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Help me define my WOW moment

173.171.53.137
Posted on March 29, 2017 at 10:29:36
saki70
Audiophile

Posts: 274
Joined: February 2, 2006
 A while back I purchased some garage sale speakers for my backyard .
They are Sansui sp-x7700's . Now these things , supposedly , are nothing to write home about but they had some big woofers . I am really amazed at what I am hearing , in my backyard as well as my enclose porch !

Here are the specs : Built in 1980 - particle board cabinets covered in
vinyl with front ports .
4 way / 5 drivers
160 watts / 8 ohms
16 inch woofer
5 inch midrange
6X2 inch horn tweeter
2 each/ 2 inch horn super tweeters (although they
look like round
diaphragms )
97 db/w (at 1 m.) efficiency .
25-22,000hz. frequency response .

Equipment : Pioneer VSX-405 receiver
JVC XV-S65 DVD/CD player
Kenwood JL-630W speakers

I am listening to the same music CD's on the same equipment for the last 20 years . These Sansui's are the only change made .
The music is more of everything detail , dynamics , extension and above all musicality . They seem to draw me into the music , all kinds , and I don't want to stop ! This set up is honestly rivaling my indoor
system for CD's...Reference 3a , Primaluna Dialogue Premium and Granite CD player .
I purposely waited over a month to write this so as not to believe that
it was not something new causing the increase in desirability .
What can it be ...high efficiency , horns what?
Can you explain it ?

saki70


 

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My WOW moment, posted on March 29, 2017 at 10:47:55
Inmate51
 My "wow" moment was a major turning point in my musical tastes. I had never cared for "chamber music". One evening, at a more-or-less "intimate" (about 60 people in a small-ish room) performance of Shubert's Quintet In C Major, my eyes were opened.

Sometimes, it just happens.

:)

 

RE: My WOW moment, posted on March 29, 2017 at 14:16:52
Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 15703
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005
 I have found my peace in single-ended triodes.

 

RE: Help me define my WOW moment, posted on March 29, 2017 at 16:43:08
Chuck Y
Audiophile

Posts: 4376
Joined: August 31, 2001
 Perhaps it is just because when you are listening outside you have taken the room out of the equasion (a huge change! For better or worse.). When you get bored someday move your other stuff outside and see how it sounds in direct comparison. Just don't overdrive it to match sound levels. :-)

 

RE: Help me define my WOW moment, posted on March 29, 2017 at 19:31:10
saki70
Audiophile

Posts: 274
Joined: February 2, 2006
 Chuck Y ;
Thank you .
I sort of tried the opposite of your suggestion... I have an enclosed back porch . I turned the speakers around , aimed them inside , closed the windows , turned the volume down and had the same terrific experience .

Anyone else ?

 

RE: My WOW moment, posted on March 29, 2017 at 20:23:41
steve.ott@kctcs.edu
Audiophile

Posts: 795
Joined: January 16, 2009
 Who was the ensemble?

 

RE: My WOW moment, posted on March 29, 2017 at 21:06:18
Inmate51
 I probably have it written down somewhere. I'm pretty sure it was Peter Guth on violin and Dmitri Markevitch on cello, but I don't remember who else. It was in the "Queen's Room" in Montreux, a long time ago.

:)

 

RE: Help me define my WOW moment, posted on March 30, 2017 at 08:02:55
Inmate51
 Hey saki, sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread! You simply reminded me of my own "wow" moment, which I'll never forget (and I have a snippet of the recording from that evening).

About your speakers...

My observation is that you accidentally found speakers which are the answer to the type of sound you like. They have everything you want, and work synergistically with your amp/preamp/source. Sometimes, that happens! If you look at Inmates' systems and reviewers' systems, it's obvious that not everyone likes the same stuff or sound, and, from reading their posts, many are still "experimenting/searching". You've found a sound that you like - at a garage sale! Life is good.

I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to any particular design aspect, such as horn midrange or 16" woofer, but rather to the sound that the designers were looking for at that price point and market, and with the visual appeal they wanted. Apparently, they nailed it for you. Sansui did a lot of things quite well. I loved my AU-717 integrated amp, and am still pissed off that my good-for-nothing apartment neighbor Jeff D. and his good-for-nothing friend Steve J. stole it.

:)

 

RE: Help me define my WOW moment, posted on March 30, 2017 at 08:40:41
morricab
Distributor or Rep

Posts: 9180
Location: switzerland
Joined: April 1, 2005
 Have a look on Youtube at Oldplayer.RU. He is a russian collector of old Japanese gear and some of the speakers he has are AWESOME. The west has totally overlooked most of these speakers but there is clearly something there (particularly Technics and Exclusive(Pioneer)

 

I had this same surprise from a set of Sansui SP35 speakers . . ., posted on March 30, 2017 at 15:48:27
alaskahiatt
Audiophile

Posts: 7508
Joined: December 9, 2000
Contributor
  Since: November 1, 2005
 I was using a Harman Kardon HK 730 receiver, and forgotten CD player. The three sets of speakers I compared were the Large Advents, a pair of Hitachi HS-500 speakers, and the Sansui SP35s. The Sansuis were very alive in the midrange with decent clean bass. To me they were fun to listen to, and I regret giving them away.

