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Pioneer vs Sansui

I concur with the proper "mating". I have an sx-1080 that my son is using, and have an sx-980 in the living room. I have had Sansui 661 and 5000A Models and enjoyed them both. But believe it or not, my preference for now is in the man cave, Pioneer Quad model QX-949A. Not as bright as the 980 and 1080. More tube like and probably closer to the sx-1010. Mates very well with my KLH's with plenty of headroom.
 
I have a sx-1280 and a G-9000 and after comparing them I'd have to say it's a toss up.Maybe if I did a more scientific blind A/B comparison I might be able to tell a difference.But as long as they both sound good I'm happy.
 
There can be only ' ONE ' stereo system...Sansui!! :)


Back in the day (1970-1972) Sansuis were the system of choice by most folks. Most of the guys gravitated toward Sansuis. It was like a love affair. Sui's just rocked, sounded great, and looked super with the green lit up glass on like the receivers. Think they invented 'that look'. That's what I read anyway, like on the model 5000 receiver.

But...Pioneer amps were super well respected and tons of guys bought them. Nice equipment!! And the Pioneer CS speaker systems sounded real good too. They sounded great. Pioneer sold a ton of speakers to the military guys. Sansui speakers sold great too but I think Pioneer may have edged them out on sales, but not sure.

Others in the same 'highly desired' Japanese club: Luxman, Kenwood, Nikkor, and Yamaha.

Yamaha had a real following with hard core stereo guys. They loved thier Yahamas. They were really fine amps. And cranked loud. I remember the Yamahas well, they really put out a fine sound.

But by in large, most folks went with Sansui. The just 'always sounded just right' and also looked great. And again, it was like a Sansui love affair during that time period.

It was all personal preference really. Want something not many others had...get Nikkor, which was also really nice equipment! And Nikkor had a really different look which was alluring and exotic. Luxman was quality, but rarer to get it seems. Maybe they were just more expensive which may be why guys didn't get so many like Sansui, Pioneer and Kenwood (Kenwood to a lesser degree). Kenwood was really good too. You really couldn't go wrong with any of them. But Sansui did have that 'Sansui Sound' edge. The "Sound of Sansui". The SP-200s and SP-2000s were very well liked speaker systems and did sound great. But the Pioneer speakers may have sold more. Maybe because guys would buy an amp from one company, a tape deck from another, TT from another...then get Pioneer speakers. Pioneer speakers did rock. JBL was the best but was out of reach pricewise for most military personnel when buying complete componet systems. JBL was the best, of course.

They all were quality builds and very reliable. Pioneer made some great looking, ok, outstanding looking wooden cabinets for their amps. Really sharp lookin. Just beautiful. You have to remember the 'look of wood' was really 'in vogue' then. The fine furnature look was in style. I don't think Yamaha and Nikkor ever went that route, none that I've seen anyway. They just had black and silver colored metal amps, etc.

Side note: Teak made the 7 inch Reel to Reels, everyone loved Teak R to Rs. Sansui also made really nice 7 inch R to Rs. AND Dual TTs were 'absolutely all the rage'. I remember...that Shure and Pickering were the desired carts. I'm sure Ortofon was a big seller to but I can't really remember all that well about Ortofon. Maybe they weren't as availiable, or as well known, as Shure and Pickering. Personally...I love Ortofons. The guys just really 'knew and liked' Shure and Pickering carts.

That's the way it was with all the military guys throughout the Asian area anyway, from Japan to Hong Kong to Subic to Viet Nam.

So which is better: Pioneer or Sansui?? :)

It all depends on which one sounds best to you. And now-a-days, which one has held up the best with the test of time. If you not going to restore the amp, just pick the better sounding amp. If your going to restore the amp...SANSUI!!

Hope this helps.
 
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My first vintage piece and what caused me to joing this forum was Pioneer SX-980. I was a happy camper, loved the way it looked and sounded. Then I found a Sansui 7000 and didn't want to like it based on it looks although she was one powerful beast. The Pioneer was more pleasing to the eye but as time went by I came to enjoy the Sansui 7000 more. I sold the Pioneer kept the Sansui. A few months later money got tight so I sold the Sansui (still pissed about it). Fast forward a couple of years later and I found my beloved AU-717. She's the total package, beauty & brawn and a keeper.

That's my limited experience with the 2 brands, also whenever these comparison threads come up I always think of post #2 in this thread
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108567
 
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Having owned and compared the SX1080 with the G-8000 I can tell you it is a toss up as far as sound and output. There was how ever no comparison in looks, the G-8000 was by far the most classy and beautiful receiver I have owned. I had someone make me an offer I couldn't refuse so its gone :sigh:, and the 1080 also sold. I have a absolute pristeen SX950 and G-7700 now and the G-7700 blows the SX950 away in sound and performance but doesn't have the looks of the previous G-8000 so it's a wash or maybe a slight advantage to the SX950 for looks. I have the G-7700 hooked to my Frazier model 7's and Concerto's, I have said it before but, what a great combination. :thmbsp: If you haven't heard a Frazier speaker you need to!

