Register to hide this ad
TBH I'm not sure either, you're right the originals look very high quality - I won't be touching any of the film capacitors - only electrolytics.
I do have a couple of lines of enquiry with people who really know what to use.
I believe even the resistors are all high-spec parts, I'm thinking maybe they were supplied by Riken. Hopefully you won't need to touch any of those. High precision parts matching was also employed.
Sansui went all out on the 2301 models, particularly on the pre which was a statement piece done for bragging rights and to prove they still had the juice to kick ass.
Sansui went all out on the 2301 models, particularly on the pre which was a statement piece done for bragging rights and to prove they still had the juice to kick ass.
A beautiful piece, possibly the best pre-amp Sansui ever made though made in 1985. I am wondering whether it has bulbs or leds to light up the selections...tuner, phono, cd. I would also like to know what you think of the phono section once you get it up to specification. Is it better than that in the AU 919 or X1?
Cheers.
Marc
Cheers.
Marc
Undoubtedly their best ever preamp, bar none. The CA-303 might rate a distant 2nd, being their only true tube preamp (made to mate with the BA-202 and BA-303) but the specs of the C-2301 would easily surpass that.
The 2301 phono section is well beyond that of the AU-919, and probably exceeds that of even the X1 by a notable margin as well. The X1 had the previous all-time best phono stage devised by Sansui, however. I don't think it can be disputed that the C-2301 is the high water mark of Sansui's foray into ultra high performance gear. It stands apart from virtually everything else they ever made in specs and quality, and that's saying something.
It's kind of funny because even though the B-2301 power amp is exceptional, they didn't put as much attention to detail, effort or cost into it by comparison. Of course, a power amp is somewhat of a less techincally complex endeavor from a really high performance preamp, so that makes some sense. Even the original list prices reflect that the C-2301 was far more expensive than it's intended stable mate power amp.
That differential in price has remained to this day, with the C-2301 being just about the most consistently expensive single component at resale (when you can even find one) with a Sansui name plate, save for the G-22000 and 33000. It generally sells for well more than even a BA-5000 now.
The 2301 phono section is well beyond that of the AU-919, and probably exceeds that of even the X1 by a notable margin as well. The X1 had the previous all-time best phono stage devised by Sansui, however. I don't think it can be disputed that the C-2301 is the high water mark of Sansui's foray into ultra high performance gear. It stands apart from virtually everything else they ever made in specs and quality, and that's saying something.
It's kind of funny because even though the B-2301 power amp is exceptional, they didn't put as much attention to detail, effort or cost into it by comparison. Of course, a power amp is somewhat of a less techincally complex endeavor from a really high performance preamp, so that makes some sense. Even the original list prices reflect that the C-2301 was far more expensive than it's intended stable mate power amp.
That differential in price has remained to this day, with the C-2301 being just about the most consistently expensive single component at resale (when you can even find one) with a Sansui name plate, save for the G-22000 and 33000. It generally sells for well more than even a BA-5000 now.
JOMARK911
Super Member
Guys cmon , 2301's are known to be SANSUI's best build , money no object machines, and 2302's even more.
At the time they were introduced , they were selling for the price of a small apartment , in Athens , where i live.
I had my dad , ask for a better price back then , cause he had done some surgerys to the rep's and they said , sure , it's 20000e we will settle for 14000 , is this ok?
At that era my father , a great doctor , had purchased a studio in the center of Athens for a price little lower than this , 13000e.
Or something like this , i'm not sure , cause when i asked him he said = are you out of your mind son? you want me to put a full year's earnings for a stereo set? what's wrong with you?
I'm talking 80's era. Ok? 83 to be exact.
Rep was importing 2 sets max 3 , that were pre buyed. That means that whoever wanted them had to pay in advance , at least half the price , and the rest upon delivery.
Ok let's move to today.
I own both of them , b,c 2301, they are SANSUI's pinnacle best machines ever made , even surpassing 2302's.
Luxuriusly made , on spacial parts , all the way , and a unique attention to details .
C2301 is the only pre amp that i know , that has illuminated volume scale , from the back.
It also is the only pre amp that uses a natural glass for the half fascia . No other machine does this. Not even the AU-X1111. Which BTW has also glass but not natural one.
It's the only pre amp ever made to go as far as 500KHZ frequency response at +- 3db.
It's the only pre amp to have two floors of two independent line and phono stages , along with 2302.
It might be the only pre amp that could -can , be operated as a passive pre amp if you wanted to.
All these at a s/n ratio of almost 120 db line, and 90 db phono.
And an output of a max 20VRMS .
It's the best of the best pre amp. Even with it's weaknesses it still is the best you can get. The most quiet pre amp . The most musical pre amp.
Bla bla bla. It doesn't have bass , treble , controls. That is a minor problem for me. Not even a loudness contour.
