Vintage and New Stuff

Hi, I'm a rookie from the UK and a lot of what you guys are talking about on here goes right over my head. However, perhaps you can help me with something a bit more basic.
Last year I had the romantic notion of putting together a budget vintage hifi system, a simple turntable, amp and speakers setup to play some old albums on. You guys probably all started the same way, but I'm hoping it won't get out of hand in my case! Anyway, I got a Sansui SR-212, a Sansui AU-101 and a pair of Wharfedale Super Diamond speakers, I did say budget.
I was happy for a while, until a mate talked me into updating my speakers with something a little more punchy. I settled on a set of Kef IQ5se's, largely on the positive reviews but, I'm not going to lie, partly because they were aesthetically pleasing on my wife's eye!
They had the desired affect with regard to punchieness, but only to a certain point on the volumes knob. When I turn them up much more than halfway, the sound becomes distorted and apparently that ain't good for the speakers.
Am I right in assuming that the Sansui's 15 W per channel aren't powerful enough to drive the Kef's 120 W of output?
Cheers in advance, although that may be a little presumptuous.

 

No. Iwould say that the tweeter was
Not your cup of tea.
I experienced a similiar experience
With Kef.
You could try them in a different system ( your friends?) And see how they fare.
It may be that you prefer the tonal footprint of say 80's speakers to todays.
You would not be alone in that situation
The diamonds are quite a refined speaker
At their price level. Treble extension is smooth. Bass is fine
Moving them about away from boundaries will sharpen the bottom
End.
New caps inside and nicer wire depending on whats onside would work wonders.
I used Leak 2060,s for 20 years . Still have them. B&W DM110,S made a good impression. So i bought a pair.
Nicer treble than the Kef,s which were my first choice.
My amp outputs 12 watts. And the B&W,s
Go loud and deep.

 

I'd suggest the AU101 is toiling to drive the 88db iq5se's you gave. Trade up to a Sansui AU217 or 317 and you'll see a difference. Good thing is the two amps I've just mentioned should be more than adequate (a 217 drove my 89db Mission 752s without a hitch and are still in use today). Cheap as well but two of the best budget amps from the last 40 years.

 

The volume knob certainly exposes the limitations of a 15wpc amp.

This really is the slippery slope of upgrades. When you trade in a well matched system and get out in front with one component, the good stuff wants you the keep going and the old stuff holds you back.

There’s not a lot of new speakers that do well with 15wpc because there’s not a lot of new 15wpc amps on the market. It’s tough to be on both sides of the fence with vintage gear.

 

Sounds like you are exceeding capacity of your amplifier. 15 watts is easy to use up if those speakers are 88 dB efficient. Amplifier with 3x or greater output or find higher efficiency speakers 5 or more dB and you will enjoy the sound of your music at the levels now that sound distorted.

 

Hi, thanks for your reply, there is an AU317 on the Bay at the moment, it's been recapped and serviced and looks to be in great nick, should I be nervous about it being recapped? I'd rather go vintage, but my mate says that amps have come a long way since the 70s/80s and I should go new.

 

Hi Guys,
Thank you for your input, you've pretty much confirmed my own diagnosis across the board and an amp with a little more oomph is on the cards.
I get what you're saying about being on both sides of the fence, Dennis0627, but, musically, I'm very happy with what comes out the other end, it just lacks that bit of a volume.
Anyway, I'll let you know how I get on when my new/old amp is hooked up.
Thanks again,
Budgie

 

Recapped is much better. The caps degrade over the years. You should be able to find a much newer used brand name AVR or integrated amp for pennies on the dollar vs. new. Look for something that weighs about 30 lbs.

 

I agree. Many newer amps built today are better sounding than vintage SS amps. I have reasonably good sound from my Marantz NR 1603 HT set up. About $100 used now. It was highly rated a few years ago. Of course, I use tube amps for serious music listening.

 

One amp.i can wholeheartedy
Reccomend is the Denon pma350
Mk1. Mk2is ok also.
Clean lean buy can deliver bass when required
Phono stage is.exvellent also..
Tone controls sre defeatable
And i,m a tube man!

 

The Sansui sounds terrific. That's for my tastes, but then again, I like a clean, detailed sound that's very open but not sharp.

There's a lot of things a modern amp will do that an old one won't, then again, you wanted am older amp. I'll have a look at the current range on the bay and see what's there.

EDIT: Okay, the 317II comes without pre-outs, which the Mk I version did. Not sure if that's an issue but it's a shame they've gone. Not sure its worth £175 BIN, but you could put in a bid and chance the auction.

Sansui gear has rocketed in recent years, too much so I'd say. The AU517 isn't worth £500 IMO while the higher priced ones are there as much for scarcity value as anything. Great brand though.

Ten years ago, I bought my mint and refurbished AU-217 for £33. Delivered. Big difference from a decade on!

 

To the OP: sounds like a bad match between speakers and amp.

 

Vintage vs new,different strokes for different folks. Follow what puts a smile on your ears.

 

Get the best quality you can afford - comfortably.

With that said... I prefer vintage.

"Follow what puts a smile on your ears/face."

 

Your amp doesn’t have enough power to drive the speakers.

That’s ok.

Do you have your wallet next to you?

Good now take out those credit cards and wave goodbye to vacations.

 

But seriously you can find vintage amps that are reasonably inexpensive to drive those. I’d suggest something like a Denon POA 1500

Few hundred quid very powerful sounds good.

Bonus points on looking awesome.

 

Amps have not come a long way since the 80s

If anything budget and modest priced amps have gotten worse.

 

Should be able to find a nice Adcom or NAD amp for not much money at all $150 - $300. More than sufficient power and pretty much bombproof if not abused.

 

Find a dealer or Richer Sounds,take your speakers and say you want to audition some amps.

 

If you like Sansui and want more power, I'd highly recommend checking out the AU-999 (http://www.thevintageknob.org/sansui-AU-999.html). Some people want crazy money for them, but if you're patient, you can get one for around $500.