• 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

Sansui CA-2000 + Sansui BA-100

RonnieCh

RonnieCh

New Member
Hello. My first post here.

I'm curious as to if I can connect a CA-2000 preamp to a BA-100 (30w x 30w) power amp and have good results. I know that the compliment to the preamp is the BA-2000.

I have a few other Sansui's that I can toy with (au-717, 7070 and a 4000) but want to know if there is any expert advice for the CA-2000 + BA -100.

Thank you in advance. Stay safe and well all.

Ronnie
 
Register to hide this ad
No reason you shouldn't get very good results from that combo. The BA-100 is not a very commonly found amp, and there are likely only a few members here with direct experience using one. As ths owner of its slightly bigger brother BA-150 (45WPC @8Ω), I can say I thoroughly enjoy the sound of the 150, and the 100 should be substantially similar, being of the same series and close in design. These are both capacitor coupled amps, and Sansui's cap coupled amp designs are very well regarded for their sonic signature.

I'm presently using the BA-150 with a CA-606 (the intended and "matching" preamp for the BA-100 and 150). The 606 is exceedingly rare, being a Japanese market only model, and there are only a couple of other members here I'm aware of who own one. My 150 was previously paired with an AU-555A - used only as a preamp - and worked quite well, though the 555A evidently needs recapping.

Best to simply pair up the CA-2000 and BA-100 and test the combo for yourself; your ears will be your guide. I suspect you'll find the results quite satisfactory.
 
Last edited:
Moe is pretty well right on with his remarks. I'll add that some preamps (or in Sansui parlance "control amp", hence the prefix CA) are better featured than others. The CA-2000 and 3000 are among Sansui's best preamp efforts in terms of features and functionality, though there are some far better still like the C-2301 from the mid 1980's. The CA-F1 from 1979-1980 is also highly regarded. Not to muddy the waters needlessly, though.

I will also mention - since you have an AU-717 - that it too could be used as a preamp for the BA-100. Probably not the most sensible arrangement, as the power amp of the 717 is quite highly regarded in its own right, and so nothing is really to be gained by mating it to the BA-100. It is, however, technically possible, if only for the sake of experimentation with different pairings.

The BA-100 is a special amp, very stoutly built and surprisingly refined for its time of manufacture (circa 1971). It represents one of Sansui's earlier forays into modern seperates, as much of their North American product line then was still receivers, with a handful of tuners and integrated amps, along with turntables and open reel tape decks. BA-60 and BA-90 were the first solid state standalone power amps offered, about 1968. These were followed on by the BA-100 and 150 in 1971.

These models have been somewhat overlooked for a long time, presumably owing to their rarity, especially the BA-100 and 150. The 150 was only offered for sale in Japan as a 100V version. Very few BA-100's seem to have made it out of Japan either, though it looks like maybe some were sold in Canada configured for 120V as I've noted there have been a small number of them sold out of there in the last couple of years.
 
Just took a look at the C-2301. Very cool! I'll stay the course on the CA-2000. My Sansui collection is getting a little too deep.
 
I can assure you that your present collection is still fully within the realm of sanity. Some of us here probably need an intervention, considering the quantity of gear we are holding...
 
Sansuiman said:
I can assure you that your present collection is still fully within the realm of sanity. Some of us here probably need an intervention, considering the quantity of gear we are holding...
Click to expand...

That's funny. I thought it was just me hoarding vintage amplifiers and various TTs and R2Rs! I feel better a bit.
 
I'd bet there were retail distributors for Sansui back in the heydey that had less stock on hand than I do right now. More disturbing still is that I know I'm not alone in being able to make such a statement. There was a thread here some time back in which the largest Sansui collections were discussed. I showed my hand (so to speak) and was then surprised - and maybe a little relieved - to see how many other members here were stacking as much or more than myself.

As a hobby, this can easily turn into an obsession. There is always another model to try out, whether it's an amp, tuner, turntable or whatever. And I stick primarily to Sansui, although do have a smattering of components from Pioneer, DBX, Technics, Akai and Hitachi.
 
Another quick question if anyone has time. So this BA 100 and CA 2000 are on their way, that's good. In reading the spec the BA 100 puts 30W per channel into 8ohm speakers, but accepts 4ohm speakers. I'm thinking about hooking up a pair of Spica TC50s (4ohm). Is that still 30W per channel or does the 4ohm change things. Sorry about the math question and if this should go to the speaker section, please let me know. And, thanks in advance.
 
Generally, you can figure halving the impedance would double the effective output power. In reality, that might be overstating it a ltitle, but consider it a loose rule of thumb.

I believe the BA-100 is capable of driving 4 ohm load, but verify that before hooking those speakers up and trying it out. Remember, at the time that amplifier was made, 8 and even 16 ohm speaker systems were still the standard. 4 ohm speaker systems weren't terribly common in 1971.
 
@moefuzz-

BA-100 30WPC RMS at 8Ω

I'm not sure what the IHF, music power or peak music power ratings were. In fact, I'm not sure Sansui even spec'd any of those alternate power ratings on these models. Since the bad habit of overstating output power to grab attention was something that appears to have been popular in the North American market (US and Canada) and it was the Federal Trade Commission in the US that finally forced a stop to such foolishness here, I don't know that these oddball ratngs systems were ever used as a marketing tool in Japan.

The BA-100 and 150 models were aimed at and concentrated mostly in Japan, so they may have foregone the ostentatious output power claims we were fed here (because that's how us tacky Americans wanted it).

1971 was before the horsepower wars really broke out anyway. Once the 100WPC barrier was breached mid-70's, it was off to the races. Before that, 50-60WPC RMS was pretty serious output power, especially in the cap coupled era.

Even then, receivers tended to outgun seperates on max power, an oddity of how gear was marketed by the Japanese majors, at least to American buyers. It kind of resembled the marketing of the contemporary muscle cars where bigger HP numbers were always the major focus.
 
OK. Pre and Amp sound really good. Set up with some smaller Infinity RS 0.1 speakers. The sound is a bit different than my 9090, must be the preamp.

The Preamp does humm a bit when first turned on, almost inaudible. Is this normal in anyones experience?

5909612F-D570-4EF4-ABFF-60715DAF0708.jpeg
 
Last edited:
I'd not expect any hum to be normal. Is the hum in the audio signal, or is it transformer hum from inside the unit? The latter may not be a big concern, but the former certainly needs looking at.

Also, don't discount the amp's influence on the sound. Remember the BA-100 is capacitor coupled design, where the 9090 isn't. There is a pretty broad consensus here that Sansui's cap coupled amplifier designs had a sound of their own versus all later models that succeeded them.
 
Hello. No the audio signal is quiet. It’s definitely coming from inside. Not to complicate but when I elevate (slightly lift the preamp) it stops. I’ll try some light re-positioning.

I really dig the sound. I just can’t put my finger on ‘that sound’.

Thank you for the reply.
 
@GrisPato, I may, in fact, be mistaken. The 100/150 are indeed contemporaries of the AU-666/888. Despite that, I was of the understanding they were cap coupled. Guess I failed to verify that, and just believed what I read.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom