Author Topic: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's  (Read 22088 times)

SunnyDaze

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Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« on: October 02, 2010, 05:55:23 PM »
I bought these off of a retired professor. Yeah. They probably need capped. Yeah. I'll find time eventually.

They actually surprised me. They're HEAVY. How do they sound? Well, I haven't hooked my Paradigms and my KEF back up yet.

And, they just look cool.





« Last Edit: October 02, 2010, 06:10:46 PM by SunnyDaze »

Offline Kingman

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2010, 06:24:30 PM »
They look super...HOOK EM UP!!!!  8) 8) 8)
IN REALITY IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE TO YOU!!!!!

SunnyDaze

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2010, 06:28:35 PM »
They're really musical. Not the most accurate things on Earth, they sound like a Wurlitzer, and it does not suck.

Offline Falcon

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2010, 07:19:34 PM »
Very cool looking speakers.

Offline Beezy

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2010, 11:12:00 PM »
Looking pretty sweet. 

SunnyDaze

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2010, 06:46:31 PM »
Seriously, what are the chances that these things actually sound better than my Paradigms?

I'm trying VERY hard not to believe it.

Was Sansui really that high quality in the mid 70's?

Offline Falcon

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2010, 07:23:01 PM »
Sansui electronics in the 70's was among the very best... :o :o
  I am not to familiar with the speakers, but, they do have a cult following.

SunnyDaze

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2010, 10:13:44 AM »
I hooked them up to my 60W Onkyo TX 6000 in A/B with my Paradigms. It was then that I realized how sensitive these Sansuis are. They started to sing at about 1/3 volume. The Paradigms laughed. At low volume levels, these things are great, really detailed. As you turn them up, they begin to sound more like a shallow box in terms of the midbass and low end, whatever low end can be picked out. They have NO bottom end below 60-ish hz. That's not room placement. That's just a fact. They're even so light on mid-bass that they are tough to integrate with my sub.

This has got me playing with placement on my Paradigms. I think I had 'em WAY too close to the wall. They're about 18 inches out now. Huge difference.

After my new horns show up, I'm gonna have to make time to bring these to the shop.

« Last Edit: October 04, 2010, 10:30:08 AM by SunnyDaze »

SunnyDaze

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2010, 12:57:03 AM »
After further listening...

The midbass isn't as "missing" as I initially thought. Actually, they dip down to about 50 hz. Not great for 15's, but, that's what the AV-1 is here for. The soundstage on these things is HUGE. As a trade off, the imaging (except for horns) is poor. This is most likely an issue that will be slightly corrected after a re-capping.

Overall, i'm VERY pleased with them. Bob Barker must have hooked me up with this deal, because the price was right.

I'll bring these to a meeting. Hopefully after they're capped.

OldiesButGoodies

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #9 on: October 15, 2010, 07:13:09 PM »
Hmm those would go well with my Sansui 7000.... 

SunnyDaze

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #10 on: October 15, 2010, 10:35:26 PM »
I have no intentions of getting rid of my horns yet.

That being said, I have no opposition to letting you groove with them for a little while. The next time I come to a meeting, I'm bringing them. If you want to take them home and make love to them, so be it. I can't see myself going for more than 2 weeks without them at present, so you can bring them back to the next meeting.

That's as good as it's gonna get, for now.

SunnyDaze

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #11 on: October 16, 2010, 04:43:21 AM »
Actually Pepe, these are what you want.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SANSUI-SP-2500-FLOOR-SPEAKERS-3-WAY-5-DRIVERS-NICE-/310261695035?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item483d09c23b#ht_1864wt_1141

And what I want. Watch them. I'll bet they go for BIG bucks.

OldiesButGoodies

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #12 on: October 16, 2010, 10:34:32 AM »
Very nice set - I am watching them on ebay.  The wood looks to be in great shape.

The ideal way to procure these would be to wake up on a saturday,  go for a drive and run into a heavenly state sale where the owner donates them to me for $10.  Ebay is too easy!

Pepe


SunnyDaze

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #13 on: October 16, 2010, 04:03:11 PM »
Those, or a set of SP-5500's. They were Japanese market only. 140 lbs, 4 feet tall, radial horn tweeters AND mids, "20-20" as Tom would say it, give them a Google.

I am really becoming a fan of my 5500X's. They don't do everything well. As I've said before, they don't image well. Low end extension is nowhere to be found.

After some more extended listening, here are some conclusions about these monsters. They have a certain "sound" that they favor. Southern rock makes them sound amazing. Twangy guitar notes are unreal. Songs like Tumbling Dice by The Rolling Stones and Blue Sky by The Allman Brothers melt me in my recliner. Woodwinds and brass are magical. Mingus and Chicago sound out of this world. HOWEVER, I suspect that they are not nearly as accurate as the Paradigms, but they are every bit as musical. Actually, when playing music that suits their "sound", I prefer them to the 9se's. The 5500's don't sound as "full" as as some other speakers that I've owned. The positive trade off for that lack of spatial depth is up-front-ness. They're very revealing, and somehow still present a massive soundstage. Something tells me once I finally get off of my toucas and recap these puppies, some of that depth will emerge.

Sorry Pepe, but the enjoyment to cost ratio on these speakers doesn't justify me selling them anytime soon.

OldiesButGoodies

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Re: Score: Mid-Late 70's Sansui SP-5500X's
« Reply #14 on: October 16, 2010, 04:35:00 PM »
I will wait patiently here for the upgrade bug to hit ya (or a ridiculously expensive text book forces your hand  :P).    Enjoy them.  I have no music right now because I need to wire seven speakers to try out Yamaha's DSP-3090, so the sound room is a mess. The Sansuibtest comes after that.


By my count I started messing with stereos at age seven - so I have been goofing around with this crap for 41 years. It never gets boring.    :)

Pepe