SANSUI 8500 - any opinions?

[antonkk]

Just got me to listen this gorgeous 1973 amp. If it plays as good as it looks - well I have to wait a few hours. Meanwhile - any memories. Strange thing is that I found nothing about it on Sansui fan sites! The guy who sells it (for $800) says it was really rare.

[BeatleFred]

Hello there, I am a Sansui enthusiast and Congratulations on your AU-8500. There are alot of Sansui amps out there and sometimes a few models might get overlooked but there is some mentions of them, such as :

http://www.sansui.us/PG_AU9500_Series.htm


The AU-9500 was the top model in the Line, the 8500 was the next model down. If you cant find much on the AU-8500, you can try searching for comments on the next closest model- the 9500, for example:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=9259&highlight=Sansui+AU9500+amp

[stereo71]

Hi Antonkk:

Fred is pretty much the Sansui collector to beat--somewhere on that audiokarma site are a few snapshots of his setup... a full basement of it! Does the AU-8500 look similar to the 9500 he referred to? Sansui produced some models for European or domestic markets that are not common in the US; I can't say about Russia. But I have been researching their pre-1980 gear for several years now, and have not encountered the AU-8500. So it indeed might be rare, but I'd say $800 US is a high price, unless it is nearly mint. Most of their gear of that era is well made, though--and a lot of it is still working today, 30 years on!

Let us know how it sounds if or when you get to hear it!

--Roger

[antonkk]

Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until tommorow when I'll get a 100 Volt power bloc. Sansui was made for japanese 100 V while we in Russia have 220 V. It looks like my AU 8500 is in a good condition but anyway the prices for classic vintage stuff in Russia are much higher then in US since you have to bring 'em over here and of course the guy who does it wants his $. What we have much cheaper is old Soviet tube amps and of course the classic russian tubes. In a country where everybody makes his own handmade tube amps and cables and claims to be the only true and pure sonic guru it's pretty important! :D

[Tullman]

I've got a AU 20000 paired up with a TU 9900 in my basement. Nice!

[BeatleFred]

Ah yes, the AU-20000, quite nice, its basically a combination BA-3000 amp/CA-3000 preamp. The TU-9900 is a top notch tuner, they still attract alot of bidders when they appear on Ebay.

B/F