eBay
A NOTE BEFORE READING THIS AUCTION!

The superb, very highly collectible vintage Sansui BA-5000 power amplifier offered in this worldwide auction is only intended and aimed at true vintage audio collectors and not for the casuals. The amp is not cheap (for all the right reasons!) and is not for everyone but only those who know what it is all about. Those who know the amp & its history & heritage & how valuable this amp is and especially in this sort of amazing condition, know that they are getting a bargain! If you tell yourself what? $4,999 for a vintage power amplifier? Then you are just wasting your time here and looking at the wrong auction for what you want and I suggest that you just move on!

All the rest, please read on and enjoy!

This may very well be your once-in-a-life time chance to own a BA-5000 and for it to look & sound like this! Period!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You vintage Sansui & vintage audio collectors all around the world: Your long, long wait is finally over!! Here is your very rare chance to buy this ''legendary & magnificent'', absolute top-of-the-line & legendary Sansui BA-5000 power amplifier from my famous vintage audio collection!





From the Sansui section of my vintage audio collection comes this stunning beauty and ultra mega rare Sansui BA-5000 audiophile grade monster power amplifier! There were probably only less than 500 of these magnificent power amps in North America and possibly 2,500 world wide and your guess is as good as mine how many are still around after some 40 years. Yes, BA-5000 is that rare!!

Built for just 2 years between 1974-1975, the BA-5000 is the largest amplifier made by Sansui, and certainly one of the largest to come out of Japan in the 1970s. It is sometimes referred to as the "Japanese McIntosh" as it employs output transformers - probably the only amplifier from Japan ever to follow the McIntosh lead. The transformer assured a uniform load to the transistor drivers and could thus handle a speaker impedance as low as 2 ohms!

This truly magnificent looking and sounding power amplifier which is from Sansui’s legendary Definition Series is one of the most sought after vintage power amplifiers on the planet as in the view of many vintage audio fans and collectors it is not only the very best power amplifier made by Sansui but also it is one of the very best power amps made by any other brand in the golden vintage audio era of mid 70's to early 80's!! Please see one of the auction pictures for the highlight of the amp's superb and very, very impressive technical specifications. As the numbers verify, this amplifier is a phenomenal performer. This power amplifier is built to last and it can operate at very high power levels for indefinite periods of time because of the thermostatically controlled fan system. Not only beautifully designed and sounds great, it is also a true workhorse!

After listening to this power amplifier, you quickly realize that why so very few of these go up for sale. The power reserve in this amplifier is obvious, especially on any music passages with a large amount of bass. Because of the transformer coupled output, this amp is great for speakers with those wild impedance swings.

To many who are reading this auction, BA-5000 needs no introduction at all. The aptly nicknamed ``The Monster`` is superbly designed power amplifier leaves many of the other top-of-the-line power amps from the silver era and even newer ones in the dust! That includes Pioneer SPEC-2 & SPEC-4, Pioneer Elite M-91, Akai PS-200M, Kenwood Supreme 700, Onkyo M-508, Sony TA-N77ES & Technics SE-A2 just to name a very few and it is much better designed, better looking & it also sounds much sweeter than all of them!!

This is indeed the top gun so to speak and is simply the best of the best!

Sansui's BA-5000 truly is a masterpiece of the golden era of audio & it is an audiophile's dream come true in every way! Built like a Sherman tank, the massive 110 pound unit is so imposing when you just look at it let alone when it plays the most wonderful analog music! To design and make an amp like this today, you're easily looking at a $12,000 price tag and chances are that it will not sound as good! 

The last BA-5000 that sold right on eBay and was in as nice as condition as mine was sold all the way back in the April of this year and it sold for $5,600. You can no longer bring up the auction on eBay as it is now too old but I actually still have the auction link which I had saved. See the link below:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sansui-BA-5000-Stereo-Power-Amplifier-AMP-Manual-Fully-Serviced-and-Restored-/281093698757?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item41727d74c5

Now there is a BA-5000 up for sale in Germany on the high end vintage audio website Audio Extasa. The asking price is....$10,449.89! I kid you not. Just See for yourself. Here is the link:

http://www.audio-extasa.eu/sansui-ba-5000-power-amp-p-1537.html

So you do the math so to speak!

As it is very easily evident in its many actual pictures, this example is in absolutely stunning ''museum'' condition & it truly defies its nearly 40 years of age!

Surely there are some character marks here and there as it is 40 years old after all but they are all minor and if anything they actually add to the rugged look of this monster amp!

This unit would surely be the center piece & the ''show off'' unit in any vintage audio collector's collection & cause for major pride of ownership!! Again if there are any cosmetic flaws & imperfections, they are just faint & not all that noticeable maybe just to be picky save for a little bump on the top metal case which may not even be visible once you put the amp in its permanent place in a rack or in a system.

