Sanyo dca-650??

quadmatrix82

quadmatrix82

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Hi All, yesterday I was lucky enough to find a Sanyo DCA-650, I picked this one up only because it weighed a bit and looks extremely well made..to my suprise when I got home the sound was AWESOME! Does anyone know anything about this model? I always thought Sanyo was a low end brand in the 70's but this machine has big t-05 NEC outputs and a huge transformer...I wonder if its another sleeper??? Would appreciate anyone's thoughts!
 

Attachments

  • !BSNbWh!CGk~$(KGrHgoH-C4EjlLl0-E2BKCD1H0f4!~~_0.JPG
    !BSNbWh!CGk~$(KGrHgoH-C4EjlLl0-E2BKCD1H0f4!~~_0.JPG
    2.2 KB · Views: 349
Register to hide this ad
Moar pics!
Sanyo's domestic name for it's better gear was Otto, try searching with that.
 
Now that I own a Sanyo, I shake my head at the fact that I turned my nose up at 'em back in the 70's.... they made a fool outa me, thats for sure!
 
Think of all the receivers out there with STK modules in them - mostly all Sanyo designs. I guess they know something about audio frequencies? They are a huge industrial supplier to other MFGs. Occasionally they make some gear for the rest of us. Some of it very interesting. They built a few TOTL turntables that are scarce, but worth the look. Same for some of their other pieces :)
 
Hi All i'll take some more pics shortly...unfortunately it stopped working today...popping in both channels..any ideas what could be wrong? Also I wonder what the Slew rate switch does?
 
pics

hi all, here are the promised pics..the internals look like a pioneer to me? Would be great to get this one going again - it sounded really nice before the pops in the speakers :(
 

Attachments

  • Picture 409.jpg
    Picture 409.jpg
    92 KB · Views: 229
  • Picture 410.jpg
    Picture 410.jpg
    42.4 KB · Views: 197
where in time ?

This unit is a bit baffling to place in time for me, while I've studied Sanyo's receiver history throughout the 70's, integrated's are a different beast with less known and less documentation available. This unit looks very much like the Amplifier section of my DCX-8000K, laid out more like an integrated. This amp, (my guess) came before the DCA-1000 series and the DCA-311/411/611 units. Other than the plus series P55, this is one of the only Sanyo units in this power range to use Discrete outputs - The STK or even the Darlington Pack was not yet there. Lots of development came fast and furious in amp designs between 1973 and 1976, and this is when the TIM issue was being researched, but perhaps not yet fully "skinned" -- thus the slew rate switch. The audio community knew there was something different, and to many "unpleasant" about the solid state sound, and the switch fits into this tidbit of history somehow. It is unique. If I have this correct - the amps are very much pure complementary and direct coupled, making Sanyo a pretty early convert to these topolgy features. (Not the first)
This unit is rated at 38 Watts/ch, very similar to the DCX-8000K receiver, and although I really dont know, I'm going to guess from 1974, but its really just a guess. Close observation of some of the parts may verify this is possible, or show that this is not the case. The pushbuttons and switches are also reminescent of the DCX x000 receivers, from what I can tell of the photos. The toggle switches are identical to my DCX-3500K, a true quaraphonic receiver, also produced 1974-5. Out of curiosity I would be interested if the owner has any opinions to back this up or refute it. In another thread there is a matching tuner pictured(FMT-450?), and its bezel and dial look identical in styling to a DCX-4000/6000/8000K.
My DCX-8000K is a wonderful unit, my everyday listener for right now, and I am very fond of its sound and tuner, despite its age and lack of watts on paper. I think this DCA-650 is also a very nice unit, and one of the more desireable ones to have, no world records, but a nice solid unit. Let us know what went wrong. What are 'pops' in the speakers?? Does the unit produce any sound? Worth fixing for sure, and very fixable - not many out there that I know of.
Hope this info and observation helps.
 
