The center speaker connection setup had been used by Dynaco as a rear channel (L-R) and later became the Dynaquad setup with 2 rear speakers.

I started with Hifi in the late 70s. Had a Harmon Kardon integrated with a pair of JBL L50's and a Yamaha turntable. Still have the turntable. Great sounding system. When the early 80's came around, cable movie channels started to appear. Had to have that and then I noticed hey, there is a stereo output on my TV, let's hook that to the amp. I was blown away by the sound! I thought this is as good if not better than a movie theater. Well I was happy with that until about '95. Then a friend mentioned something about Pro Logic Home Theater. I said what's that and he showed me. Blown away again. Went out and got a Denon PL receiver. (Still have that) Used my JBLs and bought a center, 2 surrounds and a subwoofer Loved it. Went to laser disc. Bought a 35 inch CRT. Dolby Digital meant buying a new receiver. A DVD player was next. Then moved to projection TV.. Even bought a soundbar for upstairs. They do sound quite good, especially in a small room. Just finally upgraded again because I was about 15 years behind in receiver tech. I went in to Best Buy to pick up a Marantz Cinema 70 and trade in my old AVR. I was hoping to listento it first but pretty much knew it was what I needed. They no longer had a listening room for home theater. Just a single setup on the floor to give an idea. I asked the sales guy, "is home theater dying? He kind of said a lot of people don't have the room for it anymore. Soundbars take a lot less space, easier to set up, and sound good. It still sells but so do soundbars, so it is probably 50/50 or less for home theater. And a lot of people think a sound bar is home theater. I know they are trying to get people excited again with Dolby Atmos, but I just don't think it will work. While it may sound more 3 dimensional, I can't see a lot of people wanting to spend the extra money for speakers and cutting holes in their ceilings. It's just gotten out of hand. I recently saw a review on the Marantz 15.2 AVR. That's when I knew it was dying . Nobody needs 15.2 channels unless you are building a 100 thousand dollar and up theater. Which I doubt many are anymore. My receiver also does Atmos, but I have lost the desire to try it.. Instead I have done as you say and gone back to listening to 2 channel again. I am having more fun with that and trying different speakers and amps for music. My goal is to eventually find some kind of affordable tube amp and play around with that. But I am happy with my simple 5.1 setup for home theater. Don't need any more than that. And I would say that applies to about 80% of the nome theater crowd. Unless you have a fairly large room, it's more than enough. Or a good soundbar. No need to go overboard, even basic systems sound good these days. I'm not sure what the next generation will do for entertainment. Most of them are now listening to everything through earbuds. I don't think quality matters as much anymore, it more about quantity and streaming endless media. Good audio will always be around as long as there is music I feel. But I think more people care about the content, than how they watch or listen to it. Epecially since it mostly all looks and sounds good now anyway.

THanks Scott for this video. I Love the experience of buying physical media and haviing it in my hands. In my opinion, a much better experience

Agree. I had one of the first surround processors in the 1980's. Had a home theaters thru 2015. Got bored with it all and ripped it all out and just have a nice 2-channel system. I live in LA where we have tons of world class theaters. I'm not anti-social and enjoy going out to watch movies. Everyone I knew had some sort of surround system. I don't know anyone who does today.

I disagree. I have long since moved beyond just a soundbar and there is no way I’m going back to just a soundbar. Nor do I see any movement back to just soundbars. I was at a product rollout by a major HT company just this week. They were highlighting their front speakers which could, for many, dispense with the soundbar AND could do a good job at 2 channel as well as HT. That is the future I see. I can see just using a soundbar to improve on the sound coming from your TV. But for anything approaching cinematic sound, a soundbar simply is not sufficient.

I have a 7.2 but I admit it's overkill as I don't get much out of it. It doesn't make a movie better. It can only enhance a movie a bit. When it comes to music listening, I'm all about 2 channel.

It's not going to be in my home no matter the price. Enough is enough. My house doesn't need it.

I think you're full of crap. Home theater technologies are improving by leaps and bounds each year. Your unwillingness to go along isn't indicative of the death of anything. There is no replacement for the truly immersive environment a quality surround set up is capable of producing. Rumors of it's demise are greatly exaggerated.