The power amplifier which was fully gone through by one of the best vintage audio specialist in Toronto at Mount Pleasant Stereo earlier this year and it works 100% perfectly in ALL departments and sounds as good as it looks! Any caps or other electronic components that needed to be replaced or ever were getting there were replaced.

See the picture below for just some of the electronic components that were replaced.


The amp was adjusted to the factory specs. The ESR of the power supply caps tested like new (ESR < 120 mOhms). Bias was set to factory specification at 180mA, both channels. Also calibrated were the power meters. The volume controls were serviced using MG Chemicals Super Contact Cleaner.

The power amp is dead quite in both channels with no signal coming into it even with both outputs turned all the way up! No hiss or hum at all and just absolute silence. Also at the suggestion of the experienced technician there which made a lot of sense, the cooling fan that is in the back of the amp was made to work as you turn it on like the way it is with many electronics today such as PCs. The amp operates cool at all times regardless of how many watts it is putting out and for how long it has been working!

All the lights work perfectly and all the switches & knobs are super quite & smooth. And as for the sound quality of this super powerful amp (300 watts per channel at 8 ohms stereo or 600 watts per channel in mono!), in one word is simply out of this world! Superb, tight and fast bass, super silky highs and amazing overall clarity and tonality! The sound stage that this big baby creates is just amazing and the very natural analog sound offered by this amp it very, very pleasing & sweet to the ears.

It is currently hooked up to my equally mega rare Pioneer Elite TZ-9 Reference speakers and they never sounded better! The BA-5000 will surely bring out the best in your speakers no matter what they are. Also with its rare & very useful 2, 4, 6 & 8 ohm speaker impedance capability, you have lots of choices when it comes to hooking up a pair of speakers to it.

In addition after all that was done, the amp was also fully taken apart for a total cosmetic restoration and was thoroughly cleaned and polished inside and out piece-by-piece!

So all the work has already been done for you and this amp is ready to rock your world to the music that you like for another 40 years and to look super awesome as well!

This is a true "Collector's Item" if there ever was one! First come, first served! You snooze, you lose as once it's gone, it's gone forever! You may never, ever come across one like it!

As it is always the case with all  my auctions, all the pictures that you see in the auction (except of course for the catalog shot) are of the exact supreme Sansui BA-5000 power amp that you will bid on and will receive if you are the lucky winner of it! I never, ever use stock pictures! The amp’s serial # as stamped on the back of the rear panel by Sansui is: 235120047

NOTE: All the auction pictures are eBay copyrighted! Please don't copy or use them without permission!

Please take the time and read a few of my flying color feed backs on eBay so you can just see what kind of a person you're buying from!!

The amp also comes with all these amazing & super rare extra bonuses in digital format which will be emailed to the lucky winner of the auction:

> The much needed owner's/instructions manual scans for the BA-5000 amp!

> The service manual scans for the for the BA-5000 amp!

> The scans of a mega rare 14-page color Sansui Definition Series brochure which in addition to lots of technology notes on the BA-5000 also includes the other unots in the legendary series! A real gem!!

> Scans of a very rare and extensive color 1974-1975 Sansui catalog which in addition to featuring the BA-5000 amp it also has many other top Sansui audio components from the era. Another real gem!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Auction terms:

Please note that by bidding & winning the deck in this auction you accept all the following terms:

- Professional packing and shipping within Canada by UPS is a flat rate of $299.99. If you want the amp to be fully insured, the exact cost by UPS will be added to the cost.

- Professional packing and shipping within the USA by UPS is a flat rate of $499.99. If you want the amp to be fully insured, the exact cost by UPS will be added to the cost.

- Professional packing and shipping by ground (sea) to Europe is a flat rate of $999.99. If you want the amp to be fully insured, that cost will be added to the cost.

- Just only due to the nature of vintage audio, the item is sold ''AS IS'' in the current fully disclosed condition both cosmetically & also technically.

- No refunds or returns are accepted. See my hundreds of flying color feedback and buy with confidence. I'm just a collector and a vintage audio fan & not a business man. Anything that I may sell is directly from my own collection & it a top notch ``Collectors Item`` for which I myself have also paid premium price for all the right reasons! The starting price of the item in this auction reflects all that. I don't have any audio junk to sell like many do!

Local pickup is free and is possible & more than welcome in Brampton (Mississauga Road & Queen St. area).

Payment is in cash upon local pickup only & should be in US dollars.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email to shazam1250 at gmail dot com and I will answer you promptly.

Good luck!

MPORTANT!
Make sure that you also check out my other auctions for few other top-notch & rare vintage audio units & related items!

Cheers;
Fareed110

--------------------------------------------------------------------------