Sansui amps are not in the same league as modern well designed stuff...I didn't like them much even back in the day, and saying they're "tuned for analog" begs the question, "as opposed to what?" before there was anything else. Tuned to limited range FM, cassette tapes, and mediocre turntables? I use an original series Freya with well designed modern amps and it sounds astonishingly good...NOS GE tubes are my preferred bottles and the early Freya like mine allows instant switching between modes for reference. Also, my early 70s KLH compact system sounded better than any Sansui I encountered.
Added a Schiit Freya+ to a Sansui 8080
Hi. I started out with a Yamaha A-S801 and Wharfedale Lintons. Using a Wiim Pro Plus as my source.
Recently I swapped the Yamaha for a refurbed Sansui 8080. Sounded amazing. Tons of warmth!
I got curious and wanted to tinker and added a Schiit Freya+ preamp. Lost all the warmth! In return, it revealed much more details, vocals and instruments are more clearly defined and separated. But I lost the low end and warmth. It's not bad, it's just different, sounds amazing actually.
I've tried to recapture some of the warmth by adjusting the EQ in the Wiim. I cannot seem to get there without it sounding muddy.
I'm trying to learn and understand the difference in the amps and what specs might be contributing to my observations.
The Sansui has a 0.2% TDH while the Schiit Freya+ runs much more clean at <0.01%
Is it safe to say that less TDH main contributing factor to what I am observing when I say I've lost warmth?
I've only had a couple of days, so my ears might still be adjusting, but I do miss that vibe and feeling the music created when using only the Sansui.
I do think I lean towards wanting a warmer sound. This might have just been an experiment in me needing to try something different to learn that.
Other notes:
The tubes are new production Tung-Sol 6SN7
The Freya+ has 3 modes. Passive, JFET buffer and Tube gain. Tube gain is the only stage that is listenable for my ears