Cafad Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 I've been searching the net for info on Sansui speakers (real ones, not fake badged ones) to go with my Sansui amplifiers. I have heard (many times now) that while Sansui amps are widely acknowledged as being very well engineered and built their speakers are widely regarded as not particularly special. I figured that there must be a few models that were worth searching for though so I did. It looks to me like there was a push from Sansui in between 1987 and 1990 to design and sell some bookshelf speakers that were a bit more interestingly designed than most. Info in links below. http://audio-heritage.jp/SANSUI/speaker/sp-100i.html http://audio-heritage.jp/SANSUI/speaker/sp-300s.html http://audio-heritage.jp/SANSUI/speaker/sp-1010.html http://audio-heritage.jp/SANSUI/speaker/sp-alpha2000.html So I set out to find one of these above, or something very close to them. And I did, find one of them that is. Pics (because no one reads these posts for the words) below have been copied from the auction listing. Now I don't really expect these SP300S speakers to beat my Lenehans or anything but I am certainly hoping that I will enjoy listening to them. (and I do love the idea of having an "All Sansui System" ) I do have one concern however, the auction listing did not mention including the speaker cables so I am currently planning on using them with a separate cable running from the ground back to the negative input on the amp. If anyone has a better idea please let me know. I could always get a custom set of cables made if needed but I'll hold off on that until I know if it's necessary. Beyond that, if you've got some Sansui speakers post a pic or two below, because there just aren't enough pics of Sansui speakers on the net as it is. With a call out to some of the well known Sansui SNA fans, @pete_mac, @skippy124, @BLAH BLAH, @Sansui77 Got any speaker pics guys? 1 1
BLAH BLAH Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 Hi Cafad... Have 2 pairs of Sansui speakers...SP-200 and their big brothers the SP-5000... Currently the SP-200s (re-capped) are boxed up and sleeping in the garden shed...no room! The SP-5000s (re-capped) are doing some heavy lifting acting as support stands for a pair of Wharfedale E-70s (re-capped)...in the man-cave ala music room away from SWMBO... Listening to the 5000s right now through a tube amp playing Jazz...smooth as...warm analoguey sound...could listen to these playing all day and then night...not overley bright but clear in the Highs...solid Mids...bass to die for... If i want detail highs with the 5000's i may hook up the modded Sansui AU-999... Or if i want brighter detail...in come the Wharfedale E-70s... I love both sound signatures...just when i get used to the W's i listen to the 5000's and think wow! ...and vice versa... 5000s are solidly constructed and hernia inducing beasts...with a loud sound equivalent to a bulls roar in heat! I love them... Too lazy to disturb my audio revelry to take pics...hope this helps...cheers...
Cafad Posted June 9, 2018 Author Posted June 9, 2018 Would this be them? They look a bit more like a sound wall than a pair of speakers. 1
BLAH BLAH Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 Those look familiar Cafad...here is the right 5000 his mate is buried somewhere on the left but i can still hear it! Excuse the messy detail...house reno's means more stuff in my man-cave...cheers 2
Cafad Posted June 9, 2018 Author Posted June 9, 2018 No excuses needed to explain messy man caves, they are what they are. That wooden lattice work looks great, love it! Did I get the model right though, is my pic what they look like behind the lattice work? 1
BLAH BLAH Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) Correct sir...little black screws keep those wooden lattice screens (with cloth screens underneath them) in place... As you can tell from the pictures the lattice (so retro!) has a certain charm to them and give a cleaner look than without them with no discernable difference in sound quality... The lattice is fragile and light in construction and it is quiet easy to chip and mark them... I was fortunate to obtain a clean minty pair from the states...when the aussie dollar was around $1.10us...super clean pair 98% show room condition...and no marks to the lattice at all through Ebay. I bought these...because...many years ago i bought my first hi-fi system from Douglas Trading Hi-Fi Melbourne...see Melbourne memories here on SNA...and the first speakers i owned and listened to were the Sansui SP-1700s...it was love at first hearing...that sound! that sound!! through those sansui speakers fed by a AU-555A was what i expected from audio and still do today. Many friends then had JBL which were a tad clearer but the Sui whilst clear were warm and analoguey...were stereo heaven for me! My issue is that i enjoy the Wharfedale clarity and the Sui analoguey warmth...if only i could find a speaker that combined the two!!! Cheers... Edited June 9, 2018 by BLAH BLAH
allthumbs Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 Cafad in my very humble opinion the AS series (Acoustic Suspension) are the ones to look out for. Rare as hen's teeth, AS-100, AS-200 and AS-300. I have a pair of AS-100's, I missed out on a pair of AS-200's a few years back and rumour has it the AS-300's appear once every 70 years when Jupiter aligns with Mars, (but I don't believe that, 70 years is way too short an interval). The AS series were a direct response to the success of Advent, AR and KLH and the like. The manufacture went on for about 2 years from all reports and then it was stopped. My pair are almost 50 years old and they still sound brilliant, so natural, so subtle, sweet tweeter. If you find a pair of AS-300's there is an international league of gentlemen that will literally organize an assassin to kill you. 4
allthumbs Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 BLAH BLAH, do I hear the tone of despair and disappointment in your response? It makes a grown man cry don't it! 1
BLAH BLAH Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 Well allthumbs i'll comfort myself by thinking gee spare parts would be an issue here if a little problem arose...:) Other than that it would be magnificent to own a pair! but what the heck i have two big mf's now and the re-arranging of furniture and arguments with SWMBO to accomodate the AS series would be hell to pay! So i'll comfort my self with listening to the fine two pairs that i have now...grrrrr...
