1975/1976 SANSUI 9090 AND 9090DB MONSTER RECEIVERS

Sansui's First Monsters

In 1974, Pioneer (Sansui's biggest rival) introduced the SX-1010, a ground breaking receiver with 100wpc rms that completely outclassed all other receivers of the time. So Sansui decided to build something to compete with the mighty SX-1010, the result was the Sansui 9090 built in 1975 and was produced all the way until 1982. One year later in 1976 Sansui outdid themselves with building the 9090DB, adding Dolby capability and 15wpc extra. The 9090DB had an entirely different amplifier section and many "fixes" (bad display light switch and driver board fuses) the 9090 needed. However, Sansui had several flaws in the 9090DB as well, such as bad fuse transistors and the Dolby board solder connections going bad. The fixes are not a big deal, but this led to many of these great units to be destroyed needlessly. In 1981 Sansui decided to stop making the 9090DB as Dolby was integrated into almost every tape deck available and Dolby was not a good selling point afterwards. The 9090 sat on shelves for one more year after that, but couldn't hold up to the newer line of receivers Sansui had, the "Big G"s introduced in 1976.

 

Double click the thumbnails for the "big picture":

9090 Front	9090 Inside Top	9090 Inside Bottom	9090 Ad Pg. 1	9090 Ad Pg. 2

9090DB Front	9090DB Inside Top	9090DB Inside Bottom	9090DB Ad Pg. 1	9090DB Ad. Pg. 1

Written by Alex Rushing