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What is the best choice?

Ronald.C

Ronald.C

Active Member
I am about to sell my Sansui G-22,000 for financial matters, a shame! Now I'm looking for an amplifier and pre, an integrated or even a receiver, as long as it's vintage (70's 80's) but that has punchy and full bass and that is detailed as my sansui. Some options I have here in Brazil:
1- Marantz 2385
2- Sansui AU-9500;
3- Yamaha M60 + C85;
4- Yamaha c85 + B2.
My speakers are wharfedale E-70 and JBL4430.
 
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A friend of mine has a 2385 with E90 Pro's. He likes it, I don't. It has a single large filter capacitor that's dual layer. Good luck finding a replacement if the need arises. Can't comment on Sansui amplifiers, I was never drawn to them. .

Power/pre's would be the logical choice in my opinion.
 
How is the sound of the Marantz 2385 with the Wharfedale E-90? Dry? hard? analytical? good bass? punchy?
 
2385 dual core filters can be replaced with single cores. Not my favorite sounding. AU-9500 is not bad. I like the C85 / B2 combo. B2 is VFET and has a sound that is unique in the solid state world. It is not the most powerful of yor choices which could make a difference with your Wharfedale E-90. The E-90 looks like a 4 Ohm speaker so it will need as much power as you can afford.
 
I've never heard the Marantz 2385. I've owned several, the largest being the 2325 which sounds great. Buy the 2385 if you get a great deal as they have great resale value.
I've owned the Sansui AU-9500 and gave it a full recap. It's one of the easiest amplifier to recap with the pull out PCBs. I really liked the sound, but some think it dark sounding. It is darker than other amps I've owned but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Someone else loved her more than I and I parted with it, albeit reluctantly. Speakers used were McIntosh ML-1C's and Time Windows.
I've not listened to either Yamaha listed...
 
SoCal Sam said:
2385 dual core filters can be replaced with single cores. Not my favorite sounding. AU-9500 is not bad. I like the C85 / B2 combo. B2 is VFET and has a sound that is unique in the solid state world. It is not the most powerful of yor choices which could make a difference with your Wharfedale E-90. The E-90 looks like a 4 Ohm speaker so it will need as much power as you can afford.
Click to expand...
Mine are the E-70 (100w-8ohms / 94db)
 
I'd shy away from the Yamaha gear if it's "punchy and full bass" you are after. Their stuff sounds great but punchy and full the bass will not be.
 
nbarber said:
I'd shy away from the Yamaha gear if it's "punchy and full bass" you are after. Their stuff sounds great but punchy and full the bass will not be.
Click to expand...

I've never known Yamaha to lack bass in any way. Plenty of punch in the bass. If "full" actually means "bloated", then yeah, stay away from Yamaha.
 
Ronald.C said:
How is the sound of the Marantz 2385 with the Wharfedale E-90? Dry? hard? analytical? good bass? punchy?
Click to expand...

If you were addressing that question to me, I felt the 2385/E90 combo lacked bass definition and droned somewhat. My take on Wharfedale's E series in general was that they emphasize the mid and high frequencies. It was bass that made the 2385 sound like it was running out of gas.

Being as the OP has E70's with a single woofer, they may not tax that receiver as badly.
 
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