I'll have to experiene the Apple Pro. It would be nice if they'd come out with European vacation material, where you can see Europe and feel like you're there, walking around and actually seeing the same sights as if you were actually there, without ever leaving your home. How many of us in our lifetime ever make it to Europe? People need escapism nowadays, and maybe realistic escapism will take things to another level. When there's more realism, we don't have to pretend as much. The guy with a well chosen $12,000 stereo doesn't have to pretend as much that he's hearing real music as the guy with a $1,200 stereo. People won't have to pretend they like the company of each other as much either. They can be in their own world; even if it's a totally artificial one. People choose to do what they consider the best activity. Before TV, people sitting outside at night and talking to their neighbors was their preferred chosen activity. All of a sudden Fred or Mabel next door wasn't as interesting as Cowboys on Western TV shows, or even the juggling team on the Sullivan Show. TV's drove people indoors. The neighbors they'd talk to every night, became every few nights, then once a week, then once a month, to the point where they got to be pretty much strangers. Nowadays it's common that people don't even know their next door neighbors. And don't really care to know them! Times change and people change. The peace and love thing of the 1960s became the "ME" generation of the 1980s, and all out corporate greed. Of course greed spawns dog eat dog competition, competing with the Jones's, and little care for who you are trying to surpass. I think the way entertainment products changed our world is far more interesting than how they changed our entertainment Higher end audio is full of this kind of mentality. There are companies that do not have one product under $15,000. And most of their products are in the $30,000 and up range. They are not just too expensive. They know audio is an addiction for many, and they actively try to get huge sums of their money, most or almost ALL of your money in many cases, so THEY will have your money instead. They realize there are enough foolish people out there to try this; and succeed! A lot of people think if something is real expensive; it nust be real good. Not that some of their products are not sophisticated and technically impressive. There is a whole industry based on people who give sound quality unbelievably exaggerated importance. Even with all these incredibly complex and sophisticated offerings, tools of escapism; perhaps the best escapism of all is still a simple good book.

I think the big downfall with typical home theater implementations is the complication. Juggling remotes and trying to get the females in the house to understand which remote to adjust volume with just isn't worth the effort. With a nice vintage system, all that is obvious and straightforward. I agree though, all this makes a 2 channel system make more sense.

Just discovered your video comparing the large advent speakers vs more expensive speakers. Love that comparison of anything!!! I own a pair of large advent speakers with the cheap cabinets and the newer tweeters!!! Bought from a pawn shop on consignment! They had been reconditioned with new crossovers and insulation for box. Took to a friend’s that lived close. Good I did because the fuses had been blown by pawn shop owners..after replacing fuses. My friend noticed minutes after playing how clear and good the tweeters sounded!! His ear, music and stereo knowledge is way better than mine!! What do you think about the newer tweeters and how do they compare to the fried egg tweeters? Thanks

All the constant new surround modes and having to buy new equipment to keep up makes it more of a hassle than it's worth for the average person. I have a 5.1.2 soundbar for TV that's pretty good and a 2ch integrated with an eq and turntable for music likewise 😊

That something new is the soundbar.

Greetings from western coastal Canada. Great vid and subject. For me I have a so so-called Analogue world with primary fully restored receivers, amps, tuners, turntables and speakers. This area also has a dac and streaming!. Then I have a Digital room. 5.1 wide screen complimented with latest Marantz 5.1.2 the .2 is the reference for Dolby Atmos. This area is also my SACD via Sony hi end Blu-ray player. Atmos can also be experienced via Atmos compatible headphones via streaming service offering Atmos options. Many titles are now being remastered for 2 channel and for 5.1.2 Atmos. The headphone Atmos experience is pretty darn good. So the 2 audio worlds can coexist. That's my '2 cents'.

Im not strapping crap to my body. Find another way.

