Sansui C-2301

Parallel to the market-dependent sinking into low-fi and a few years before the gradual but finally complete withdrawal from all markets except Japan.

Fully balanced layout, select parts, 140µ PCBs, dual transformers, ditto for the phono stage (two real phono MC transformers), non-magnetic parts, special Hitacon caps (from Hitachi), pure-copper chassis plates, gold-plated terminals and switches, regulated power supplies, and - very elegant looks encased in wood and hidden behind a glossy front which is made of real glass.

Mostly, the C-2301 is balanced from input to output, with a floating ground and all blocks isolated from each other.

A nowadays curious label was chosen for the tape terminals : "tape/pcm". CD hadn't yet engulfed everything and PCM on tape, being older on the market (PCM-1), still seemed like a viable alternative.

The volume pot is a gold-plated metal-film resistor wiped by 200 multiple-alloy brushes.
Hardware-wise, I have the strange feeling we have been regressing since the late 1980s as none of the fairly affordable high-end I can see today sports anything like this - it seems all we can get is either cheap tricks with a thin front or mega-buck esoterica. And nothing in between.

Glorious Sansui-black that is still sought after, if a little less than the companion power amp (B-2301) and its two other versions : B-2301L and the ultimate B-2302 Vintage.

All three from the "Basic Audio LegacyVINTAGE" series, a somewhat misleading tag as neither are either basic or were, then, vintage... They are now, vintage, and they are also part of the GREAT legacy of music-making japanese high-end audio.


Until the original japanese catalog is scanned, you can see a real life C-2301 at the indispensable amp8.com :
for the ps section and for everything else.