Hey all, thanks for the thoughts on this one...i'll do some more investigation to identify a potential year it was made..to my eyes it looks so similar to some of the monarch amplifiers or a pioneer sa-9100 both cosmetically and internally..the switches, knobs all feel good..you can tell there is quality behind this machine..after about 30 minutes of use it started to making popping noises throughout the speakers, you can still hear the music but its unpleasant to listen to with all that popping. For the 30 minutes that it did work I was suprised with the clarity and detail this amp was able to produce..I couldn't hear any differences with the different slew rate options. Perhaps it need a recap?
 
hi all, apologies for the delay in getting back to you all..well i finally fixed the sanyo. It had a few capacitor issues in the power supply and the volume pot was faulty so i switched for an equilvent. Also the power switch had a capacitor on it that was faulty which didnt allow it to switch off. It now sounds lovely. The Slew switch is very interesting - apparantly it adds a bit of warmth to the sound to be more valve like. In my view this is on par with a Pioneer or Kenwood of the same era - the build quality is outstanding.
 
From a SANYO catalog/1976, only in german.

Verstärker DCA-650
Gesamtmusikleistung 4Ohm 190 Watt
Dauertonleistung(Pn) 4Ohm 2 x 50Watt
(beide Kanäle ausgesteuert) 8 Ohm 2 x 45 Watt
Klirdaktor.-3 dB (Pn).1kHz <005%
Intermodulation/-3 dB (Pn) < 0,4%
Leistungsbandbreite-3 dB (Pn) 5 Hz-80 kHz
Frequenzgang +0,5/-3 dB 5 Hz-100 kHz
Regelbereich Bässe Einsatz 250 Hz ± 10 dB /50 Hz, Ensatz 500 Hz ± 10 dB/100 Hz
Höheneinsatz 2,5 kHz ± 10 dB/10 kHz, Emsatz 5 kHz ± 10 dB;20 kHz
Ohrkurvenfilter100 Hz/10 kHz +8 dB/+ 3 dB
Verstärker-Stummschaltung -20 dB
Infraschallfilter,Ensatz/Flankensteilheit 20Hz/-12 dB/Okt
Rumpelfilter,Einsatz/Flankensteilheit 70Hz/-12 dB/Okt
Dämpfungsfaktor, 8 Ohm/1 kHz > 60
Lautsprecher-Impedanz 4- 16 Ohm
Lautsprecher-Wahlschalter A, B, A + B
Fingangsempfindlichkeiten/PHONO1+2 2,5 mV/>70 dB
Geräuschabstände
MICRO 2,5 mV/>70 dB
TUNER 140 mV/>90dli
ALJX1+2 140 mV/ >90dB
MONITOR 1+2 140(35) mV/ >90dB
Phono-Ubersteuerungssicherheit,1 kHz /400 mV eff.
Eingänge
Phono 1 + 2, Micro mischbar, Tuner,Reserve (AUX) 1 + 2,
Tonband Monitor 1 + 2 (DIN&RCA), Endstärker
Ausgänge TONBAND/RCA 140 mV, DIN 35 mV
Vorverstärker 1,2 V/1 kOhm
Kopfhörer ja
Leistungaufnahme max. 240 Watt
Abmessungen 420x130x 310mm
Gewicht 10,2 kg
Besonderheiten
Impulsverhalten der Endstufe umschaltbar

Michael-Otto
 
My DCA-650 is connected to Quadl12 speakers. It outperforms the Luxman R-1050 I have, in a very distinct way. The sanyo presents music with body and presence . The Luxman in comparison sounds vague to me.

Got it second hand ( 80$) and was mostly an impulsive buy (sanyo,what the heck ?), sure glad i have it now. My number one amp for acoustic music. Yes, its that good !

Very nice amp for low volume listening. The Loudness function is just about perfect balanced. Needs at least 20 minutes to warm up . I have toggled the Slew rate switch back and forth to different values, and found out the trick : You need a lot of volume before deciding wich slew rate suits you the best. Slew Rate seemed to affect the mid and treble in a kind of mild compression. I wonder if that is for mimmicking Tube compression ?