I graduated from HS in 1976 and experienced my first hi-fi stereo equipment when I got to Purdue that Fall. Prior to that- my brothers and I used to listen to records on my parents console stereo. There was a whole world of incredible stereo equipment and I was hooked. Just in a small section of my dorm there were Macintosh preamp/power amps, Crown, Kenwood- any high end brand you could imagine was there for the listening pleasure. Not having the financial wherewithal of many of my neighbors I put together a modest system with a Kenwood KA9100, Yamaha NS1000M, Teac cassette deck, and a Marantz 6300 turntable. It was a very exciting time to grow up with the Wattage Wars kicking in at that time. I still have most of the original equipment, but I did have one major misstep when I traded the Marantz for a B&O 4004 linear tracking turntable (stupid). As life progressed- I got married, kids appeared, and I had to mothball the stereo equipment to keep it from getting destroyed by kids. VHS movies were invented and to keep up with the Joneses and not deprive your kids you were expected to buy every Disney movie in VHS formats. A few years later DVD’s were invented and you had to re-buy every Disney movie in DVD format. And a few years later Blu-Ray movies were invented and Disney was lurking over my shoulder waiting for me to start buying the same movies for a third time and I decided I was done. I was able to survive the pressure from friends and family and resist investing in the latest and greatest movie format for twenty years. That was until this past March when I was laying in bed and was watching a short clip with Andrew Robinson and this great deal on an AVR. So I bought it and the 5.1 surround speakers which lead to remodeling the basement with stadium seats and purchasing another 85” Samsung 90C TV, and a 4K Blu-Ray player. And of course the 4K and Blu-Ray media that is necessary to complete the experience. Since I am a little late to the dance on this technology I think I will pass on going to the Apple Store until my bank account recovers from this latest onslaught of technology buying. Scott- I still think that the younger generation will be buying streamers and equipment that they can shout at to play music for the foreseeable future. My daughter has one of those streaming devices that she just speaks what genre or song she wants to hear and how loud to play it. I think in the next couple of years the streaming devices will become “cooler” with LCD screens that show the song and album art similar to the Cambridge Audio model that I have forgotten. I also think that sound bars will still be the device most used to improve the sound quality of flat screen TV’s. I do have a sound bar hooked up to my family room TV because my wife will not tolerate exposed AVR’s and speakers in this room. An 85” TV is okay, but no exposed sound system! Anyway, another great video and I do enjoy watching them. Just don’t try to get me to buy into another new technology for awhile please 🫣

I have a 2.1 system for my TV. Older McIntosh MX130 in 2 channel mode, Schitt Vidar amp for power, DAC, I run through either Wharfedale Lintons with a sub, or just my mid 80s Cornwalls. Sounds great all the time. Have a turntable and cd also hooked up. I need or want NONE of the complexity of multichannel systems. Such a pain to hookup, hide wires, etc., and very hard to switch components in and out of the system for variety.

90% + of the movies I watch are old and are either basic stereo or mono. Modern films (the past 30 years or so) are trash. Not all, not all, not all but most (my opinion)

100% agree. The complexity of the latest receiver, along with their connections, is absurd, and many folks who buy them, will never figure out how to properly use them. I'd guess that many don't know what mode they're in, or how to change it. Also, too often the receiver is not set up or connected properly. Since I don't want artificial, multichannel sound, I have for decades, relied on a 2 channel amp or receiver. The surround sound I've been exposed to, does not sound like real music.

I took another route and did both. Dedicated home theater and dedicated 2 channel system. Of course they take 2 rooms, but I’m satisfied. 😊

The Apple Pro reminds me of the old proverb that there is nothing new under the sun. It has been tried already in the gaming and pc world with VR headsets. Like the fad of 3-D televisions and content. I suspect it will pass. The issue is the weight of headset as well as a lot of people get motion sickness when wearing them. Cool stuff to be sure, but not practical. Where I see the hobby going is developing tech that is simple and convenient to use. TV audio, soundbars, and 2 channel device that integrate with a phone, Chromebook, or iPad. To my point. My barley in his 20's Gen Z coworker and I were on the subject of enjoying music listening. While i was talking about my old school system and collection of CD's and Vinyl, he and his partner like to keep things simple. They listen to their music through a streaming app on their phones through a quality Bluetooth speaker. They own their own home but despite being more established than most folks his age, a 2-channel receiver, turntable, and speakers are currently not even a consideration. Maybe when they get older?

