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Speaker recommendations for Sansui au-x701 Amplifier?

kk_coastal

kk_coastal

New Member
Hi Everyone,

I recently scored a Sansui AU-X701 on the bay. I've been looking for one of these for a while and am really looking forward to getting it up and running.

I was hoping for some speaker recommendations to be used with the Sansui AU-X701. Preferably looking for a good set of bookshelf's. I've been considering the KEF 103.2's or KEF 101's. That being said I'm totally open to you thoughts on this. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.
 
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Used them on DIY - bookshelves and towers with 88 and 91dB sensitivity. Plays just fine with no shortage of power or dynamics.

Currently, they're hooked up to Altecs.
 
To be honest, the AU-X701 will be held back by either of those KEFs. They are OK speakers, but somewhat lacking in transparency IMHO. You definitely won't be hearing what the 701 is capable of.

I've used the following speakers on my AU-X701 and subsequent AU-alpha amps with great results:

  • Lenehan ML1 (not exactly cheap though)
  • Proac 1SC clones from Honk Kong (around $USD415 plus shipping) - VERY good for the money
  • Wharfedale 9.1 (these should be available nearly everywhere in the world for reasonable dollars second-hand, or the newer 10.1s too).
  • Focus Audio FS68 (if you are in the US/Canada and see any of these, GRAB THEM - they are utterly SUPERB)
  • JPW Ruby 2 (likely to be hard to find)
  • Elite Aesthet 1 Mk II (the best standmount speakers that I've owned)
Now, many of these will not be easy to find. There are certainly other very good standmount/bookshelf speakers out there. Note that many of these are of the smaller bookshelf/standmount variety with 5" or 6.5" woofers. For large rooms, you will generally need larger drivers or augmentation via a subwoofer.

If you're after larger bookshelf speakers in the more affordable realm (which are also capable of quite decent bass extension and scale by virtue of larger drivers and larger enclosures), I've also had surprisingly good results with various Canadian speakers. In particular, the Energy ESM2 and ESM3, Paradigm 3SE and 5SE, and my beloved Sound Dynamics 300ti which my father (skippy124) bought off me in a time of need, and has more recently lent the speakers back to me). They are just awesome and a heck of a lot of fun. Not as outright transparent as the Elite Aesthets, but they offer greater punch and scale.

The Aesthets are in the first image, and the Sound Dynamics are larger black speakers off to each side in the second image:



 
Mine sounds fine with Mordaunt Short MS30's, KEF iQ7's or Q Acoustics 3050's - I just had a listening session last night with the Q Acoustics, absolutely superb.

The AU-X701 is a very fine 'accurate sounding' amplifier, deserving of good speakers and source, get these together and you can't go wrong.
 
701 is a fine machine , and as such should be treated. A pair of large floorstanders would not be a bad idea . Provided you have room to spare.
 
How about the speakers that they had in mind while designing the amp?

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stevo137 said:
How about the speakers that they had in mind while designing the amp?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty certain that those speakers pre-dated the 701 by at least a few years.

They are a viable option, but IMHO better sound can be had if the OP is dead-keen on Sansui speakers. The Z9's subscribed to Sansui's earlier speaker design philosophy of including lots of drivers and aiming for high efficiency.

Personally, I prefer the sound of the simpler designs - far more accurate, but not capable of the same outright volume as the high-efficiency, multi-driver speakers. This is the design philosophy that Sansui pursued from the mid 80's onwards.

The speaker below were available at or shortly after the release of the 701 and are supposedly quite good indeed. They could prove difficult to find though:

http://audio-database.com/SANSUI/speaker/sp-g88-e.html

http://audio-database.com/SANSUI/speaker/sp-1000-e.html

http://audio-database.com/SANSUI/speaker/sp-1010-e.html

http://audio-database.com/SANSUI/speaker/sp-300s-e.html

http://audio-database.com/SANSUI/speaker/sp-alpha2000-e.html
 
pete_mac said:
To be honest, the AU-X701 will be held back by either of those KEFs. They are OK speakers, but somewhat lacking in transparency IMHO. You definitely won't be hearing what the 701 is capable of.

