here I review and compare modern Linn Wakonda pre amp with Heed power amp 50 watts. with Sansui 771 32 watts. All quality kit modern kit about 3/4 times the cost. Patreon link patreon.com/StereoreviewX
Пікірлер: 101
@bigblueocean4 ай бұрын
We would love to have a tour of your collection Kelvin.
@Ricky-cl5bu4 ай бұрын
Kelvin your the best on you tube for Hifi gear absolutely brilliant
@hueyw19164 ай бұрын
Heed's roots lie in a mid Wales company called Ion Systems who evolved from Nytech (who are back in business) and the Obelisk was originally a Nytech and then Ion amp. I've had a few Ion Obelisks and they're all great amps. Good to see the Heed is up to standard! Great review!
@gdwlaw55494 ай бұрын
HEED is based in Budapest, Hungary…..brilliant amplifiers . They remain my local Hifi dealers best selling Amplifier brand along with REGA.
@rabit8184 ай бұрын
My vintage Marantz produces “fluffy” bass vs a modern Linn Classik which do lean bass. I’m glad your KZfaq channel have two commercials, hope you are getting residual from your hard work. Thanks!
@DaleCrommie4 ай бұрын
I saw my first receiver, and had to stop and see it. I purchased it in 1975, along with Heil AMT speakers, and a Garrard turntable. Many years ago, but my first system thrilled me.
@grumpy94783 ай бұрын
about the same time I replaced my Dynaco A25s w/ ESS Heil speakers. also "upgraded" my little Sansui amp to an NAD 3080. eventually owned 4 Sansui tuners & a 331 receiver. still have most of that kit. will always have Sansui something in one (or more!) of my systems (the tuners are great value for the $... as long as there's broadcast worth dialing-in). (I believe) if one was fortunate enough to access great sounding hifi early-on, that becomes a life-long standard of sorts, & to a degree can bias perception forever. I feel blessed to've been biased towards great sound early on (& music - thx Mom & Dad!).
@goydivision53114 ай бұрын
Oh dear that lighting makes you look great come on now you are attractive enough already . Massive longevity this man
@MichaelYates4 ай бұрын
I just listen to a £4k system recently and I can totally agree on what you have said in this video when I compair what that system sounded like to all the budget Sansui Amps and receivers I have got and how they sound
@AlexMitchell-sj4sb4 ай бұрын
Do you fancy doing a video on it Mike? We haven't seen you in awhile.
@MichaelYates4 ай бұрын
@@AlexMitchell-sj4sb Hi Alex, I will do so very soon, hoping to have the house back to normal by the end of the week
@stevemumford69834 ай бұрын
Kelvin Your reviews are so passionate detailed and completely devoid of hi fi bull s#it i think your love of the vintage sound of Sansui has encouraged your subscribers to buy them ( me included ) and to be honest although probably not your intention has helped push up the price of them.
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
yeah could be truly I have had about twenty message me that bought Sansui and loved it its not every Sansui btw
@llucrescu90584 ай бұрын
Great comparison! In the future, please tell us more about the systems you test these components in. In this case, tell us a few things about the speakers and players you associate with these amplifiers and how these other components favours or not the items in case. Thank you for all your work, I really appreciate it!
@solarrobot4 ай бұрын
Kelvin, I just love your videos!
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
thanks
@analoglooney4 ай бұрын
Hi Kelvin. Heed is Hungarian. The late Richard Hay who owned Nytech went on to form Ion Systems and then sold the rights to Heed Audio. Richard was also chief engineer for Radford and worked with Arthur Bailey of Transmission line fame.
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
great thanks
@analoglooney4 ай бұрын
@@stereoreviewx 🙂👍
@scrappy75714 ай бұрын
I picked up a 331 a few years ago, because of Kelvin's review. Sure is magical how good it sounds. I did a recap to it, and upped the output caps to 4700uF. Increased the single PS cap value too. WONDERFUL BASS!
@sidesup82864 ай бұрын
Great video Kelvin. I get more out of your videos than all these guys with graphs. The human ear is bettet than any graph. I always thought vintage speakers had more warmth usually. But maybe it was the amps driving them. I have some recordings with a lot of bass clarinet in them. What a cool warm sound! If you're not playing bass clarinet through tubes, you are cheating yourself. Same with flute. Flutes just sound so full, smooth & fluffy through tubes. But electric guitars really come to life with good solid state equipment. A good argument to have two systems; one tube and one solid state. With both analog & digital connected up with both. Tape and solid state sound really good together.Tube preamps and solid state power amps are usually a good combo. Cd players and tubes usually compliment each other well; with the cds sounding more analog like.
@Gord4well4 ай бұрын
Wow! Welcome back! I was just going through some of your older video's because it has been a while, and there pops up a new one! Yay! I have a 9090 and a 661 , running older Monitor Audio Bronze bookshelf's and a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300's... I think I like the 661 better. lol. I have had the 9090 since I was 17 in 1977. Again, what a treat having you back at it...loving those Sansui's. Cheers from London Ontario.