Sound Bars are dreadful Trash. Those small drivers, dont put out good sound quality, at all. The only reason people started using them, is a combination of trying to reduce space requirements, and lower costs. As far as your comment about Home Theater amps not being good for Stereo ?! That makes NO sense at all. I bought a Pioneer 5.1 surround sound amp, when I was like 17 yrs old. Im almost 51, and its still working flawlessly. Ive been feeding it input from my PC, for decades. I watch DVDs / Bluray movies on it, listen to CDs, watch youtube videos through it, and even play digital audio files on it (mp3 and Flac)... The Amp is easily switched between Stereo, and Surround sound modes. And while its not the new "standard" of surround sound... it still sounds fantastic on any modern blurays I run through it. As far as headphones goes... It really depends on what you buy. My first "Audiophile" headphones, were the Sennheiser HD500. When I put them on, and hit play on my PCs DVD player... I thought my entire surround sound (speakers) were on... blasting loudly at 2am in the morning. I ripped my new headphones off, and Dove for the Speaker Toggles on my amp... only to realize, that None of my speakers were On. Those headphones dont sound like you are listening to headphones. They are so Holographic... that it sounds like you are listening to speakers in surround sound... all around you. Now... the HD500 is the Lowest audiophile tier Headphone that Sennheiser makes... and it lacks some upper frequency capabilities. Some of the higher models, have far more capability. But not all of them, have as wide of a 3d soundstage... due to some audiophiles preferring a more "Accurate" representation. VR is of course, next level. You can buy cheaper stand-alone VR glasses, in the form of the Quest series VR glasses (I believe are under $400). However, if you want higher level VR experiences, then you want a VR glasses set that hooks directly up to your PC. You will also need a pretty powerful 3D Graphics card, installed in your computer, to drive it. A lot of people use them for Racing Simulators, and Flight Simulators. There are also a lot of various other VR game types, on steam, for your PC. The barrier to good VR, has always been the Costs. You not only need an expensive VR glasses set... but you also need a PC with an expensive 3d Graphics card. That could easily be $2000, just to get started in VR. The Stand-Alone Quest VR sets, vastly lower the cost to get a VR experience... since they have a mini-pc (that probably runs a form of andriod), inside of the device itself. There are a lot of limitations, however.. as that mini-pc is very "underpowered" for any high level VR experiences. As the mini-pcs get more and more powerful.. the stand-alone VR experiences, will be much better. And since 3d Graphics cards are continually improving.. you likely will eventually be able to pick up a cheap enough / used card, for an affordable price. My biggest gripe with VR, is the limited field of view. They really should have focused on making a field of view, as wide as possible... as when you play a shooting game, you want to be able to see enemies from the very corners of your eyes... in both directions. Instead, the VR companies have put more focus on making higher resolution screens.. and still remaining with a limited field of view. 3D body Tracking, is also a point of contention. The original VR sets, had IR Base Stations, that could Track your body with extreme accuracy. This allowed you to Dance, and Throw things in-game, with very good accuracy. However, to save costs... many companies started putting trackers on the VR glasses themselves. While this works to a certain degree... they often lose tracking when you move your arms, too far behind your body (such as when you wanted to throw something). These sets also didnt track your lower body... so you were not getting accurate 3d representations of your bodies movements, in-game. Watch some "VR Chat" footage, to understand why you would want full body tracking. Now... the real problem today... is a lack of good movies, to even want to watch at all. Video games are also being effected, by mentally Ill radicals, with their radical "WOKE" Ideologies / Agendas. We have the best display technology in all of History... and every movie that has came out in the last +10 yrs, isnt worth watching.. let alone buying them for a Re-Watch. Modern Music is also mostly Garbage, today. Nothing even comes close to the production quality, creativity, musician-ship.. nor the talented singers that didnt need +80% auto-tune... from the 70s to the end of the 80s.

Thanks for another great history lesson Scott. I have radios from the 30s and 40s, I bought my first stereo in 1975 and now I have a Wiim streamer. I guess I've seen it all. LOL When does it end? I'm moving soon and my new family room/home theater/listening room is going to be over twice as big as my current one. I don't want to wire another room for surround and I'm seriously thinking of just watching movies in stereo. We do that in our living room and it sounds great. I'm running six stereos and I may be dropping down to three. The receiver and speaker bullpen is already crowded and its going to get worse. LOL

What do you think about the future of Stereo? Will the release of immersive personal video help drive more interest in Stereo? Chime in here with your thoughts and experience.

I enjoy listening and watching my library of music and videos when I choose. I don’t subscribe to any music and movies providers because I don’t want a lot of charges hitting my bank accounts every month.

Just picked up an AU7500 and TU7500 thanks again!

I make new crossovers for all these speakers.

I have one of these and the 217 Pre-Amp. Great sound together

This really gets me. Ken Fritz was an artist. I'll play a little Swan Lake tonight for you Ken.

The Everest DD55OOO, Paragon, S8R system, 4435, 4355, etc....

Bought a B2101 and C2101 at an estate sale for $250. These things sound amazing.

Currently using near field, a Luxman R-1120a. It has almost all the goods. Except 4 ohm load. A unique Dolby fm tuner, and is working nicely. Thanks for the insightful and timeless information.😊.

Great video, I've got a 7070 from the original owner, and the tuner lights are on no matter what the input, maybe that was a feature on the upper models only...