I've used the following speakers on my AU-X701 and subsequent AU-alpha amps with great results:

  • Lenehan ML1 (not exactly cheap though)
  • Proac 1SC clones from Honk Kong (around $USD415 plus shipping) - VERY good for the money
  • Wharfedale 9.1 (these should be available nearly everywhere in the world for reasonable dollars second-hand, or the newer 10.1s too).
  • Focus Audio FS68 (if you are in the US/Canada and see any of these, GRAB THEM - they are utterly SUPERB)
  • JPW Ruby 2 (likely to be hard to find)
  • Elite Aesthet 1 Mk II (the best standmount speakers that I've owned)
Now, many of these will not be easy to find. There are certainly other very good standmount/bookshelf speakers out there. Note that many of these are of the smaller bookshelf/standmount variety with 5" or 6.5" woofers. For large rooms, you will generally need larger drivers or augmentation via a subwoofer.

If you're after larger bookshelf speakers in the more affordable realm (which are also capable of quite decent bass extension and scale by virtue of larger drivers and larger enclosures), I've also had surprisingly good results with various Canadian speakers. In particular, the Energy ESM2 and ESM3, Paradigm 3SE and 5SE, and my beloved Sound Dynamics 300ti which my father (skippy124) bought off me in a time of need, and has more recently lent the speakers back to me). They are just awesome and a heck of a lot of fun. Not as outright transparent as the Elite Aesthets, but they offer greater punch and scale.

The Aesthets are in the first image, and the Sound Dynamics are larger black speakers off to each side in the second image:



Click to expand...
Thank so much for all the suggestions. Man that looks like an awesome listening room in those pics. I'm researching all the speakers you listed now. Any thoughts on the EPOS speakers? I'm trying to keep my budget under $700 USD.
 
JOMARK911 said:
701 is a fine machine , and as such should be treated. A pair of large floorstanders would not be a bad idea . Provided you have room to spare.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately we don't have have room for floorstanders. It will have to be bookshelf speakers.
 
kk_coastal said:
Thank so much for all the suggestions. Man that looks like an awesome listening room in those pics. I'm researching all the speakers you listed now. Any thoughts on the EPOS speakers? I'm trying to keep my budget under $700 USD.
Click to expand...

EPOS make some excellent speakers, both new and old.

If you're happy to buy new speaker, the new ELAC speakers designed by Andrew Jones of TAD fame are supposedly very good for not a lot of dollars. The ELAC Debut B6 is VERY reasonably priced!

http://www.stereophile.com/content/elac-debut-b6-loudspeaker#wk2WEtdC0vzW0ZBS.97


Ascend Acoustics also make some rather nice speakers at a variety of price points:

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340m.html

The Dynaudio EMIT10 is also worth looking at - I've owned a few Dyns and have always been impressed with them. The EMIT10 are 6 ohms nominal (most other Dyns are 4 ohms) and are relatively easy to drive, particularly with the 701).

The older DM2/6 (if available) are similarly 6 ohms and great value for money. The larger DM2/7 offer better bass extension in bigger rooms.
 
pete_mac said:
EPOS make some excellent speakers, both new and old.

If you're happy to buy new speaker, the new ELAC speakers designed by Andrew Jones of TAD fame are supposedly very good for not a lot of dollars. The ELAC Debut B6 is VERY reasonably priced!

http://www.stereophile.com/content/elac-debut-b6-loudspeaker#wk2WEtdC0vzW0ZBS.97


Ascend Acoustics also make some rather nice speakers at a variety of price points:

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340m.html

The Dynaudio EMIT10 is also worth looking at - I've owned a few Dyns and have always been impressed with them. The EMIT10 are 6 ohms nominal (most other Dyns are 4 ohms) and are relatively easy to drive, particularly with the 701).

The older DM2/6 (if available) are similarly 6 ohms and great value for money. The larger DM2/7 offer better bass extension in bigger rooms.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestions! I've been looking out for a set of the Ascend Acoustic Sierra 1's on ebay. Looking for a good set at a good price. Looks as though most people hold on to them. I've heard they are quite good.

Thanks for the heads up on the Dynaudio's. I'm watching a set of Dynaudio Exite X12 right now. Hoping to get them for around $600.

That being said I'm really leaning towards the the Revel Performa M22 if one pops up.

Do you recommend a recapping of the Sansui AU-x701 after I receive it? I'd like to get everything firing at optimal levels :)
 
kk_coastal said:
Thank you for the suggestions! I've been looking out for a set of the Ascend Acoustic Sierra 1's on ebay. Looking for a good set at a good price. Looks as though most people hold on to them. I've heard they are quite good.

