Sansui SP-5500 - what’s it worth?

[jozeppy26]

I’ve just finished restoring a pair of Sansui SP-5500 speakers (not the smaller SP-5500x) and am curious what others think is a fair price for these 107 pound monsters? Cabs have been stripped of lacquer and refinished, crossovers recapped. These were never sold in the US so it’s hard to find similarly sold sets and what I have found has prices ranging from $400-1000.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Kinda depends on your venue. Ebay is likely to be the highest return but you'd have to ship 107 lb monsters. CL will usually not bring as much depending on your location.

 

[jozeppy26]

Shipping would be a nightmare!

 

[superdog]

I've seen crappy(sonically speaking) Sansui speakers selling for $300 a pair on ebay.Yours are nice but depending on your local you may be looking at $200 at pair locally.For the most dollar you would have to be willing to ship.Sasui speakers just don't have the following some of the more popular other do.

 

[z-adamson]

Sansui speakers are hard to sell. Most folks (vintage audio gurus) have much distaste for them. Folks that are not vintage audio gurus and are simply looking for a pair of speakers are not likely to go for old Sansui speakers. So, there really is no following for them. Its either keep them for yourself or sell for cheap. More than $300 for an asking price will mean waiting for a long time for a buyer unless you get lucky.

 

[jozeppy26]

I sold a recapped and repaired set of SP-3200s for $300 a couple months ago (really spectacular sounding speakers when paired with a sub). I’m fine with waiting for the right buyer and understand vintage speakers of this size aren’t for everyone (WAF after all). It was my understanding that if any Sansui speaker was to have a demand out in the world, it would be the TOTL SP-5500s but I’m sure this will be highly regional and sporadic.

 

[z-adamson]

It isn't about size and waf.

Most people just don't like the sound.

 

[jozeppy26]

I agree many people don't like the sound, or more likely they believe others that tell them the sound is bad, but I've encountered many people highly interested in vintage Sansui speakers. Also when you're considering speakers of this size, WAF plays a much bigger role than you think. ;-)

 

[centsless]

Apparently most here have never heard them as they are far and few between. I had a pair that I refinished and the sound was awesome. I only sold them as a pair of Polk SDA SRS 1.2's came into the house.

I sold them for $650 thru CL and the guy had tons of equipment and a pair of 5500's that he wanted to stack with these.

 

[ymarko]

Sansui SP-5500 - what's it worth?

I think they worth less after "Cabs have been stripped of lacquer and refinished."

They are TOTL Sansui. Therefore, buyer probably would be a Sansui collector, and collectors pay for originality.
Indeed, Sansui speakers are lacquered, not simply oiled like other brands.
Changing appearance could be "stay away' for a collector.

Another thing could be "crossovers recapped." Even not a visible thing, like finish, it's important nevertheless.
Not sure what was the reason for a recap, collectors don't listen to them anyway. But knowing that someone broke the virginity, so to speak, to get inside with his gun, doesn't make a collector happy either.

 

[jozeppy26]

I think they worth less after "Cabs have been stripped of lacquer and refinished."

They are TOTL Sansui. Therefore, buyer probably would be a Sansui collector, and collectors pay for originality.
Indeed, Sansui speakers are lacquered, not simply oiled like other brands.
Changing appearance could be "stay away' for a collector.

Another thing could be "crossovers recapped." Even not a visible thing, like finish, it's important nevertheless.
Not sure what was the reason for a recap, collectors don't listen to them anyway. But knowing that someone broke the virginity, so to speak, to get inside with his gun, doesn't make a collector happy either.

Interesting, I never considered refinishing to be a problem (assuming the job was done well), and this will be something I consider more heavily in the future (especially for TOTL speakers and with my second pair of SP-5500's I haven't yet touched). The recap was done because Sansui uses these notoriously bad blue electrolytic capacitors and in the past recapping drastically cleaned up the sound, but I again see your point in that for a TOTL speaker, originality might be the most important aspect. Great advice!

 

[jozeppy26]

Apparently most here have never heard them as they are far and few between. I had a pair that I refinished and the sound was awesome. I only sold them as a pair of Polk SDA SRS 1.2's came into the house.

I sold them for $650 thru CL and the guy had tons of equipment and a pair of 5500's that he wanted to stack with these.

What was the model you sold?

I often think the hate comes from people who either never really heard a decent pair, or at least never heard a recapped pair. The highs always felt rolled off to me, sure, and the bass is often lacking depending on the model (not true at all in these 5500s though), but that detailed midrange and easy listening quality... they really nail this part. Performing a recap eliminates any perceived muddiness and add a sub for depth (depending on the model) and bam you have really great sounding speakers. Plus, they're built like tanks with thick wood cabinets, internal bracing, often cast metal baskets (at least they were in my SP-3200's). Also, the crossover boards are nicely laid out and easy to work on.


If we quantify hate, it seems for Sansui speakers H = 0.5(bose).

