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Watching the meters dance - the formidable Sansui B-2301L (for Luxury) power amp

bolero said:
That looks like a very nice pairing, wow

I see the "907L extra" listed in post #112 so maybe that model has clues to what L stands for

Has anyone gone through KX/XR/DR/NRA etc & figured out what all those letters mean? :p

National Rifle Association model
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I wish I knew the answer to this as well. I think someone else went through them at one point - but unclear if they mean anything meaningful. I have a DR and a KX. I know they have minor circuit differences (someone went through this in granular detail as I recall), but the faces, controls and facilities are identical.
 
bolero said:
That looks like a very nice pairing, wow

I see the "907L extra" listed in post #112 so maybe that model has clues to what L stands for

Has anyone gone through KX/XR/DR/NRA etc & figured out what all those letters mean? :p

National Rifle Association model
Click to expand...

I wish you all could hear this B-2301L / L-1530 pairing. I am overwhelmed by how immersive it is.

I do have the B-2301L brochure and a few magazines that reviewed it on their way from Japan. Should be here any day. Hopefully will solve some mysteries.

The L in 907L Extra = LAPT I believe.
 
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I've never found (nor been able to discern on my own) a cogent answer for the meaning of the late era letter suffixes (though maybe @JimEGR is right about L being LAPT, despite L having been previously used in more than one other context). Or maybe they mean nothing, and were just chosen for marketing purposes.

After all, Sansui went through a succession of letter codes/suffixes just on amps prior to the alpha era: X, D, F, G, and L were all represented between 1979 and 1985. X was clearly chosen to denote an X balanced design starting in about 1983-84, but had previously been used on models that weren't. The rest seem just to have been arbitrarily chosen, to differentiate a line of amps from a previous model series. Post 1985, once the alpha range took off, this all changed again.
 
Received a nice pile of period JDM brochures and magazines. I will upload these as I work through them. High resolution copies are also uploaded into the AK database and Hi-Fi Engine. I'd also be happy to email copies - PM me if interested

First off the official SANSUI B-2301L / B-2201L brochure (translated). It never ceases to impress me how we can have in our hands the same piece of print media that was in the hands of the our fellow enthusiasts so many years ago. I love the history and the shared ceremony around it.

Sansui B-2201l B-2301L Brochure.JPGIMG_2497 2 copy.JPGIMG_2498 2 copy.JPGIMG_2499 2 copy.JPGIMG_2500 2 copy.jpgIMG_2501 2 copy.JPGIMG_2502 2 copy.jpgIMG_2503 2 copy.JPGIMG_2504 2 copy.jpg
 
Yeah, great to see all this stuff in person finally. Still no answer on the L designation. But I haven’t had time to read through everything yet.
 
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And another. I included the adjacent page ad for the Luxman M-5 power amp of the time for some period context, which sold for ¥40,000 less than the B-2301L.

"A powerful and gutsy sound, with a rich and dignified image" Ha.

"Significantly improved low frequency control". Not the first I read that description of the L vs the standard 2301. (Not that there is anything standard about the B-2301 (or B-2201)).

IMG_2546.JPGIMG_2547 2 copy.JPGIMG_2548 2 copy.JPGIMG_2549 copy.JPGIMG_2550 2 copy.JPG
 
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"Basic Audio Legacy" so maybe L = Legacy

That was right around when the Alpha series was born right? So they were working on the new line

I think the 907X Decade was the last non-alpha 907, and it had a beefed up power transformer too, around the same time
 
bolero said:
"Basic Audio Legacy" so maybe L = Legacy

That was right around when the Alpha series was born right? So they were working on the new line

I think the 907X Decade was the last non-alpha 907, and it had a beefed up power transformer too, around the same time
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That could be it! I wish they would have spelled it out more clearly for us. I do have one more magazine on its way. Maybe we’ll learn more.
 
JimEGR said:
That could be it! I wish they would have spelled it out more clearly for us. I do have one more magazine on its way. Maybe we’ll learn more.
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It's weird that those domestic Japanese magazines include English prose, isn't it? In any event, very neat stuff.

Speaking of neat stuff (and late Sansui meter design), I have an AU-G99X on the way that is stuck in protection (which I plan to correct). This unit seems to be designed in the same livery (and in the same "range" as it were) with the C-2101/02 and the B-2101. The insides look serious enough. Somehow this model flew under my radar for a while.
 
Just a thought, 'L' for 'Luxe' or 'Luxury' perhaps.

I thought of this before I saw the more credible 'Legacy' suggestion. ;)

Just noticed it in the thread title :rflmao:
 
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I was thinking about the Sansui naming

I've read that Sansui power amps were always called BA which stood for "Basic Amplifier". Or was it "Basic Audio"?

The B2301 marketing above says "Basic Audio Legacy"

In the Ishino Lab notes, Hirano says they got rid of "A" during development because "B-2301" sounded better than "BA-2301"
 
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