@D1N024 ай бұрын
My 331 is still going strong. A good DAC going in and a tube buffer in between improved the sound. I have some Mission 700 Leading Edge speakers attached, which improve detail and sound stage a lot.
@scrappy75714 ай бұрын
Please explain tube buffer please, I'm interested
@D1N024 ай бұрын
@@scrappy7571 it's a little Tube preamp. Available in different Chinese brands. You can (and should) roll the tubes and op-amps. There is a great big topic on it on head-fi
@eazydraw46814 ай бұрын
Another storming review thanks Kelvin , you have brightened up my day
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
Glad to hear it
@jameshutton59794 ай бұрын
No B.S. from this man! 👍
@ianstreeter52914 ай бұрын
Another great review. So good at explaining how audio equipment sounds ...
@peterlarkin7624 ай бұрын
He's bang on about vocals... you can have a lean clean sound, or a warm deep sound but non of it matters if the vocals aren't 'realistic' or if they're set back in the soundstage.
@gjnbouwmeester58604 ай бұрын
Great stuff from the pre-digital era! My dear little Pioneer SA-610 amp (2 x 45 Watt) from the end of the seventies is still going strong!;-) I've had other amps as well, but they all went down struggling until the lights dimmed or the sound stopped...
@itisjustacomment4 ай бұрын
As a channel said yesterday, he went to listen to the £4ooo system compared to what it would have cost back in the 70\80s. He said the modern stuff is way better, and I agree. But we can get 25% of that for £500 all in.
@llucrescu90584 ай бұрын
Thanks!
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
Thanks so much your a legend
@johnfranklin30014 ай бұрын
I think the best test for hi-fi is to ask yourself how emotionally involving it is and how much you enjoy listening to it. That is what listening to music is all about, after all. It can fall short technically in many ways and still be good, similarly it can be technically impressive but not just not enjoyable to listen to.
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
Tend to agree
@bartvanransbeeck13414 ай бұрын
Allways amazing warm harted reviews...we should call you Kevin 'Hartsfield' from the vintage JBL hornspeaker.....❤
@brucetungsten57144 ай бұрын
Very interesting - I have yet to buy a "vintage" receiver / amp.
@gilbertwashburn70954 ай бұрын
Thanks for the video I love the 771 I have one it sounds fantastic and works great something to be said about old school I'm not against modern but you know what I mean I found a Yamaha dspa one it's a surround amplifier from 1999 is $3,000 back then I found it in a snow bank took it home blew out the snow with air pressure let it sit for a week inside to warm up and dry out the only problem it had was the display was gibberish I resoldered the 132 pins and it sounds fantastic it kicks it's cuz it was their flagship apparently the robot didn't put enough solder on what a great amplifier 125 watts per Channel real Watts it has a cooling fan but it never kicks in one guy said it only kick in if you had cranked for about 7 hours it's not worth much today but it sure is awesome have a great day I love vintage equipment
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
great story
@Evolved_ue74 ай бұрын
I sold my Philips Black Tulip pre and power, I miss it . I kept my Technics se-a7 and pre su-a8 still sounds fantastic.. The price of higher end Sansui has gone through the roof.
@jakedavila44684 ай бұрын
Vintage Guru does it again!
@henrym783 ай бұрын
You should have used a heed pre/power combo for this test.
@georgebliss9644 ай бұрын
That Heed Amp looks very tidy indeed. The Heed web site quotes a +36 area telephone code which is in Hungary. P.S. My first wife was bulbous.
@analoglooney4 ай бұрын
Heed Audio is Hungarian. The late Richard Hay who owned Nytech went on to create Ion systems and then sold the rights to Heed Audio.
@lerpack455Ай бұрын
This is very interesting stuff! I have sampled a few good amps. Fisher valve X100a. Also 500b. Luxman R1070. Armstrong valve 6 w p ch. And modern…..Nytech (from Wales) 602 (60watt p. Ch.) Completely different sounds. My speakers also from IMF tls80 to JBL/Klipsch bookshelf. I’m always interested in what you have to say.
@stereoreviewxАй бұрын
That’s a very interesting collection you have
@777thedg4 ай бұрын
Kelvin, loving your work and hoping you are here to stay this time. A couple of questions if I may; 1) what do you think was the first important stand alone amp? I’ve got a 1969 Sansui 101 but were there many before then or were people using a Glenn Miller disc to assess the 1940s vintage? 2) what is the life span for today’s vintage. I’ve got quite a few things but do you think I can keep recapping, replacing tweeters or repairing for another 50 years which is my best hope of life span?
@Ricky-cl5bu4 ай бұрын
Tin Pan Alley is a great song 👍
@tweakerman4 ай бұрын
Love your videos & this one is no difference 👍
@colinshimmin31634 ай бұрын
Well done Kelvin!
@Smog1044 ай бұрын
Excellent and Thanks again
@h0ll0wm9n4 ай бұрын
Clinical vs punchy is modern vs vintage.
