Vintage Sansui C2101 & B2101 preamp and amp review from the mid-80's
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- My review of some fantastic Sansui gear from the 80's. These were from the premium series Sansui offered at the time. They are fantastic units.
Competitors of the day would have been from Kyocera, McIntosh, Pioneer, Sony and others. This was not long after the introduction of the CD and VCR!
Link to video: • Vintage Sansui C2101 &...
Email: stereoniche@gmail.com
Thank you for bringing us even more Hi Fi history and thank you for your efforts all year! Merry Christmas!
Of course! All fun stuff, 2024 just around the corner and a new year, so Happy New Year! 🙂
Hello
I have the three 2102 amps with matching preamps. I run it the with klipsch klf-30 with upgraded crossovers. The amplifier and preamp are rare. My preamp power supply was recapped and all the relays were upgraded as well. Made a huge impact. Nice video
They are all a bit hard to find, having 3, well you are in a hotbed of 80's era Sansui!
Hi Scott, I am a fan of this Sansui's. My first vintage was the AU-G99X that is the integrated amplifier of this line, representing the slew rate war leading the gear to sound more analytical in its "X balanced" circuitry. Indeed it was able to bring life for the music to me again in Hi power and hi fidelity way. I liked that much to start seeking audio gear and made the way backwards collecting budget things backwards into the 70's and 60's. This is the reason I follow your nice channel here in YT. Cheers from Brazil!
Welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting! Stay tuned, many new reviews coming over the next several weeks for some incredible vintage speakers.
Sansui was a household word back in the 1970s and 1980s especially. You mentioned VCRs, which Sansui also dabbled in and made. VCRs came into being because of problems with different time zones.The television networks needed a way to avoid broadcasting The News live at 6pm in the east and viewers in the west getting the broadcast at 3:00. You'd come from work and would have to ask the wife what happened in the world today? As you likely missed the News by a few hours while still at work. Ampex came out with the first VCR in 1956, and the News broadcasts, done live in the east, could now be replayed in the west at 6pm, thanks to the new invention: the VCR. Actually a patent for spinning heads like the ones VCRs used, was invented and granted a patent on to a man in Italy in 1938. I remember reading a copy of Popular Electronics from around 1973, where they reviewed a Sony VCR. It was them versus Ampex and RCA in the video recorder market back then.
The 1980s and 1990s brought us high pricing experiments in audio, in addition to the electronic experiments which resulted in some progress. By the latter 1980s there were several $3,000+ preamps on the market. By early 1990s there were some $5,000 preamps on the market; the Audio Research SP 11 and the Convergent Technology SL1 etc. Levinson might have had some expensive solid state preamps before then. It was the start of really high pricing, but still was nothing like some of the pricing you see today....
With all that gear you have Scott, we are all probably wondering what is the main system you sit down to listen to everyday. What speakers, amps and source? I know there is some switching around of components and speakers, but in the last ten years, I think we would all like to know, what combination of components and speakers have you sat down with and listened to the most?
Merry Christmas To All!
Well, if I reveal what I have listened to the most over the last 10 years, you will all say I need to do a review of it! 🙂 But, I will give you a heads up. We just put new flooring into our living room, so I was forced to move EVERYTHING out. While in this transition, I will be replacing everything with different gear (mainly speakers) so now I will have some long listened to items in my showroom and will be able to do a review soon!
Within the last 2 years I moved into a place with a huge living room. I really can't believe how much sounstage depth I am getting with my speakers over 7 feet out into the room. Part of that was necessitated by a huge glass window behind the speakers. Speakers closer back toward the window and there was a nearly unlistenable coloration and glare from the glass. I did not realize what kind of depth, is possible with a tube preamp and speakers that far out from the wall behind them. This 2 to 3 feet out just does not cut it for maximum depth retrieval. Much deeper bass in the bigger room too, and the sound is enormous. If you don't want to reveal what equipment you mostly had been using in combination. That is ok. But a person like you with so much equip. to choose from; it would have interested us to know.
No dubs! It's the best presentation ever for me!! Good job sir!
Glad you enjoyed it, be sure to sub and catch the next video, MUCH more to come!
Merry Christmas! I remember those items well. I’m sure those Sansui sound great. The 80s loved those rectangular buttons! As far as inputs, you got me wondering. I decided to count up my McIntosh C31V analog inputs. It has an astounding 9! I’d love to see you do some McIntosh separates.
Wow, 9! Does that include Phono? Either way, 7 or 9 are probably more than most everyone will ever need. I do plan to do a Mac set soon, so stay tuned!
@@stereoniche Yes, two phonos. Looking forward to the Mac set. It’s def overkill now. I just need two. One for my phone, the other for the dac. I use a dvd player as a transport for CDs to the external dac.
@@stevezeidman7224 OK, so it matches the inputs of the Sansui (7 +2). I think most people would max out around 4, using one for Phono, if into vintage media formats.
You have all the best toys!!! I'm working on a third system an all Nakamichi components.
Nak made some REALLY cool gear!!!
That price is separate… The amp was either $800 or $900 and the preamp was $700 to $800 you could by as a set but you paid extra I gave 2 of the preamps running through a Nakamachi and 2 Klipsch Cornwalls this is a killer Preamp with ( Parameteric Eq most don’t understand what that means it a nut shell it’s better the a Eq for better shaping it’s picks certain frequencies and either turns them up or down more a lot of rock stars including Dime bag darrell used a Furman Sound PQ3 parameteric eq for there raw sound im the 80’a and still today there tearing the paint off the walls in home Stereo’s and Studios killer piece of gear if you kind one there a rare gem for sure
Popular style. Kenwood and others make a similar looking duo. I'd take the Sansui!
I think everyone was copying everyone else back then, less risk takers.
Looks a lot like Nakamichi and Yamaha. There are gems in the 90s for sure.
Agree, I get a Nakamichi and Yamaha vibe as well.
hi congratulations for the video. I have had a C-2101 for 30 years, I don't remember exactly the function of the SUBSONIC filter...? can you explain please
Welcome! The subsonic filter was mostly intended to be used with playing records. It would cut out the lowest frequencies to sort of protect your speakers. If you had a poor condition record, it could sometimes have an exaggerated low end if it hit a bad section, so the filter would taper the lowest frequencies to avoid any risk. For other sources, really no big benefit to using it, but a nice feature to have.
sympa ,merci pour le post . Pour ma part , je possède toujours ces deux éléments qui tournent comme au premier jour :)
Our overseas military exchange sold those sansui alongside the yamaha m-80 which looked similar.
Did they make exchange brochures of what was being offered or was it just whatever was in stock? I would love to find a catalog if they were ever offered.
@@stereoniche they had racks with color brochures.
How do you rate it against yamaha c4/m4?i could buy the preamp and already have the yamaha c4..will this sansui 2101 top the yamaha c4 in sound?especially the phono preamp .?
These are good
Yes they are! 🙂
I used to have to have this exact same duo and a C-2102 - B-2102. Unfortunately, I sold both of them due to a lack of place. These power amps were really beefy and heavy. Wish I still had them.
They are quite nice, thanks for watching!
That Sansui amplifier goes for a pretty penny these days...much like most of their 70's stuff.
Yeap, not completely inexpensive, but much less than many silver faced receivers with much lower specs.
Many nice components came out of the 80's. I have a Rotel RA-870 BX integrated amplifier (1987 - 1989) that is full of great features & looks great.
Another great integrated amplifier that I used to own was the Yamaha A-520 (1985 - 1986). It had very similar styling & features to the Rotel.
I think both of these amplifiers have aged well.