BLAH BLAH Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) But...but allthumbs i just remembered i do have a pair of suspension speakers...AR5's... I am using them as a TV stand for my LED tv in the spare bedroom! ...space issues! Edited June 9, 2018 by BLAH BLAH
allthumbs Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 You have an enviable collection BB, I always liked even the humble SP50's. I'm a great fan of AS designs I have a pair of AR19's from the Connoisseur range that are giant killers. I quite like those periods that speaker manufacturers pull out the stops to produce something that grabs the market's attention, a little extra effort, out of the box thinking prompted by greed or desperation, almost re-inventions. I still have an operational AU-3900 and a 881 but I do prefer modern electronics on the AS-100's. Lost a couple of 555a's on the way through though which still makes me wake up in sweat sometimes. I remember long ago seeing pictures of Sansui speakers that were manufactured for the Japanese market only, beautiful object they were as well.
Cafad Posted June 9, 2018 Author Posted June 9, 2018 There were a pair of SP-100iEX speakers on ebay a couple of days ago. The condition was, in a word, gorgeous. The asking price however was very much not, about $3.5K aussie. They have disappeared now which is a pity as the pics were really something. I can find very little on these AS series speakers allthumbs, they wouldn't happen to be known by another name or abbreviation would they?
allthumbs Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 Caf 19 minutes ago, Cafad said: I can find very little on these AS series speakers allthumbs.... Precisely. There is so little information to be had Cafad. I believe they were manufactured for 4 years, not 2 as I said above. 1
Cafad Posted June 23, 2018 Author Posted June 23, 2018 Any opinions on my cabling plans guys? That was actually the original reason I started the thread, to see if I was on the right track or if I should end up connecting them some other way. I'd appreciate some opinions, no matter how negative.
frednork Posted June 23, 2018 Posted June 23, 2018 you could test - + with a battery and see if you get the typical cone movement, then test other combos. should tell you what you need to know w/o risking blowing up anything
Cafad Posted June 25, 2018 Author Posted June 25, 2018 On 24/06/2018 at 12:26 AM, frednork said: you could test - + with a battery and see if you get the typical cone movement, then test other combos. should tell you what you need to know w/o risking blowing up anything Not a bad thought mate, thanks for that. I hadn't thought of an electrical test. I should probably pull the backs off them and give them a quick internal inspection before I do anything with them. That should let me see what that ground plug is connected to and I can try to sort things out from there. I would prefer to pull a driver out as it would usually be an easier job but these seem to be secured from the inside so it's the back panel or nothing if I want to see the interior.
KBCats2019 Posted February 28, 2019 Posted February 28, 2019 HI I just got 2 x Sansui speakers AS Series. Has 1 x 100m speaker, 1 x 130mm speaker and 2 x 200mm speakers. Think they were left out in the rain? Are they the rare ones?
BLAH BLAH Posted February 28, 2019 Posted February 28, 2019 http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/sansui-as-100-speakers.294385/
allthumbs Posted March 1, 2019 Posted March 1, 2019 14 hours ago, KBCats2019 said: Are they the rare ones? Alas, no. 1
pete_mac Posted March 1, 2019 Posted March 1, 2019 Just now, allthumbs said: Alas, no. I was going to agree, but upon reflection, they possibly are ‘rare’ because Sansui wouldn’t have sold too many, and of those which were sold, most would be in landfill by now. They certainly are not collectible though, nor do they possess any positive sonic attributes (except for party or garage speakers).
Cafad Posted May 22, 2019 Author Posted May 22, 2019 Just found this from a Yahoo listing. Seems to tell me the inductor ratings for the crossover components of an SP-100i. I've had a look inside my pair and I didn't see anything printed on them so this is handy info for me. One day soon I'll re-cap and re-induct those 100i's, one day.
Cafad Posted June 10, 2019 Author Posted June 10, 2019 My SP-1000's arrived today. No, not those SP-1000's, the ones from 1972, the SP-1000's that hail from 1989. I guess the first were available internationally and the second were only available in Japan so Sansui decided to name them the same. Anyway, these ones. These puppies were supposedly a limited edition (or only available for a limited time perhaps) and were a slightly different version of the SP-100i that was released in 1987. These ones are in pretty poor shape. Both the tweeters are without diaphragms and one of the woofers has no surround left on it at all. The other woofer seems OK. Pics of the right speaker below. So I'm hoping I can swap over the tweeters from one pair of the 100i's. Not sure yet if that's a possibility, have yet to measure up the surrounds and I still don't know if they actually are the same drivers or just very similar. I hope to start finding out this weekend. I had thought that the SP-1000 used polyprop caps and air core inductors like the SP-1010 and the SP-a2000 but it seems that isn't the case, I guess the polyprops and air cores only came with the 1990 models. More pics to follow but probably not until the weekend. 3
Cafad Posted June 10, 2019 Author Posted June 10, 2019 It seemed like a logical tangent to branch off on from the last time I went "a bit too far" with my audio hobby so yeah now I'm on a speaker journey. A bit more hands on work involved than the amp stuff, but I like it. (less heavy lifting, that's a plus)
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