I had these SP35s in my car one day along with a large, super heavy, four channel receiver. I saw a young, obviously low income, couple in Salvation Army shopping for stereo gear, but they had no luck. I took them out to my car and ended up giving them the four channel receiver and the Sansui SP35s. I bet they are happy, and I have always kept my eye out for another pair of 35s.

 

You're listening outside..., posted on March 30, 2017 at 16:01:19
Mr. Dick Hertz
 ...away from an indoor acoustic environment. Some of the best sounds I ever got from a pair of home made speakers was on a desert camping trip with the speakers connected to my truck CD player. We all too often forget to account for the influence of the listening space on the sound we hear.
Take the speakers indoors and you'll see what I mean.

 

RE: You're listening outside..., posted on March 30, 2017 at 16:42:35
Inmate51
 "Audiophiles" often ignore the room, mainly because they don't understand acoustics and psychoacoustics, and rooms don't provide the "bling" factor which they seek by reading audio magazines.

:)

 

RE: You're listening outside..., posted on March 30, 2017 at 22:06:39
cloudwalker
Audiophile

Posts: 634
Location: central wa
Joined: September 27, 2012
 I had a similar experience. Do you think any speaker CAN sound better outside Dick?

 

RE: Help me define my WOW moment, posted on March 31, 2017 at 01:35:00
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15524
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 The speakers are producing a sound that you like. Enjoy the Music!

 

RE: Help me define my WOW moment, posted on March 31, 2017 at 05:50:29
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since: June 17, 2003
 curious- how much did you grab them for? congrats!









 

RE: I had this same surprise from a set of Sansui SP35 speakers . . ., posted on March 31, 2017 at 05:52:31
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since: June 17, 2003
 good deal, you're a good man sir-









 

RE: Help me define my WOW moment, posted on March 31, 2017 at 08:49:18
jec01
Audiophile

Posts: 1462
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Joined: September 22, 2004
 I've found across the years that WOW moments are more likely due to my state of attention and less likely due to the gear involved. So if I was sitting in the back yard on a nice day with a tasty beverage listening to excellent tunes, I'd be a lot more likely to have a WOW moment than if I was listening to the same gear in my drafty house. YMMV, of course.

In any event, congratulations on finding something that's so satisfying.

Happy listening,

Jim

"The passage of my life is measured out in shirts."
- Brian Eno

 

RE: You're listening outside..., posted on March 31, 2017 at 09:53:29
Mr. Dick Hertz



It's certainly probable. In my experience, the quasi-anechoic environment created outdoors is a huge factor. When speaker manufactures don't have access to a real anechoic chamber they measure their creations outside, free from the influence of a typical listening environment. Here's a pic from Roger Russel's McIntosh page illustrating an outside test.

 

RE: You're listening outside..., posted on March 31, 2017 at 11:54:56
Inmate51
 Nice vintage Atlas mic stand! Those puppies are built to last forever. I have its little brother, the MS25.

Anyway, not so sure about the acoustical qualities of the makeshift windscreen, though!

:)

 

Wow of today is boredom of tomorrow. (nt), posted on April 2, 2017 at 22:08:27
sser2
Audiophile

Posts: 2571
Location: Pittsburgh USA
Joined: July 30, 2003
 nt

 

You should read some of the studies..., posted on April 6, 2017 at 17:27:14
MikeCh
Audiophile

Posts: 1113
Joined: November 16, 2002
 over at Linkwitz Lab. Siegfried Linkwitz has devoted more than two decades researching why most speakers work against typical rooms, rather than with them.

(Perhaps you already have. Others should too).

 

RE: Help me define my WOW moment, posted on April 7, 2017 at 10:02:12
Tubegroover
Audiophile

Posts: 246
Joined: May 18, 2000
 I had a pair of Sansui speakers many moons ago, mid 70's- very early 80's. My main music preferences at the time were R&R, I really loved them, great for the times and especially when we had parties since they played loud and they ROCKED! I wasn't an "audiophile" then or I probably was but more in tune with the "music lover" aspect of playback, we sometimes make this too complicated IMO but then again there is a significant difference between the importance of accuracy between acoustical music and amplified to my ears at least.

I can imagine with better components, better than I now enjoy, that I might very well come to a similar conclusion as you, why not, I enjoyed them then, why not now?

 

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