Part 12: Afterthoughts and Listening Impressions
Before starting the restoration/upgrade, the CA-3000 was subjected to basic testing/measurements as well a brief listening session to evaluate its condition. No anomalies were observed in the power supply voltages, or the output signal. The left meter was non-operative (as the owner had noted). And in order to get sound on both channels, the 20Hz low filter had to be engaged, otherwise sound was only on the left channel. This last issue was probably due to the failure of one or more pass-through connections on the the filter board. And although the CA-3000 was a very good sounding unit as received, it did not distinguish itself as a TOTL design that it is.
Following the restoration/upgrade work, the CA-3000 was installed in the main system where it remained for an extended ~3 weeks before its owner had time to visit and claim it. During that time, it received approximately 50 hours of play time. The first thing that is noticeable is how quiet the background is when there is no music playing (there is essentially no background noise, even when listening on headphones). When playing music, the dynamic impact of the opening notes is often startling as it seemingly emerges from total silence. Considering the complexity of this design (e.g, selectable filters, tone controls, muting, output mode) the absence of any discernible extraneous and residual noise/hum was was a bit of a (pleasant) surprise and a testament to Sansui engineering.
The CA-3000's low noise floor compliments its excellent low level resolution. For example, it easily portrays the recording space (e.g., its obvious that the background singers in Lou Reed's "Walk On the Wild Side" are getting louder as a result of approaching the microphone rather than it just being a mixing level manipulation). In many recordings, the small incidental sounds that are buried deep in the sound mix that are somewhat obscured by the noise floor are clearly heard with the CA-3000.
With the tone controls and filters switched out, the overall sound of the CA-3000 can be characterized as neutral and balanced, with excellent dynamics. It never seemed to impose its sonic signature on the music but rather allows one to listen through a recording, equally revealing its good and not so good aspects. For example, the ECO (Standage)/Four Seasons recording and the Nishizaki/Beethoven violin sonatas are both known to have an aggressively recorded high range and were heard as such: these recordings were indeed bright sounding, but I wouldn't characterized them as sounding overly harsh as played through the CA-3000. With excellent recordings (e.g., the DMP Big Band, Wynton Marsalis, The Great Jazz Trio) the treble range is very natural sounding with lots of detail (e.g., different percussion instruments are easily identified). The midrange reproduction, to which human hearing is most sensitive, was exemplary: the sound of brass (e.g., Maurice Andre; Duke Ellington), violins/violas (e.g., Brandenburg Ctos.), and acoustic guitars (e.g., Eric Clapton) have a very realistic "bite". Vocals were rendered with startling clarity: singers sound "live" with easily heard vocal "ticks" and 'hiccups" (e.g., Buddy Holly), and "mangled" (e.g., Elton John vocals) or mumbled lyrics (e.g., Springsteen) are easier to decern. I thought that the bass range reproduction to be both powerful and "tight" sounding: the 2019 remix of "Abbey Road" sounded particularly good. Other examples of such are are the Joe Morello's drum breaks on "Time Out," the synthesizer bass on Sarah McLachlan's "I Love You" and Nick Mason's drum work on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond."
The dynamic and transient response of the CA-3000 is also notable: the close-miked guitar of Clapton on "Unplugged" was well rendered as was that of Jack Johnson on "In Between Dreams." Also in the Clapton recording, the applause sound in the smallish venue was realisticly portrayed (this is often difficult to portray accurately). The power and dynamics of Backhaus' interpretation of Beethoven Piano Sonatas was well conveyed. In terms of stereo/spatial presentation, the CA-3000 produced a wide soundstage and very good image depth/height (e.g., Beethoven Symphonies). Recordings of solo instruments or small ensembles (e.g., Bach Cello Suites or Mozart Violin & Piano Sonatas) were very realistically rendered with a plausible "live-in-the-room" quality. The listening sessions used CD and LP recordings that I'm very familiar with and often use to evaluate equipment (listed below). The CA-3000 phono stage in particular deserves special mention: it is a stellar performer and features selectable sensitivity and cartridge loading (resistance and capacitor).
When fully restored (and upgraded with the latest passive component technology), the CA-3000 delivers on the promise of a TOTL model. There is a cohesiveness and accuracy to the sound that this preamplifier produces that is truly "high-end" and further, it remains sonically competitive with anything available today (or yesteryear).
Some of the recordings (CD and LP) used during the listening sessions (in no particular order): Buddy Holly/From the Original Master Tapes; The Doors/L.A. Woman; Steely Dan/Aja (1999 Remaster); Bruce Sprinsteen/Born To Run (2005 Remaster); Miles Davis/Kind of Blue; Eagles/Hell Freezes Over; DMP Big Band/Carved In Stone; Elton John/Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; Jacques Loussier/Plays Bach; Dire Straits/Love Over Gold; Eric Clapton/Unplugged; Beatles/Abbey Road (2019 Remix); Elton John/Goodby Yellow Brick Road; Sarah McLachlan/Surfacing; Beethoven (Nishizaki and Jando)/Violin Sonatas No.5 and No. 9; Dave Brubeck/Time Out; ECO (Leppard)/Bach Brandenburg Ctos; Duke Ellington Orchestra/Digital Duke; VPO (Böhm, 1972)/Beethoven Symphonies no. 6 & no. 9; Pink Floyd/The Wall (1994 Remaster); Pink Floyd/Wish You Were Here; Beethoven (W. Backhaus)/Piano Sonatas no. 8, 14 & 23; The Great Jazz Trio/Standard Collection; Jack Johnson/In Between Dreams; Bach (Gendron)/Cello Suites; ECO (Pinnock)/Vivaldi Four Seasons; Wynton Marsalis/Standard Time Vol. 3; Maurice Andre/Trumpet Ctos.
