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Sansui AU-9500

US$1,999.00 Regular Price
US$1,799.10Sale Price
VAT Included
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Prologue: This excellent-sounding Sansui AU-9500 (Japan Domestic Market model at 100V) has gone through Master-grade 'Takumi' Restoration performed in Japan. Sound signature preserved to original 1970s factory specifications by veteran Sansui technicians. It doesn't get any better.

 

This entire restoration work takes two to three months, allowing the amplifier to settle naturally, as it should. What remains is not merely an amplifier, but a piece of Japanese monozukuri—quiet, enduring, and made to be lived with.

 

It will reward its owner with many unhurried hours of listening, where music is allowed to breathe.

 

 

Background:

The Sansui AU-9500: A Masterclass in Japanese Hi-Fi Engineering

In the landscape of early 1970s Japanese audio engineering, the Sansui AU-9500 holds a firm reputation as a landmark amplifier—both literally and figuratively. Launched around 1972, it was built during Sansui’s most respected engineering phase.

 

The "Kikuchi" Legacy : This was the last "no-compromise" flagship released before Sansui’s founder, Kosaku Kikuchi, retired in 1974. He designed this unit to be his "Final Jewel"—a statement piece that satisfied his highest expectations for solid-state musicality.

 

Acoustic Voicing : It is well-documented that Sansui engineers used the AU-9500 to voice some of the most famous monitors of the era. If a customer owns vintage JBL, Altec, or Tannoy speakers, the AU-9500 is their "reference" for how those speakers were intended to sound.

 

One of the most frequently praised aspects of the AU-9500 is its sheer physicality. At over 23 kg, it’s often likened to a tank. The power transformer alone weighs more than some entire modern amplifiers. Audiophiles note that even internal components—like the die-cast metal knobs, thick chassis plating, and extruded aluminum heatsinks—were engineered with a quality-first mindset. 

 

The AU-9500 includes features well ahead of its time:

    •    Separate pre-out/main-in for pairing with external power amps.

    •    Switchable phono inputs, capable of handling both MM and lower output carts.

    •    Precise tone control section, with the option to defeat it entirely.

    •    DC-coupled design for broader frequency response and tighter bass.

 

Its distortion levels (THD: ≤ 0.1% ) and frequency response figures (5 Hz – 40,000 Hz full rated power bandwidth) matched or exceeded international standards of the day, earning praise in reviews from both Japanese magazines like Swing Journal and Western outlets.

 

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