Again i think it is the best piece they ever produced . Not the 2302 , no that was an altered version of 2301. It was 3 times the price of 2301 for nothing.
]
]]]
Now what it needs is some caps change , some cleaning spray and of it goes , oh sorry and some glue removal . Mine had a lot of glue on it. I had to replace a transistor that was eaten by the glue.
Other than this , nothing. Volume control continues to operate normally after all these years.
Best solution for me is to charge all electrolytics with nice Nichicon ones , and if possible , at some locations with mkp's or mkt's . This is it.
All other parts are superior , including riken resistors and so on.
Only questionable point is how someone trims those dip switches on the phono pre amp. Check r43 i think to gound , and get the min mv.
At the time they were introduced , they were selling for the price of a small apartment , in Athens , where i live.
I had my dad , ask for a better price back then , cause he had done some surgerys to the rep's and they said , sure , it's 20000e we will settle for 14000 , is this ok?
At that era my father , a great doctor , had purchased a studio in the center of Athens for a price little lower than this , 13000e.
Or something like this , i'm not sure , cause when i asked him he said = are you out of your mind son? you want me to put a full year's earnings for a stereo set? what's wrong with you?
I'm talking 80's era. Ok? 83 to be exact.
Rep was importing 2 sets max 3 , that were pre buyed. That means that whoever wanted them had to pay in advance , at least half the price , and the rest upon delivery.
Ok let's move to today.
I own both of them , b,c 2301, they are SANSUI's pinnacle best machines ever made , even surpassing 2302's.
Luxuriusly made , on spacial parts , all the way , and a unique attention to details .
C2301 is the only pre amp that i know , that has illuminated volume scale , from the back.
It also is the only pre amp that uses a natural glass for the half fascia . No other machine does this. Not even the AU-X1111. Which BTW has also glass but not natural one.
It's the only pre amp ever made to go as far as 500KHZ frequency response at +- 3db.
It's the only pre amp to have two floors of two independent line and phono stages , along with 2302.
It might be the only pre amp that could -can , be operated as a passive pre amp if you wanted to.
All these at a s/n ratio of almost 120 db line, and 90 db phono.
And an output of a max 20VRMS .
It's the best of the best pre amp. Even with it's weaknesses it still is the best you can get. The most quiet pre amp . The most musical pre amp.
Bla bla bla. It doesn't have bass , treble , controls. That is a minor problem for me. Not even a loudness contour.
Again i think it is the best piece they ever produced . Not the 2302 , no that was an altered version of 2301. It was 3 times the price of 2301 for nothing.
]
]]]
Now what it needs is some caps change , some cleaning spray and of it goes , oh sorry and some glue removal . Mine had a lot of glue on it. I had to replace a transistor that was eaten by the glue.
Other than this , nothing. Volume control continues to operate normally after all these years.
Best solution for me is to charge all electrolytics with nice Nichicon ones , and if possible , at some locations with mkp's or mkt's . This is it.
All other parts are superior , including riken resistors and so on.
Only questionable point is how someone trims those dip switches on the phono pre amp. Check r43 i think to gound , and get the min mv.
Last edited:
JOMARK911
Super Member
Yes it is more expensive than the B2301 , but HEY it does a hell of a work.
It always was a much more expensive unit than the power amp it was a combo to.
Also took them two years to implement it. It was set for sales from 1984 and on. TWO full years after the power amp. B 2301 was first introduced on 1982.
Then their sales started to go up.
They had the complete combo. No matter the price.
A friend bought the L line 3 years later on 1985 at MUNICH , for a price even greater , something like 15000e back then.
He was an orthopedic surgerys doctor, and naturally all his money were spent on stereos , till he was married. End of game.
Hi JOMARK911.
So, I think that you like it and you’ve been inside. I did follow your advice of a while ago and picked up a nice unit from Japan which had undergone what appears to be a complete restoration. I could barely lift it into place and did not look inside. Would you tell me, please, whether it uses leds or bulbs to illuminate the input selection? One light is out. Yes, to refer to an old thread, I do like it better than the C-2105 (circa 1999) but it could be my pre-amp-conceptions. I have not double blinded it yet or tried the phono stage. I am not up to facing more lifting, yet,
Cheers
Marc
So, I think that you like it and you’ve been inside. I did follow your advice of a while ago and picked up a nice unit from Japan which had undergone what appears to be a complete restoration. I could barely lift it into place and did not look inside. Would you tell me, please, whether it uses leds or bulbs to illuminate the input selection? One light is out. Yes, to refer to an old thread, I do like it better than the C-2105 (circa 1999) but it could be my pre-amp-conceptions. I have not double blinded it yet or tried the phono stage. I am not up to facing more lifting, yet,
Cheers
Marc
For the C-2301 they are shown on the schematic as incandescent bulbs, like this:-
On other schematics where LED's are used - they are shown as such. I can confirm this when I get a bit deeper into the one I have here if that is any help.
Last edited:
