Sansui Model 2000
A 1968 receiver priced at $299.95 — and the direct ancestor of the celebrated 2000A.
Overview
The Sansui Model 2000 is the receiver that put the company's solid-state engineering on the map for American audiophiles, and it did so at a suggested retail price of $299.95. That figure matters because it's the same price Sansui charged for the follow-up 2000A, a fact that Audio (January 1971, p.44) noted with some admiration when reviewing the newer model — the older 2000 was already considered excellent value in 1968, and the 2000A delivered more for the same money. The 2000 itself was reviewed in Audio in October 1968 (p.70), and that review is the reference point the magazine kept returning to when it assessed the 2000A three years later.
The original 2000's published FM sensitivity was 2.2 µV, a figure that Audio (January 1971, p.44) later cited when contrasting the older design with the 2000A's improved 1.8 µV. The magazine also noted that the older model's signal-to-noise ratio topped out at 67 dB, against the 2000A's 75 dB. These are the kinds of incremental improvements that separate a good first-generation solid-state receiver from a refined second-generation one, and the 2000 sits firmly on the earlier side of that divide.
What the 2000 got right, according to contemporary accounts, was styling and layout. HiFi-Stereo (September 1968, p.32) called the receiver's appearance "exceptionally handsome and tasteful," adding that it was distinctive enough not to be mistaken for any other make — a meaningful compliment in an era when receivers were beginning to look interchangeable. The front panel carried a row of pushbuttons to the right of the tuning dial, and the review noted a speaker selector switch offering positions for either of two pairs of speakers plus an "off" setting for headphone-only listening. The same review described the tuning action as only moderately effective and a bit noisy when spun hard.
The 2000's rear panel and feature set were simpler than the 2000A's. Audio (January 1971, p.44) noted that the newer model replaced the older unit's single phono pair and seldom-used "tape head" pair with two full phono inputs, and swapped the conventional barrier terminal strips for push-down "piano key" speaker terminals. The 2000 also had a user-adjustable stereo FM separation control on the rear panel — a feature the magazine had criticized in its original review as something that shouldn't be user-controlled at all, and which Sansui removed on the 2000A. These details are useful for anyone trying to date or identify a 2000 versus a 2000A: the older unit's rear apron is the giveaway.
Collectors should note that the Model 2000 is frequently conflated with the 2000A, and the two are genuinely different designs — Audio (January 1971, p.44) described the 2000A as "a totally new and updated design, from front panel to rear," not merely a dressed-up 2000. Buyers should verify the model number on the rear panel before assuming 2000A specifications apply.
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