Posted by Dear Fred: on December 10, 2002 at 13:33:42:
In Reply to: Re: A-60, A-910 posted by BeatleFred on December 08, 2002 at 13:40:48:
: Hi Alan:
: Yes, I am familiar with these models- people have asked about them and similar models before. Models that start with the A designation such as these two refer to integrated amplifiers that Sansui made in the 1980's. Sansui's intent was to sell them as part of a complete package to the buyer- in others words, along with a matching Sansui tuner, turntable, casette deck, speakers and a wood-grain rack with shelves and front glass door to hold them in. Instead of an integrated amp to power the system, you could choose to get a Receiver instead- denoted by a Sansui R designation (R-510, R-710 for example). They even made rack power amps & preamps such as the B-77 and C-77. The purpose of these rack-combo systems was simply to appeal to the average person who wanted in all-in-one system that was affordable, offered decent quality, and was easy to use. I believe the A-80, A-60, and A-40 were the first amplifiers Sansui made intended for use in their rack combo sytems which was first introduced in 1980. (First receivers were R-70, R-50, and R-30, and tuners T-80 & T-60). The A-60 is 45 Watts. Sansui made many, many of these various combo systems in the 1980's- the A-910, A-710, and A-510 dates to 1984. (I dont know why you thought it was from the 60's as it most definitely has an 80's appearance and bears no resemblance whatsoever to what a 60's Sansui would look like). The A-910 is 80 Watts. The overall opinion on these rack models is that they are decent but they are certainly not the best quality that Sansui offered. For the more serious audiophile, Sansui offered other models- which were built far more subtantially- much larger transformer, capacitors, etc.. and with more metal in the construction as opposed to cheap, lighweight, tacky-looking, plastic. Obviously, the better built stuff was alot more expensive. So, instead of getting an A model amp in 1981, Sansui's Main Line at the time was their AU-D Line (AU-D11, AU-D9, AU-D7, and AU-D5)and Receivers were 9900Z...3900Z blended in along with the 3rd and last generation G-9700...4700 Line. As I said, while the rack models are ok (and I think the first ones like the A-60 are about the nicest looking they made-..., they get more black, "plasticky" and tacky looking as you go further in the 1980's) I think in trying to appeal to the budget market in this decade, that Sansui sacrificed their reputation in a way and not for the better, as opposed to all the models they made in the 70's which were built like tanks.