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Would upgrading my sansui amp give noticeable sound difference?

restorer-john said:
Try this: Say to the store owner, "Can I take the Rotel for the weekend (take a cc imprint) and if I don't like it...
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The shop where I worked in college in the 70s regularly did that - and was quite successful at selling those units. The best way is always to hear a component in your environment with your music. I've done that for all my significant cable purchases as they are so system specific.

Although we took imprints with the sliding mechanical sled back then, today the merchant can simply do a pre-auth. :)
 
I will try that approach with them. They have a restocking fee of I think 15 percent so if i dont like it I'm out close to a hundred bucks. They offered to let me try it out in there with my gear but no way my dining room sounds like their sounds studio so i passed on that option
 
justinjtim said:
I will try that approach with them. They have a restocking fee of I think 15 percent so if i dont like it I'm out close to a hundred bucks. They offered to let me try it out in there with my gear but no way my dining room sounds like their sounds studio so i passed on that option
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Without dissing restorer-john's and E-stat's advice, may I point out that the experiment I suggested would cost a third of the re-stocking fee. A chip amp is not likely to satisfy with regard to looks, or connections, or functionality. It may satisfy surprisingly on power, or disappoint. But it will tell you if modern high-fidelity circuitry sounds better to you, or not.



For cheap.
 
Researching Rotel that looks like good price. The Rotel is different than Sansui. It has internal DAC and more for a digital system. It has same amount of power. If you only play vinyl then the hope would be that the phono stage is better. If you are into digital then I would have questions regarding the USB input as to how it works and what I could plug into it. For instance can you plug an external USB drive into it (with music files)? If you are not interested in digital I would consider something else.
 
I'd try one of the new Yammie integrateds. Depending on model, they have phono stages, as well as digital input options. The ones that I have heard are very competent for their price point and won't break the bank. The other advantage is that they are available from Amazon and Crutchfield, both of which have very generous/flexible return policies should you not like what you hear.
 
savatage1973 said:
I'd try one of the new Yammie integrateds. Depending on model, they have phono stages, as well as digital input options. The ones that I have heard are very competent for their price point and won't break the bank. The other advantage is that they are available from Amazon and Crutchfield, both of which have very generous/flexible return policies should you not like what you hear.
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Unless the little Yamaha amps have come a long way since I last listened, the sansui (and probably Rotel) will be better (although I know there can be some exceptions and its tricky to make blanket brand statements etc etc).
 
smurfer77 said:
Unless the little Yamaha amps have come a long way since I last listened, the sansui (and probably Rotel) will be better (although I know there can be some exceptions and its tricky to make blanket brand statements etc etc).
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A lot (not all) of the new(er) Yamaha integrateds are by no means "little" both in terms of power, performance and features. Every manufacturer that has been around for a while has turned out their share of "dogs" and "stars" (some more than others)--and every manufacturer turns out different "tiers" of gear--they have to, in order to remain viable in the marketplace. The % margin on the handful of TOTL units that cost a fortune to design and build and have a very small market renders them almost not viable.

Not saying that the Yamahas can't be beat by other brands--pretty much anything can, but I don't think it is fair to "poo-poo" them outright--and we all have different tastes in sound--if you gave me a rack of Mc gear, it would be used as doorstops, or more likely on Ebay or CL as fast as I could type the listings--I just don't care for their "house" sound and appearance--but that is just me--doesn't mean I don't respect them, but just not for me.

I am not "pumping" Yamaha, nor do I sell it for a living. I actually only currently own one Yamaha piece, and it is a vintage CR-2020. My collection of systems are comprised of a very diverse branding. I only mentioned it, as I have had the opportunity to listen extensively to some of the new 2-ch integrateds, and was rather impressed for the price point.
 
sansui 517, 717, 917 amsp all would be a significant improvments over the 555
if you like the sansui's. I had a 517 and it was a great amp IMO. Very warm ''tube-like'' sound. 60 Watts RMS/8ohms..
 
savatage1973 said:
A lot (not all) of the new(er) Yamaha integrateds are by no means "little" both in terms of power, performance and features. Every manufacturer that has been around for a while has turned out their share of "dogs" and "stars" (some more than others)--and every manufacturer turns out different "tiers" of gear--they have to, in order to remain viable in the marketplace. The % margin on the handful of TOTL units that cost a fortune to design and build and have a very small market renders them almost not viable.

Not saying that the Yamahas can't be beat by other brands--pretty much anything can, but I don't think it is fair to "poo-poo" them outright--and we all have different tastes in sound--if you gave me a rack of Mc gear, it would be used as doorstops, or more likely on Ebay or CL as fast as I could type the listings--I just don't care for their "house" sound and appearance--but that is just me--doesn't mean I don't respect them, but just not for me.

I am not "pumping" Yamaha, nor do I sell it for a living. I actually only currently own one Yamaha piece, and it is a vintage CR-2020. My collection of systems are comprised of a very diverse branding. I only mentioned it, as I have had the opportunity to listen extensively to some of the new 2-ch integrateds, and was rather impressed for the price point.
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A lot of fair comments.