Thanks for the heads up on the Dynaudio's. I'm watching a set of Dynaudio Exite X12 right now. Hoping to get them for around $600.

That being said I'm really leaning towards the the Revel Performa M22 if one pops up.

Do you recommend a recapping of the Sansui AU-x701 after I receive it? I'd like to get everything firing at optimal levels :)
Click to expand...

The speakers you mention are also great!

I restored my 701 as there was some glue-damaged components, plus I wanted to fit Elna Silmic II caps in critical locations.

I also replaced all of the trimpots with sealed Bourns units for easier setting of the bias and DC offset. Be warned though - these X-balanced units are very finnicky in this regard!

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/new-addition-au-x701.407637/page-3#post-5853892

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/new-addition-au-x701.407637/page-4#post-6018068

One previous member tested the capacitors removed from his 701/901 and found a great many to be out-of-spec by a fair margin.
 
pete_mac said:
The speakers you mention are also great!

I restored my 701 as there was some glue-damaged components, plus I wanted to fit Elna Silmic II caps in critical locations.

I also replaced all of the trimpots with sealed Bourns units for easier setting of the bias and DC offset. Be warned though - these X-balanced units are very finnicky in this regard!

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/new-addition-au-x701.407637/page-3#post-5853892

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/new-addition-au-x701.407637/page-4#post-6018068

One previous member tested the capacitors removed from his 701/901 and found a great many to be out-of-spec by a fair margin.
Click to expand...

I have heard of the glue issues. Thanks for all the tips. I'll be taking it into the shop in a few days :)
 
Finally got the Sansui AU-X701 back from Champlifier Audio Services in Alameda, Ca. They did a fantastic job. Removed the corroding glue ad replaced some caps. Amp looks and sounds stunning. The soundstage and clarity is incredible.

Still haven't decided on the bookshelves yet. I've been running them on some floor standers at the moment. I tried the amp with the Totem Rainmakers and Totem Model 1. They sounded good but just a little to warm.

I am interested in the new Elac Uni-Fi UB5 speakers. Have any of you heard them? I hear you need some serious push behind them to really make them sing.

Specs for the speakers are:
5-1/4" aluminum cone woofer
frequency response: 46-25,000 Hz
sensitivity: 85 dB
impedance: 4 ohms
maximum power input: 140 watts

Do you think the Sansui Au-X701 are strong enough to push these speakers?

The AU-X701 specs are:
Power output: 100 watts per channel into 8Ω (stereo)
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz
Total harmonic distortion: 0.005%
Input sensitivity: 0.3mV (MC), 2.5mV (MM), 150mV (line)
Signal to noise ratio: 88dB (MM), 110dB (line)
Output: 150mV (line)
Speaker load impedance: 4Ω to 16Ω
 
Last edited:
kk_coastal said:
Finally got the Sansui AU-X701 back from Champlifier Audio Services in Alameda, Ca. They did a fantastic job. Removed the corroding glue ad replaced some caps. Amp looks and sounds stunning. The soundstage and clarity is incredible.

Still haven't decided on the bookshelves yet. I've been running them on some floor standers at the moment. I tried the amp with the Totem Rainmakers and Totem Model 1. They sounded good but just a little to warm.

I am interested in the new Elac Uni-Fi UB5 speakers. Have any of you heard them? I hear you need some serious push behind them to really make them sing.

Specs for the speakers are:
5-1/4" aluminum cone woofer
frequency response: 46-25,000 Hz
sensitivity: 85 dB
impedance: 4 ohms
maximum power input: 140 watts

Do you think the Sansui Au-X701 are strong enough to push these speakers?

The AU-X701 specs are:
Power output: 100 watts per channel into 8Ω (stereo)
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz
Total harmonic distortion: 0.005%
Input sensitivity: 0.3mV (MC), 2.5mV (MM), 150mV (line)
Signal to noise ratio: 88dB (MM), 110dB (line)
Output: 150mV (line)
Speaker load impedance: 4Ω to 16Ω
Click to expand...

Hmmm... they are pretty darn inefficient. The 701 can drive 4 ohm speakers subject to their exact impedance curve and phase angles. Without proper measurements of the speakers, it's impossible to know this information.

Personally, I'd be inclined to look at more efficient 6 or 8 ohm speakers, but that said, the 701 may drive these Elacs to your satisfaction. There's only one way to find out though, and unfortunately it involves you parting with your hard-earned cashola... ;)
 
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