Sansui 9090 - Vintage stereo review of a classic receiver from the late 1970's
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- One of the best Sansui receivers ever made. The 9090 was the TOTL in the x0x0 series with 110w of power, but in reality, the output was much higher. A powerful receiver loaded with features. This follows the 881 receiver line, but is before the G-9000 series. This ties the Yamaha CR-1020 on score. Other models in this line are the Sansui 8080, 7070, 6060 and 5050.
Referenced Videos:
Novalux Stereophonic
Sansui 8080 9090 LED Conversion
• Sansui 8080 9090 X0X0 ...
Xraytonyb
Sansui 9090 Part 2
• Sansui 9090 Part 2 - L...
Video: • Sansui 9090 - Vintage ...
Email: stereoniche@gmail.com
I have had a 9090 since 2022. I just traded it in on Saturday for a MINT in box 9090 that had just come in at my local Hifi service store. A retired man had come in with it in the box and hadn't used it because he was using other receivers. My guys recapped it, put LEDs in and gave it a thorough shakedown. When they showed it to me, I thought I was looking at a brand new receiver from April 1977. (Manufacture date). I gasped because it was so perfect, no scratches, blemishes etc. It sounds heavenly, even better than the one I had just traded in. This is a once in a lifetime find. Needless to say, it will be well taken care of for the rest of my life......
Congrats on the score. Certainly one of the most rare 9090’s around.
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.
Thanks Michael. They are stellar, powerful, but with that Sansui smoothness.
So sorry about the loss of your beautiful dog. He was just beautiful.
Nice review on the 9090.
I have a mint Pioneer 1010 and just love it.
Thank you for watching and the kind words. You should also check out the review of my Pioneer SX-1010 if you have not already.
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!
Heirloom is right. They are of such quality, they should be handed down to the next generations.
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.
You can't go wrong with any 70's era Sansui really. They sound fantastic.
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.
Might need to keep look for another 1020, the are out there.
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.
They are exceedingly nice, for sure, and in my opinion, one of the best all around receivers ever made. Not sure when I will be able to do any tours of the collection, still working on that part. Once I get the online site created, I will figure that part out.
Very accurate presentation. This 9090 brought back memories of the Army days starting in 1979 for me. My friends and I were always going to the PX and checking out all the Audio equipment we could. We were always competing to see who would have the better system. Back in the day we are talking about Reel to Reel, Cassette players, Equalizers and of course many of different brands of receivers. Looking forward to the next video.
Those were "the good old days". :-)
Another great video Scott, very informative!
I am So sorry for your loss, I feel your pain... I lost Gracie about a year and a half ago, had her for 15 years! She was the best...
I have had many Sansuis, and still have some as my main system, but the Sansui X0X0 line has illuded me thus far and now they are even harder to come by! The G series are another series that I have not yet owned, but I am happy with what I have now. My pride and joy, which is out for complete restoration, is the BAD-ASS BA-5000 and I can't wait to get it back!
Glad you enjoyed it. Those pets, they become part of the family, indeed. I bet there will be a lot of great tunes played when the 5000 gets back.
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.
For the meter bulbs, there are colored filters. In the first video link, he actually shows them (and removed them). They appear to be blue, but maybe other models had different colors.
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!
It was an incredible period for stereo.
I received a very nice Sansui 890 yesterday, it's the European version of the 8080. It's a lovely receiver with great sound. It was good to hear that there is a solution for the tuner lights going off when the radio is not used, will check that video out.
I bought my first system in 1977, Kenwood Eleven III, Jbl L65's and a technics, Mark III turntable, still have that gear and use it. BTW, the Kenwood has never been serviced and it still sounds good.
Thank you for the effort you put into producing your videos, I throughly enjoy them.
Louis
Thanks Luis. You started out with great gear and still adding to it. Nice!
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...
Hmm, interesting. I am not aware the 7070 or other models were unique in this way, but maybe some other owners will chime in to confirm.
Great video and sorry for your loss
Thank you.
Nice review. I have a 9090 also and you're spot on with the review.
Sorry for your pup. I have a corgi so also similar.
Had a Pembroke many years ago. Also great dogs.
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.
Well, good to hear the Dolby boards are not so problematic.
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.
There was a dealer called The Audio Doctor from the midwest, back around 1980, who had a huge mail order clentele from the back of Audio magazine, and he sent out a monthly newsletter. He always referred to Sansui as San-sewer, as he thought their sound was unclean & had lots of grain from that nasty TIM distortion which increased from adding too much negative feedback, which they did to bring the total harmonic distortion numbers down in the watts and low distortion spec wars. People didn't even pay much attention to TIM specs, and it often was not even listed. Sansui never gained favor in audio salons which carried more serious equipment. Except for my cassette deck, Sansui would be a purely nostalgia purchase i
only.
Actually before saying that, I should try to hear some vintage Sansui... I do remember enjoying my G Series receiver, but I realize that my sonic evaluation at that age was not very advanced. Just as there are overrated audio stuff, there also is stuff that is criticized that doesn't derve that degree of criticism.
He (Mishka) was a real champ. Exceedingly smart, just got what you wanted to relay without much training and had a gentle, fun personality to go with it.
Sansuis don't have a big following because they suck. They are well like, they are quite smooth, IMO, with a little color, but not overly. They add character to the music, but of course, that can vary greatly with the speakers attached. I have Billy Joel "Piano Man" spinning right now, sounds fantastic. I've only had one Sui cassette deck many years ago and it was in rough shape, a parts unit.
I don't think Sansui sucked. Calling them San-sewer was the other guy I mentioned. The G receiver I had, did have a very direct sound, that was enjoyable back then. A right on top of things kind of clarity. I don't know what I would think of it now. Some pieces of equipment are just sheer entertainers. Wouldn't mind hearing that sound again, now that my sonic evaluation is much more advanced than when just a teenager. Many years ago when I bought a vintage L series Luxman amp, it sparked a memory of my old Sansui's sound. The real coincidence is that a time later, I realized they were both made in the same year. Coincidence? Some Dynavector moving coil cartridges have been described as entertainers. There is a place for stuff like that. It all comes down to what you like.
@@sidesup8286 I was referring to Audio Dr's comment or nickname for them. Perhaps he couldn't get an agreement to sell them and felt jilted? 🙂
I loved your video and your dog! Recently I got the 9090 and it needs some TLC. By the way, could you recommend some good speakers for the 9090? Also, if you could point me to a good video tutorial or article on how to clean the pots on the 9090, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
Below is a good write-up on cleaning pots, but for the 9090, you will want to watch the video link I provided to see how to remove the tuner section so you can get to the controls. As for speakers, the world is your oyster...almost. The beauty of the 9090 is that they will make almost all speakers sound GREAT! Just avoid notoriously hard to drive speakers like Infinity or Magnepan, etc. and you will be fine. Look for the best set you can find locally so you can test them out before buying.
audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/the-idiots-guide-to-using-deoxit-revisited.207005/
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.
Unfortunately, I have yet to own any Tandberg models. I would reveneer them too, if needed.
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 😅
Or maybe the speakers it was connected to?
@stereoniche
You couldn't be more right! The speakers the Sansui was connected to were good for store bought, but the speakers the Toshiba was powering were custom built by my grandfather who owned a shop. Made of solid walnut with dual Pioneer 12 woofers, a birthday gift to his son, I've never heard better, so good in fact someone broke in and they were the only thing they took unfortunately...
Nah, your pioneer SX-1010 is much better
LOL, well, that is also another great one.