I was also not trying to poo poo yamaha outright and tried to include two fair caveats in my sentence. e.g. I wrote 'little' to narrow down to the budget yamaha models, rather than make a blanket statement or say that all yamaha are little. I did this because (a) OPs budget and (b) I own a relatively large Yamaha A-S2000 and it's a fine amp IMO and I know there are others. But fear that few of the budget Yamaha models will out do the Sansui AU-555A, which I also own; it's a revered and sweet sounding model that stands out among a cherished Sansui era/line-up from the 1970s. No doubt some of the budget Yamaha are in fact gems though too....it's just going to be against the odds IMO.
 
justinjtim said:
...They have a restocking fee of I think 15 percent so if i dont like it I'm out close to a hundred bucks...
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We used to open the boxes carefully from the bottom, remove the remotes, cables, manuals etc and keep them at the store, check the unit and let the customer take it home in the box. When they saw how careful we were with the gear, it always came back in perfect condition or they'd come in to finalise the deal, get the accessories and often buy something to go with it.

The concept of a restocking fee IMO is plain short-sighted if you ask me. It seems however, it is a practice used in the US quite a bit. It's a foreign concept to us.
 
I doubt you'd be able to hear any difference by changing amps, UNLESS you make a truly significant change. For example, if you were to move from ss to a tube amp, you'd probably notice a difference. You might NOT like the tube amp, but you'd hear a difference.

I'm not a fan of tubes, but I am a big fan of bi-amping. This is another "significant change", especially where via bi-amping you get to control the power going to each speaker half. In this case, I'd recommend the Sherwood RX-5502 that contains two full range amps rated 100 wpc @ 4 ohms. With this unit via the remote you adjust the volume for each half indepently. I guarantee that you can hear this difference.
 
ferninando said:
sansui 517, 717, 917 amsp all would be a significant improvments over the 555
if you like the sansui's. I had a 517 and it was a great amp IMO. Very warm ''tube-like'' sound. 60 Watts RMS/8ohms..
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I've only owned the baby AU-217 that x17 series. The AU-217 was a great little amp. Not sure it would be regarded as an upgrade in sound though... in some regards it could be, but the AU-555A wins in sweetness and sense of space. But the 217 really did sound like it had better damping factor and control of the woofers. The 517 and so on, of course, would be an upgrade in power. I know Hyperion speaks highly of his rebuilt AU-717.

Perhaps you meant to say AU-555A, but just in case, note that the AU-"555" is quite a different sounding (and design) amp to the AU-555A which the OP has. The 555A is a much better sounding amp in my opinion, with the 555 being a fine amp, but bright or lacking in bass to my ears except at low to moderate volumes (at high volumes, things shape up) at least on my speakers. The 555A is actually closer in design to the AU-505, which shared main power amp board, but has a slightly different tone-board (i.e. preamp section) and slightly more economic cosmetics.
 
If your Sansui was like new there might be an argument for keeping your Sansui. They had a great smooth sound where a lot of other brands could be a little edgy or just down right irritating. Selecting an amp today is going to be tough if you are just going by reputation. One mans cup of tea may be some else's bile. So shop shop shop. And remember Kef tends to be on the bright side, so look for smooth units and stay away from those units that are known for having that over analytical sound. You want components that when added together are enjoyable over long listening periods as well as being faithful to the performance. Some folks like to use tubes with KEF, either with the pre-amp or power amp. I'm a SS guy, but I wouldn't hesitate to consider a great tube unit. Some Integras and Pioneer Elites remind me of Sansui, but if this is to be a very long term investment I would pick a Mcintosh Integrated unit. 200 watts per channel, There must be close to 8 different units built over the years. The selection as to which one would be determined by the features you want. MC input or digital inputs for instance, or rather something simple and rather basic.
 
I have the KEF Q300's and they are beautifully driven by my Yamaha A-S 500 amp. It has been replaced by the A-S 501 which adds digital inputs. 85 clean watts/channel and definitely worth checking out. By the way it sure isn't little!
Little would be the new Yamaha XWA 50 amp, now THAT is little!
 
Nothing here has convinced me that a different amp is the way to go.

I have 3 amps running as I write this. I was surprised to find out that SX-750 works as well as my integrated amps which have twice as much power.

Please explain your music source. Vinyl, CDs? If vinyl what is turntable and cartridge? I think if you want to improve sound your money might be better spent elsewhere. Need to know more. If you want to spend money maybe you should be auditioning different speakers. Changing amps is not going to make as big a difference as source or speakers. Even doubling your power isn't going to make it sound better. Maybe getting a CD player to compare.
 
restorer-john said:
Try this: Say to the store owner, "Can I take the Rotel for the weekend (take a cc imprint) and if I don't like it, I'll buy you a carton of beer for letting me audition it, and if I buy it, you buy me a carton of beer!, fair enough?"

Everyone gets beer and everyone is happy.
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Carton :wtf:
 
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