@wollaminfaetter4 ай бұрын
I love your way of comparing old and new. I totally get it (i think). The "vintage sound" is just.... well... best suited for the vintage music I guess? That's my take on it anyway :)
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
there is truth in that
@Ricky-cl5bu4 ай бұрын
Vintage stuff just sounds different more musical, but I still like valve equipment, Naim separates etc
@henrym783 ай бұрын
Heed is also very musical and valve like. I bet it would have sound a lot better if a Heed pre amp was used in this review.
@paatalazzume52243 ай бұрын
AU - 717 is THE BEST SANSUI 👌
@demonalter75894 ай бұрын
I was just wondering if you have heard of the Polk audio Monitor 4s with the peerless tweeter, i seen a version of them which have the audax tweeter but from what I heard about them is that they dont sound as good as the peerless tweeter, any thoughts?
@jeffjohnson35044 ай бұрын
You need to Try Emotiva!
@richardjohnston46824 ай бұрын
A Naim nap 50? Never heard of it!
@deputy36904 ай бұрын
Kelvin, you do a good job with comparisons but I think these KZfaq videos are focusing more on analytical factors and less on just enjoying the music.
@robertballard88333 ай бұрын
recently tried a 661 against my 1971 Sansui 4000 - 40 wpc. The older Sansui has a much cleaner, open sound - very tube-like.the 661 was finr - reminded me of a SX 750 Pioneer. nothing beats the older Sansui to me. do you have any from 70- 72 ?
@stereoreviewx3 ай бұрын
I want one
@andreas51534 ай бұрын
Great review! How would you compare Sansui to Quad 303?
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
well different am a fan of the 303 for sure
@andreas51534 ай бұрын
@@stereoreviewx they are both very good sounding amps.
@NeilHinds-td9dl3 ай бұрын
I have a sansui Au505 which has new caps and transistors, sounds good, clear, even a bit modern , but I thinks not all this warmth people speak of ? I.e id like more bass depth, parred to BW dm4 , idea's? Wrong caps ? What gives bass tones?
@stereoreviewx3 ай бұрын
well yes the recapping is more complex than it sounds . try rotate bass driver and tighten bass driver screws that can be a huge plus even if you just tighten (carefully)
@ahmadalawadhi5384 ай бұрын
Keep in your mind 50 years old should naver give you sound as new . So we can not be sure this what I believe some parts will change value as 50 years yousd as new car with old 50 year car
@ChillToMusic874 ай бұрын
Hello. May I suggest the Akai aa-1020, aa-1030, aa-1040, aa-1050 receivers? I own all of these and to me, these are excellent and can still be had for little money, worth checking out 👌🏼
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
Thanks for the tips!
@ChillToMusic874 ай бұрын
@@stereoreviewx Your welcome. Would be great to see one in one of your future video's 🙂
@nickdoughty5184 ай бұрын
So where do the differences derive from? Amplifiers will have very flat frequency responses across the audible range, which the ear won't detect any differences. Is it to do with the negative feedback circuits? Any thoughts?
@D1N024 ай бұрын
I think the Old Sansui's were built by ear first and measurements second.
@nickdoughty5184 ай бұрын
@D1N02 if you look at magazine reviews in that period, there was much more emphasis on measurements than today. The era of subjectivity was still a decade away.
@georgebliss9644 ай бұрын
Response time differences, with fast ones resolving fine detail better.
@nickdoughty5184 ай бұрын
@georgebliss964 but if the frequency responses are the same and flat across the range, aren't the response times the same too?
@D1N024 ай бұрын
@@nickdoughty518 The Sansui has a THD fiigure of 0.5% (when new). in a modern amp that is unthinkable. 0.01% or less.
@shaneonpole4 ай бұрын
What input-source were you using on the Amps...CDs, Online-Streaming, Vinyl?
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
streaming blue sound and some cd
@llucrescu90584 ай бұрын
@@stereoreviewx From my experience in A-B comparison of vintage speakers and amplifiers, streaming is making them sound very close one from another, it kinda brings all to the lowest common denominator. CD is a bit better, but if you really want to hear the differences in sound between vintage speakers and amps I think that the best sources are tapes and records players. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not using a good streamer/dac. Anyway, I try to stay open for learning and this channel helped me a lot, so thank you!
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
@@llucrescu9058 yes I know what you mean about streamers make things sound the same I think your right . Am going to have to think about this
@CP-qe2ym4 ай бұрын
Has your Sansui been recapped?
@peterlarkin7624 ай бұрын
Was wondering the same - to be fair a lot of the older Jap amps have caps that still measure perfect, but a few new ones in the right places might bring back some detail and lower bass fluffiness. That said, total recaps can really ruin the character of vintage amp.
@stereoreviewx4 ай бұрын
no I have two 441 I might recap one and compare
@CP-qe2ym4 ай бұрын
@@stereoreviewx now that would be an interesting review. I recapped my 661 last year with Elna Silmic caps, the sound quality improved dramatically.