Hi Scott, you mentioned that you re-capped them. Do you recall the cap uF values of the satellites? I can see a 150uF cap, but cannot see the others without taking it all apart. I found a crossover calculator that says a 12dB crossover with a 150uF cap would equal a 125Hz low crossover at 6 ohms. I wanted to try and figure out what the mid to high crossover point is. Thanks, Gar

Sorry to hear about your pet Hard times and hard to watch the end Always very sad

Mention the size of the capacitor bank and the damping factor of the Yamaha 1200 AS. That says a lot.

i have these are they worth much ? ive always heard they were !

It is so hard to get over losing a family member. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Almost bought one of these back in 77-78 but decided to go with a Kenwood KA9100 integrated amp which I still have and it still works great. A great receiver and sometimes I wish I would have gone the receiver route back then. The deciding factor was that there wasn’t any decent radio stations in my neck of the woods and I preferred controlling the music I listened to at all times. Looking forward to sometime seeing your collection in person. Keep up the great work.

Nah, your pioneer SX-1010 is much better

Vintage audio service tech with 47 years experience here. Here's a trick to improve the sound of any Minimus 7 for free. Remove the tweeter and reverse the leads, then reinstall it. The manufacturer of these deliberately wired the tweeters out of phase in order to create a dip in the upper mids, so as to make the bass appear to be more powerful. Correcting this gives a much more natural midrange. And, this hack is reversible if you don't like it. The sensitivity is very low - about 82dB/1W/1M.

Sorry about your pup. Looks like a great friend. …. One of my biggest audio regrets was trading my CR 1020 for a “new” Yamaha. I didn’t realize at the time how nice the CR was.

Love this receiver. My dad brought a 9090 and some other equipment back from a trip to Guam when he was in the shipyard in the 70’s. I just got it back from the audio technician in my area (he cleaned all the pots and switches, no recap needed at the time). I have it hooked to his SP-7500X’s for now and it sounds so good. I grew up with this system and it is such a nice heirloom to have to remember my dad with. Great video!

I loved the 70s Sansui receivers. I have a 5000 myself. One of my best friends had a 661. I always commented how great it sounded. He paired it with Khorns he made himself. Sorry about the loss of your dog. Loss of family pets are brutal.

Sorry for your loss Scott... Having the bottom of the pile 331 and 441 I can only imagine how good this great looking Sansui performs and sounds. Thanks for another fantastic Vintage HiFI video.

I love this series as well as the G series. Unfortunately the lower end models have a walnut grain sticker instead of real veneer. I’ve been reveneering them in real wood. Sansui is my all time favorite! Do you like Tandberg? They are my other vintage love.

I suppose the G series came next, and so did the low distortion wars, where they started using more negative feedback. I had one of the upper echelon models of the G series. It was my first serious receiver. Very good tuner section, and the amp section I can't say too much about since I think I was treble happy and probably always had the treble turned way up. I think I remember the G 7500s sound being clean and fast, with treble detail emphasized over warmth. Sounded great with cassettes. It had a really fine sounding headphone input. I didn't realize that till about 3 years after I bought it, because before, I was using Audio Technica electret headphones, whose adapter box connected to the back of the receiver. I guess the black face also gave way to silver face with the G series of receivers. Your dog was so cute and you could probably just tell that he was a nice dog from even a block away. One of the rarest Sansui pieces is a top of the line cassette deck they once came out with. I believe it was the WD 11 Very rare to see one. It makes truly great recordings and plays back factory prerecorded cassettes with real finesse.

That is one of the most beautiful receivers I have ever seen. My son found me a Sansui 5050 in perfect mint condition for 75 dollars on Craig's list and I love it. It was very easy to clean the pots. Probably took 15 minutes. My lights are green and some pictures I see the lights look blue. I might have to look into changing lamps. I have done lamps on a Marantz before with a vellum paper change so I'll bet it won't be hard. I am sorry about your doggy. We still have our dogs ashes in an urn after about 15 years.

A very well made unit and maybe my ear was untrained at 15 when I heard it new in 78 but I preferred the sound quality of my parents humble Toshiba SA420 😅

Sorry for your loss, looked like an amazing dog. I have to say though, I much prefer the original lights over the LEDs. I would love a 9090, hopefully someday soon. I love my 7070. Sansui just knocked it out of the park in the 70’s!

I've owned 3 Sansui 9090db's & never had a problem with the dolby section, however, the 9090db generally does "not" handle anything but 8 ohm loads well at all, unlike the 9090. I know from experience, but it's still my main rig. Best sounding I've ever owned & I bought, sold & traded vintage electronics for almost 20 years.