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best bang/ buck - old sansui vs panasonic XR

I have limited funds to get a new receiver. I am thinking of getting either a refurbished old Sansui high power 8080 or 9090 but I'm concerned that I will have to sink bucks into it to get it refurbished. As an alternative I was thinking of getting a panasonic XR series digital HTR like the 57. If hooked up in bi amp mode it appears to possibly provide high power like the old sansui's. My budget is $300. Would one of the old high power sansui's sound a lot better or would I be better off with a more modern digital amp like the panasonic XR series. Thanks for in advance for any input.
128x12859vovo
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,611 posts
 
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If you are going 2-channel only, go with the Sansui. Lots of power, great tuners and they sound great. If you are considering one for home theater use, forget about the Sanusi receivers....they have no digital connections, which make them dinosaurs in today's audio world. I owned a Sansui 771 for ten years and it was the longest that I have owned any piece of stereo gear. I still own a Sansui TU-X1 tuner.
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59vovo's avatar
59vovo OP
6 posts
 
going strictly for sound quality - 2 channel bang for the buck. could care less about surround sound. by anychance has anyone had the chance to hear both?
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,611 posts
 
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I've heard the Sansui 8080 playing Cervin Vega speakers, with a reel to reel as the source. It sounded outstanding.

....but that was 30 years ago.
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59vovo's avatar
59vovo OP
6 posts
 
well I get to answer my own question because I just got an old Sansui 7000 receiver raed at 70W/ch at 8ohms. I have not had a chance to do a straight AB test. My panasonic XR system is hooked up to Mirage OM 10 speakers and the DVD player is connected with an HDMI cable to the receiver and HD TV and the TV is connected with a toss link to the panny receiver. The panny playing CD's uses the DVD player as a transport with the HDMI cable and the panny is the direct DAC to the speakers. The sound is crystal clear - no noise very flat neutral sounding maybe a little bright.

The sansui I have connected to some Mission 700 bookshelve speakers and the sound is warmer - kind of like a tube amplifier. I was mainly listening to the tuner - a good receptiong npr station. the gist is more warm/tube slight enhanced bass sound for the sansui and crystal clear / neutral/bright for the panny. I guess they are apples and oranges.
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