All in all : This amplifiers sound signature resembles to nothing i´ve heard so far . And I never had an amp that is so addictive to listen to. The downside : Not very powerful for listening at high volume. My Quad´s are a handful to control. I´m opting for a Sony 707ES (2x 130w) and will try to use the Sanyo as a preamp, hopefully retaining most of the charactaristics of the Sanyo. The lack of power is not a problem at all when listening to acoustic music , exept maybe big orchestral cresendos and it quickly goes out of breath when introduced to high gain produced music. But high gain production are lethal poison to the ears anyway :-9
 
Last edited:
It looks very very much like the Sanyo my brother has, so much so that I might even go as far as to say they are the same, gotta' check when I get the opportunity.
My dad bought it in 1976, it sounds fine, especially if you tinker a bit with it's settings, as far as I remember you can make is sound excellent, although rather noisy with the right settings.

Edit: by the way, this amp is unlikely to cause you any trouble, it's extremely durable.
 
Found this old post and decided to hijack it a little. I hope you don't mind.
Its a stunning looking reciever!

I am currently looking for a vintage reciever to go with my JBL L110's.
Would this Sanyo be a good match for me you think? Found one of these for sale for 400SEK (About 55USD) or would something like a NAD 120 be a better fit?

I am a beginner when it comes to HIFI and I don't really know what to look for when it comes to recievers.
 
quadmatrix82 said:
hi all, apologies for the delay in getting back to you all..well i finally fixed the sanyo. It had a few capacitor issues in the power supply and the volume pot was faulty so i switched for an equilvent. Also the power switch had a capacitor on it that was faulty which didnt allow it to switch off. It now sounds lovely. The Slew switch is very interesting - apparantly it adds a bit of warmth to the sound to be more valve like. In my view this is on par with a Pioneer or Kenwood of the same era - the build quality is outstanding.
Click to expand...

I have the DCA 650 also with the same problem, it would play for about 5 minutes with popping sounds and static in the right channel then would run fine for the remainder of time I had it on for, and then one day I heard a pop and magic smoke. On first inspection I found a burnt transistor that is held down by a clip to the heat sink, I am yet to source parts but it's kind of good to see I'm not the only one with this similar issue I might replace as much as I can given the age, but they truely are a great amp!
 
Dreadlock said:
My DCA-650 is connected to Quadl12 speakers. It outperforms the Luxman R-1050 I have, in a very distinct way. The sanyo presents music with body and presence . The Luxman in comparison sounds vague to me.

Got it second hand ( 80$) and was mostly an impulsive buy (sanyo,what the heck ?), sure glad i have it now. My number one amp for acoustic music. Yes, its that good !

Very nice amp for low volume listening. The Loudness function is just about perfect balanced. Needs at least 20 minutes to warm up . I have toggled the Slew rate switch back and forth to different values, and found out the trick : You need a lot of volume before deciding wich slew rate suits you the best. Slew Rate seemed to affect the mid and treble in a kind of mild compression. I wonder if that is for mimmicking Tube compression ?

All in all : This amplifiers sound signature resembles to nothing i´ve heard so far . And I never had an amp that is so addictive to listen to. The downside : Not very powerful for listening at high volume. My Quad´s are a handful to control. I´m opting for a Sony 707ES (2x 130w) and will try to use the Sanyo as a preamp, hopefully retaining most of the charactaristics of the Sanyo. The lack of power is not a problem at all when listening to acoustic music , exept maybe big orchestral cresendos and it quickly goes out of breath when introduced to high gain produced music. But high gain production are lethal poison to the ears anyway :-9
Click to expand...
I also have a Sanyo DCA 650 amplifier (and a Hitachi HA 5700 Mosfet). Can you tell me anything else about the sound of this Sanyo amplifier or compare it to another device, is there any device better than it? Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom