Posted by bluelite on September 23, 2003 at 07:27:10:
In Reply to: sansui AU-9500 amplifier posted by Gary on September 22, 2003 at 15:53:12:
Hello Gary,
"Formidable", that’s a good description.
The technical specs are available on this website. I'm sure you have found them by now.
Subjective opinions are relative to the system it is used with, the room it is played in, etc.
With that disclaimer out of the way.
My Au-9500 is an excellent fit for my current system. The amp section is strong and dynamic with more than enough power reserves for low impedance speakers. In fact it seems to open up with 4-ohm speakers and difficult loads. The sound is smooth and fast with very little grain.
This integrated amplifier was designed and built when vinyl ruled high fidelity. It shows this pedigree in its preamp section. The phono preamp itself is very very good, although in my system, not quite as good as the truly excellent phono preamp of the AU-9900. You have a voltage switch on phono #2 for different cartridges. A noise reduction (N.R.) circuit that is defeatable by a switch on the front. In my system this is connected to some "dbx" equipment for dynamic expansion and bass extension on albums.
I have read that the AU-9500 is still a favorite in Japan. Prices have risen dramatically for them over the past couple of years on Ebay. With the flexibility and control of the preamp section and the power of the amplifier section these Sansui intergrateds are now being recognized as one of Sansui's best efforts.
: Hi
: I've just bought an AU-9500 from a car boot sale in N. Ireland. After checking the inside of it for hamsters etc I've fired it up and it sounds great.
: Can anyone help me with some information about this formidable looking machine, site links, the phono stages etc..Were they common?
: Thanks