Thinking about using my AU999 as a preamp but want your thoughts

halkaloogie

halkaloogie

The Jerk
I have begun to think my Dahlquist speakers might want more power than my AU999 can give and have been thinking about trying out a power amp to see if it makes any noticeable difference.

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Have you modded or had somebody mod the preamp section on that? There is a couple mods that will make that amp sound like a completely different amp.
 
Yes it's been modestly refurbished and has both the preamp and bass mods. I don't know if it will really make any difference feeding the Dahlquists a bit more power but I get the feeling they are pretty power hungry and the AU doesn't really like to be pushed much past 2 O-clock.
 
Nothing to loose by trying. I am using my AU-999 as a pre with my BA-202 tube amp and it sounds great. What amp are you thinking of driving it with?
 
I often test various poweramps in my Lab with the 999 I have.
Its driving a Perreaux PMF3350 at the moment, which is being soak tested....the combo sounds incredible, the 999 makes a great pre-amp....
 
I don't have an AU-999 but a AU-717 that's used as a preamp. It's being pushed by a B&K EX4420 and it sounds really nice. I can never get past 10 o'clock on phono and 8 o'clock on streaming. I've always felt I get more out of separates than a integrated system, more detailed soundstage and a tighter bass.
 
craggd said:
Nothing to loose by trying. I am using my AU-999 as a pre with my BA-202 tube amp and it sounds great. What amp are you thinking of driving it with?
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Still trying to decide what amp to get, any suggestions?

kevzep said:
I often test various poweramps in my Lab with the 999 I have.
Its driving a Perreaux PMF3350 at the moment, which is being soak tested....the combo sounds incredible, the 999 makes a great pre-amp....
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I'm really happy with the amp in no small part to you, and really happy to hear it performs well as a preamp.
 
"Still trying to decide what amp to get, any suggestions?"

If you want to stay with Sansui you could use a BA-2000 (110WPC) or a BA-3000 (170WPC), both are quality units and a good step up in power from your 50WPC in the AU-999.
 
craggd said:
"Still trying to decide what amp to get, any suggestions?"

If you want to stay with Sansui you could use a BA-2000 (110WPC) or a BA-3000 (170WPC), both are quality units and a good step up in power from your 50WPC in the AU-999.
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Yeah the BA's are cool but looking around the last few days they are going for some real money. I could get nice tube mono blocks for what I see them going for. A little too rich for my blood these days.

Any recommendations in the somewhere closer to $500 range?
 
Maybe try to find a Yamaha power amp? They also have some really sweet pro amps that supposedly sound very good.
 
Most tubes aren't going to give you the step up in power you are looking for, at least not for even more serious change. Pretty Sansui centric myself so don't have other recommendations for power amps under $500 but am sure others will chime in with suggestions.
 
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I would think craggd should know what hes talking about here! I see from his sig, he has quite a few power hungry speakers!
 
Far from the expert but my AR collection does like a healthy dose of WPC. Mainly driven by my solid state equipment. Surprised you haven't received more suggestions, maybe need to explore beyond the Sansui-heads.
 
After a few really glowing recommendations I found a very clean Crown PS-2000 on the ol' interwebs for a price I couldn't pass up. (It will be here Thursday) I don't know if I'll like it but for the price I can easily pass it on without any loss but time.

Would really like a sansui BA to go with my Au999 but money right now doesn't allow.
 
Good luck with the Crown, looks like a quality unit and should give you the WPC to test you hypothesis on you Dahlquist speakers wanting more juice.

Keep your eyes out for a BA-2k, they can be found in the $7-800 range, that's about what I paid for mine and it had been recapped.
 
craggd said:
Good luck with the Crown, looks like a quality unit and should give you the WPC to test you hypothesis on you Dahlquist speakers wanting more juice.

Keep your eyes out for a BA-2k, they can be found in the $7-800 range, that's about what I paid for mine and it had been recapped.
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For recapped $800 seems like a fine deal. The ones I’ve seen lately are unrestored and twice that. But I’m keeping them on my radar. Hopefully one comes around one of these days.
 
Well the crown showed up yesterday and after I figured out how to fix a grounding problem with it an my turntable not liking each other, I've been listening to it for a few hours on and off and really liking what I hear. It really proves my theory about the Dahlquists needing more power to be happy. I'm really amazed at how well the crown and AU-999 are working together, and at the moment I couldn't be happier. It sounds like I removed a blanket that was draped over the speakers.
 
I believe insufficient power is the reason for a lot of user woes over the years. The speakers just can't reach their full potential. I find that Sansui speakers respond well to power, in general.
 
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