best bang/ buck - old sansui vs panasonic XR

well I get to answer my own question because I just got an old Sansui 7000 receiver raed at 70W/ch at 8ohms. I have not had a chance to do a straight AB test. My panasonic XR system is hooked up to Mirage OM 10 speakers and the DVD player is connected with an HDMI cable to the receiver and HD TV and the TV is connected with a toss link to the panny receiver. The panny playing CD's uses the DVD player as a transport with the HDMI cable and the panny is the direct DAC to the speakers. The sound is crystal clear - no noise very flat neutral sounding maybe a little bright.

The sansui I have connected to some Mission 700 bookshelve speakers and the sound is warmer - kind of like a tube amplifier. I was mainly listening to the tuner - a good receptiong npr station. the gist is more warm/tube slight enhanced bass sound for the sansui and crystal clear / neutral/bright for the panny. I guess they are apples and oranges.

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I've heard the Sansui 8080 playing Cervin Vega speakers, with a reel to reel as the source. It sounded outstanding.

....but that was 30 years ago.
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going strictly for sound quality - 2 channel bang for the buck. could care less about surround sound. by anychance has anyone had the chance to hear both?

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If you are going 2-channel only, go with the Sansui. Lots of power, great tuners and they sound great. If you are considering one for home theater use, forget about the Sanusi receivers....they have no digital connections, which make them dinosaurs in today's audio world. I owned a Sansui 771 for ten years and it was the longest that I have owned any piece of stereo gear. I still own a Sansui TU-X1 tuner.
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The panasonics are no slouch when it comes to sound and features. The older receivers will not have optical or coax or hdmi connections if you want to use those.

Funny you should mention the Sansui 8080. My daughter has the one I bought new in 1973 in her college apartment. We just had it repaired for $80 and it still kicks booty. All her friends love it. It is a tank and will actually sound really nice. She has it hooked up to Cerwin Vegas (RE38 I believe) with the 15" woofers. If you end up buying one, I recommend picking it up in lieu of shipping if that is possible.
Good luck in your quest.
-John

"59vovo":

If you could find a Sansui 8080 or 9090 in excellent shape and at a good price, I would probably favor a vintage Sansui, Marantz or Pioneer over a new Panasonic XR Receiver, as those receivers from yesteryear are better built and probably sound better than a brand new Panasonic XR does today.

A higher-end Technics model from that era would probably be a good bet as well.

But again..... the trick would be to try to find one that is still in good shape and that you can get at a good price. Any old receiver that you have to put any money in to get it back into decent shape???? If the repair/refurb bill is more than two-thirds of the price of a comparable new receiver (unless it is an older high-end model), it would make better sense to just get a newer receiver.

Good Luck with hunting down your vintage receiver.

--Charles--

thanks,but I want high power >= to 100/ch. My experience with NAD has not been positive. I have had problems with poor quality / reliablility on a couple of NAD products over the years (receiver & tape deck) bought new and that stopped working w/in 3 years. I dont expect to get any NAD products anytime soon.

Whatever I get will be used with a pair of Mirage OM10's

If you really want good sound, look for a Tandberg receiver. The 2075 and 2080 were among the best-sounding receivers ever made.

Or, if you want a smokin' deal, check out the NAD 7240PE receiver here on Audiogon for $99. This receiver really sounds good.

Any of the above will sound better than the options you are currently considering...

Good luck!

-RW-