 

[z-adamson]

Love them or hate them, you can't deny it. And this is a turn-off for the vast majority of guys that like vintage, 2 channel hifi gear. What is also a huge turn-off is needing to use a subwoofer for 2 channel audio. I mean, come on. Talk about purpose-defeating. Who wants to add a subwoofer to their 2 channel vintage hifi system? The whole point is that one speaker cabinet to the right and another to the left will cover the entire frequency range. Sansui speakers with their 16in woofer, multiple tweeters, multiple mids and a horn loaded driver thrown in for good measure can't even get semi-decent bass, and I am sorry to say it but that is pitiful. Throw in a sub to get the results up to par. Fair enough, but at that point I and darn near anyone else with common sense would sooner move on to something else that can perform well on its own two feet.

Moderation note: Edited out provocative statement(s)

 

[z-adamson]

Every Sansui driver I have seen was stamped steel. Never seen a cast aluminum basket in a Sansui speaker.

Also common in Sansui speakers is sealed-back mids. Sealed-back = the suck. A well thought out and air tight wooden and cardboard chamber for the mids is much better.

 

[motorstereo]

A local flipper had a pair of recapped 5500's that he claimed were "his babies". He had them in his bedroom in his tiny apartment and ran them with a homebrew tube amp. The 5500's were gross overkill for that small room and I wasn't impressed in the least. A few weeks go by and I saw them listed on Craigs for $300 where they sat for a few months. I see they're gone now

 

[jozeppy26]

Every Sansui driver I have seen was stamped steel. Never seen a cast aluminum basket in a Sansui speaker.

Also common in Sansui speakers is sealed-back mids. Sealed-back = the suck. A well thought out and air tight wooden and cardboard chamber for the mids is much better.

The baskets for the woofer and midrange are cast in the SP-3200, so it just depends on the model.

I did not know that a sealed wooden chamber is better for the midrange than a wool stuffed sealed-back driver. This is interesting. Could you expand as to why it’s better? I’m just curious and trying to learn.

Regarding the sub, it appears this is a bit of a controversial topic among vintage audio enthusiasts. I’m not proud and thus believe that adding a well implemented sub to a 2 channel sound system is going to improve the overall sound every single time. There’s always a low frequency roll-off. Where you crossover the sub depends on your room and speakers of course and many great deep reaching speakers might require a much lower crossover. This doesn’t defeat any purpose and in fact satisfies one, assuming that purpose is achieving a low distortion flat frequency response.

Regarding the multiple drivers and oversized woofer cones in small cabinets, I completely agree with you. It seems the Japanese thought people liked how it looked, but definitely not this guy! I often wonder how these 5500’s would sound without the cone midrange drivers. The woofer cone is actually more appropriately sized in the 5500’s and bass production is the best I’ve heard in a Sansui. This critique is why I’ve been picky regarding which Sansui Speakers I pursue. The 3200s had ambience tweeters that could be completely turned off, creating a traditional 3-way, 3 driver system. These 5500s seemingly overdo the midrange, but the angled cones really do widen the soundstage and the horn midrange makes instrumentation sound warm and real. A saxophone on these things sounds pretty fantastic. If I keep this pair, it’ll be strictly for jazz.

 

[jozeppy26]

A local flipper had a pair of recapped 5500's that he claimed were "his babies". He had them in his bedroom in his tiny apartment and ran them with a homebrew tube amp. The 5500's were gross overkill for that small room and I wasn't impressed in the least. A few weeks go by and I saw them listed on Craigs for $300 where they sat for a few months. I see they're gone now

They’re pretty warm sounding speakers already, Idk that I’d drive them with a tube amp! I definitely wouldn’t use them in a small room either. It’d be like someone screaming the vocals an inch from your face!

 

[motorstereo]

I definitely wouldn’t use them in a small room either. It’d be like someone screaming the vocals an inch from your face!

More than likely that's the reasons he was using a low powered tube amp to soften the harshness in a much too small room. They're no longer listed so someone must've liked them.

 

[centsless]

What was the model you sold?

I often think the hate comes from people who either never really heard a decent pair, or at least never heard a recapped pair. The highs always felt rolled off to me, sure, and the bass is often lacking depending on the model (not true at all in these 5500s though), but that detailed midrange and easy listening quality... they really nail this part. Performing a recap eliminates any perceived muddiness and add a sub for depth (depending on the model) and bam you have really great sounding speakers. Plus, they're built like tanks with thick wood cabinets, internal bracing, often cast metal baskets (at least they were in my SP-3200's). Also, the crossover boards are nicely laid out and easy to work on.


If we quantify hate, it seems for Sansui speakers H = 0.5(bose).

I sold the 5500. I had it set up with a McIntosh 2205 and a nice Sony ES and had no issues with bass, mids, or horns. In a big room so it had room to produce and handled big power well. It had a well made cabinet with one inch MDF, the crossover was laid out well, and drivers were decent. My buyer was happy....so....not sure of peeps here are mixing this up with the X model.

 

[rwartner]

Where are you? Obviously shipping is a problem. Your location may make a big difference. Consider editing your profile to include location.