I guess it comes down to personal taste in the end but I suggest you own both so you have no regrets. :D
 
A ton of great responses on this thread and a lot of food for thought. As we all already know, and as I mentioned at the start of the thread, it definitely all comes down to personal preferences. It's still a lot of fun to hear all the different perspectives on it.

Steve, you may have given the best advice when you said "keep both" or "keep all" is the best way to go. As long as you have the room, I'm with you. And for now, the Sansui (771) and Pioneer (SX-1080) are absolutely staying. My dilemma down the road is whether to sell or trade the SX-1080 for a Sansui 9090 or QRX-7001/7500 or higher, all Sansuis I am aiming for as ultimate owns.

As for the G-7700, man, you know I picked up this SX-1080 which looks great after a cleanup and is sounding great, too. Got it for $30 here in my area. And a couple of weeks ago, a guy had a G-7700 up on CL, that he described as fully working, for $20. I responded within an hour of his original post, but someone had beater me to it. I know it's greedy to say, but an SX-1080 and a G-7700 for a combined $50 would have been insane, huh :sigh:.

One of the interesting things to me is how the overwhelming majority seem to go with this era Pioneer for looks over the Sansui. I get it. My wife loves the looks of the Pioneer. The real wood is classy all smoothed and shined up. And all the gleaming silver is laid out so nicely. There is something for me, though, about the soothing green and orange on the dark background all lit up on the Sansui. The SX-1080 has it a bit over the 771 in sheer monster size and looks awesome in the space I have it. But I have a real soft spot, and preference, in my heart for the looks of the cool Sansui.

Once again, though, in the words of Steve-- "Both".
 
mmann68 said:
(3) Really surprised to be saying this, but both receivers in the same place in my house with the exact same antenna, and the Sansui tuner is blowing the Pioneer out of the water in terms of bringing in a strong signal. And the Sansui FM stage has even more of a smoothness than the other stages, which again gives it an advantage to me.
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Are you hooking antenna leads to 300 ohm screws and not the 75 ohm screws? All my SX Pio's tuners are incredibly strong and sensitive no matter where I have them. I use the 300 ohm indoor di-pole antenna hook-up. The 75 ohm is for a co-axial cable that is run to your roof and hooked via an old fashioned TV antenna.
 
Good thought, Big Tuna. I do have the antenna hooked up to the 300 ohm hookups, not the 75 ohm. Double checked to be sure. Just have a basic FM, old school "T" style antenna wire hooked up. To be fair, it probably was a bit of an exaggeration for me to say that the Sansui tuner is "blowing the Pioneer out of the water". The Pioneer is bringing in a solid signal that I can't really complain about. But, in a one to one, putting the receivers and the antenna in the same spot comparison, the Sansui is winning. Tuning in the same FM station, the Sansui can bring it in completely clear, with a "5" on the signal strength. The Pioneer sounds good, but is not 100% clear and doesn't want to go beyond "3.5" or so. And that's with the tuning meter showing absolutely straight, in the sweet spot on the meter. I'll fiddle with the connections a bit since you're saying all of your Pioneer tuners are great. Again, the Pioneer is good, but there is a difference, with the advantage to the Sansui.
 
IMO, Sansui before BPC was the most "audiophile" of the Japanese audio. If you were a head-banger, you had a Pioneer of Kenwood. If you were into music for music's sake, there was probably a Sansui in the rack. "Back in the day" when I hung out in Japanese stereo shops, the TOTL Sansui gear was often found in the same rooms with Luxman and Accuphase gear.
 
mmann68 said:
Good thought, Big Tuna. I do have the antenna hooked up to the 300 ohm hookups, not the 75 ohm. Double checked to be sure. Just have a basic FM, old school "T" style antenna wire hooked up. To be fair, it probably was a bit of an exaggeration for me to say that the Sansui tuner is "blowing the Pioneer out of the water". The Pioneer is bringing in a solid signal that I can't really complain about. But, in a one to one, putting the receivers and the antenna in the same spot comparison, the Sansui is winning. Tuning in the same FM station, the Sansui can bring it in completely clear, with a "5" on the signal strength. The Pioneer sounds good, but is not 100% clear and doesn't want to go beyond "3.5" or so. And that's with the tuning meter showing absolutely straight, in the sweet spot on the meter. I'll fiddle with the connections a bit since you're saying all of your Pioneer tuners are great. Again, the Pioneer is good, but there is a difference, with the advantage to the Sansui.
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Yeah, sounds like you got it going good. Hmm, perhaps your Pioneer's tuner vanes need adjusting. You can't do that without tech equipment. I do notice a small amount of static interference with my SX-1250,(other ones, not so much) but it's so minimal that I never paid no mind to it, really. None of that static or noise at all with my 5590, 1280 or 1980. OTOH, I will say that my Marantz 2500's tuner is phenomenal, bringing in stations with not so much as a whisper. It's so clear I probably could hear a mosquito buzzing by the studio mic if the DJ paused for a second, lol!
 
OP, hook that 1080 up to any heritage klipsch and your off to the races, I have mine mated with a set of chorus ll"s, and an 880 mated to heresy"s in the br. just something about pioneer/klipsch I guess, only better mate I can think of is mcintosh/klipsch......Roost
 
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