Sunday, April 1, 2012

Sansui B-2101

Missed the amp after it last seen day light ... about 2 years ago!
Front view with meters on

Front view with meters off

The B-2101 is a 200W RMS per channel power amp with the X-Balanced technology. Basically a scaled-up version of the power amp section from the Sansui AU-G90X e.g 8 transistors per channel vs 8 transistors for both channels on the G90X.

My other Sansui power amp, the B-2102 is prety much the same as the B-2101, except the reservoir caps are smaller at 8,200uF instead of 10,000uF. Other non-audioable difference was the DISPLAY OFF on the B-2102 does not really switch off the display but disables the audio feed to the electronics. The B-2101 and B-2102 sound pretty close to the other.

I normally partner the B-2101 and/or B-2102 with the Sansui C-2102. There are slight differences between the C-2101 and C2102. The C-2101 has more capacitors on the Parametric EQ motherboard (LHS if looking from front).

I had recapped it a few years back as the unit was taking over an hour to sound proper. In addition, the caps the in the PSU board had leaked, other caps on the power amp boards looked like they could do with a replacement after many years of service. Used the following EC(s) - Nichicon and Rubycon on the PSU board; Panasonic FC and FM on the driver and power amp boards. Some ceramics and polys were replaced with Wima(s) on the power amp boards. All replaced caps are of original values.

From top

Top view without cover

Close-up of one of the power amp sections

Close-up of one of the driver boards

In the past I had performed a test between the B-2101 vs the Meridian 557 in a all Meridian setup. The 557 excelled at vocals though the B-2101 has a wider dynamic range.

Uploaded the following brochure of the B-2101 as the information is scarce on the internet.

 




Can't wait to setup horizontal bi-amping with the B-2101 and B-2102 after the superb results with bi-amping the Quad 303(s)!!!

Now where did I put the B-2102 - was not in the storeroom where I was expecting it to be???

8 comments:

  1. me puedes recomendar un pre amplificador para Sansui B-2101

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    Replies
    1. Any pre-amp of your choice should be ok. I have used it with a Meridian 201, Audiolab 8000A, Accuphase E203, Quad 33, B&O 5000 etc.

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  2. I am looking for a Sansui Stereo Power Amplifier B-2102 X Balanced Amp System. I can not find one for sale. Does anyone now where I can find one and how much they are going for?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. U shld consider the B2101 as well since (almost) practically identical. When I recapped them, the diff was only the main cap reservoir value eg 8000uF on B2102 instead of 10000uF on B2101

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  3. Hello,
    I have the same amp as you have, the B2101. I was wondering if it is possible to use banana plugs on the speaker outputs, the hole at the end seems to be too small but I don't know the size of the hole where you push in the wire...

    Kind regards
    Sven

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  4. U must have read my mind recently - was onsidering the same thing n started looking around the web for ideas.

    Came across https://speaker-terminal.com/en/produkt-kategorie/sansui/

    U may want to contact the website regarding a solution. I have not yet as my amp is not in-use at the moment but was considering the option

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  5. Unit sold as surplus to requirements

    ReplyDelete