signature) and very much more to do with filling some niche or hole in the collection that wants for attention. I have been thinking about this general question for some time. For instance, I am very much a collector of Sansui gear. But how does one go about it? One option is have the top model in each "line". A QRX9001, an AU-919, a 9090 (or 9090db), a G-9000 (or G-9000db), an AU-20000, etc. But what is a "line"? Things here get murky. For instance, the AU-X1 seems very much to be in the same line as the AU-717 and AU-919, and so you need it if you want the penultimate of that line. But is the AU-X11 in the same line? (whether yes or no, I so you can avoid it because i believe it is a JDM model only). The AU-X111mos and AU-X1111Mos are clearly different lines from the AU-X1 and AU-919 because the livery and topology is so much different from the AU-X1. This doesn't mean you don't want one (you certainly do - I certainly do), it's just that some line can be drawn somewhere.
But that only answers half the question. The top of each line (or maybe just one unit in each line, no matter where that unit sits) is ontologically defensible. But what if you're a completist (a particularly rancid malady from which I suffer), once you have more than one of something you need all of it. I have a 417, 717, 919, X1. But I'm missing a few (which I DO. NOT. NEED.) I am even a bit further down the road in the quads. Oh the quads. The fact is, you have zero business having both an AU-20000 AND a BA-5000/CA-3000 combo, but here you are. You need only the AU-9900 and AU-11000 (oh, and the BA-3000, and if the light is just right, a CA-2000 and BA-2000 - now I just sound ridiculous!!) to have that special feeling one gets of having THAT issue (whatever that is) tucked away.
I am doing a little of both, but poorly. I intend to complete the quad collection (if it kills me), and probably will not complete the AU-x1x series. I have a Model Seven and a Model Eight. I THINK I want the Six and the Eight Deluxe. The 7000 torments me. I have a CA-3000 I am rehabbing and will get a BA-3000 to go with it (avoiding the 5000 due to size if I am being honest), and i am surely only a half a dose of adulterated Adderall away from picking up the 20000 (there is one too cheap to too close to me to be safe). I have my first (and ONLY, god willing) high end alpha coming mid-Feb (an a907DR). But do I need an AX-111Mos? Yes I do. And so do you.
The point is this: you collect Sansui. You want the AU-X1 not because it sounds different or better. It's because as a "thing" it is not truly represented in it's essence by some other piece in your collection. And you need it. Now if you buy the matching tuner to go with it, you're just plane sick!
Yes, it is the same line as the AU-X1.
In my opinion it is a little bit better than the AU-X1, very very close but better.
It is certainly nicer to work on, the internal physical layout is much better.
I agree the AU-X1 is a 'statement piece' (if I catch your drift correctly). The sheer kudos of owning one is considerable.
@Plimpington2 you are in good company here. Enabling company, but good. I think we can all be grateful we found Sansui and not some truly absurd hobby like boating. There are two good days of boat ownership - the day you buy it and the day you sell it. Every day is a good day exploring the waters of the Sansui Sea. And BTW, my money is on that AU-a907DR not being your last Alpha. I suspect curiosity will get the best of you about what the others sound like. Having owned quite a few Alpha’s I can say unequivocally they all have defined and unique sound qualities that justify trying more than one. The AU-X* series is its own, significant branch of the family tree. The AU-X* represent the pinnacle of Sansui technology and ambition at that time. They stand alone. With the AU-X1 being the mighty and ambitious entrance into forging the fastest most powerful integrated amp Sansui could design and build. (They even overshot their own mark a little past the redline).
Looking forward to @jefferylhenr embarking on one of these!
Looking forward to @jefferylhenr embarking on one of these!
I might be weird, but I enjoy restoring gear back to better than new. Maybe even more than actually listening to it. Seeing the architecture first hand and thinking why on earth was this or that not done differently?
For me it’s about the journey more than actually owning a piece of gear. And I get bored quickly.
As for the “line” concept, there are clear plateaus where the evolution made clear jumps. Those are the ones I want. Just the standouts that changed the world as we knew it.
For me it’s about the journey more than actually owning a piece of gear. And I get bored quickly.
As for the “line” concept, there are clear plateaus where the evolution made clear jumps. Those are the ones I want. Just the standouts that changed the world as we knew it.
Plimpington2
Super Member
On this, we agree. I’M 52 now and have been into “high end” audio since I was 18. MOST of my life I have purchased “audiophile” gear, always looking for the next great thing. NaIm and Linn, Jadis and Audio Research, Leben, Luxman. But after a while it was just “accumulation”. I taught myself how to repair and rehab gear about 2 years ago (I’m still learning) and now I buy broken stuff and rehab it. That has brought ALL the joy back into this hobby for me. Now I don’t “repair” stuff so much as strip it down to the bones, and build it back up new. I don’t sell my stuff to I (at least not generally), but keep and enjoy. Everything is in rotation. But MOSTLY I am rehabbing stuff, and listening less.
Which is why this hobby is so much led than “sound quality”. I like this stuff for its “thing-ness”, not how it sounds.
Correction, we are not the same.
Plimpington2
Super Member
I’m no so sure. You love this stuff for what it is as well. Of course we want this stuff to sound fantastic (and fortunately it does), but nobody loves and collects classic Porche’s because they perform better. A Mazda Miata is a “better” car in every way than a 356. An alpha series leaves an AU-20000 for dead. But we still love the Professional line anyway. Anyway, we all come at the hobby on our own way.
That's not me. This can be a hobby for gear heads or just things collectors in a confined niche, but I collect Sansui gear for the sound. Sansui Sound is what hooked me, after going through a lot of other brands of gear, and the sound is what keeps me here. Exploring it across the decades Sansui made gear. Sonic snapshots in time. It all looks amazing, but the sound is what's most interesting.
Me too! - but the end result - 'the sound' is also very important to me.
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DB-7
Super Member
If your in it just for the enjoyment of the repair, there are plenty non-Sansui units to choose from. Go buy a burnt up JVC or Realistic.
Leave the Sansui's to enthusiests that actually care about the brand for its sound, appearance, history and not just the worth value of a collectible unit.
Leave the Sansui's to enthusiests that actually care about the brand for its sound, appearance, history and not just the worth value of a collectible unit.
Plimpington2
Super Member
I don’t think I am saying anything that controversial here. And I don’t quite understand this push-back. I collect Sansui in preference to anything else because I think it is the best vintage brand. But what constitutes the “best” is not defined solely by how it sounds. I can’t believe there would be any disagreement with this statement. The essence of what makes Sansui the “best” is its history, the build quality of its components, the circuit design, the aesthetics and the way it sounds - in equal measure I would say. If you all only cared about how it sounded, you’d only have alpha units (or whatever Sansui line YOU think sounded best). Come on now!!! I enjoy my QRX-3000 just as much as my 9090. But the 9090 certainly sounds much better. Should I sell my 3000? Or my G-9000?? (the 9090 sounds better than that as well). No, of course not. Perhaps I may have put the point less artfully than I should have – but I love this gear for reasons that sound quality does not fully capture on it’s own. Why this would be thought controversial, I really have no idea. You said it best – it is about “ sound, appearance, history “. I could not agree more!! BTW, I do not collect ANYTHING for its “collectible value”. It's not like I own FOUR of anything.
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