Friday, December 23, 2011

Sansui AU-888 integrated amp photos.


This is a spectacular sounding amp, rated at a crazy conservative 45 watts/channel, with extraordinary Sansui construction quality (the solid aluminum knobs are attached with double set screws!), and attention to detail (like engraved typography).

7 comments:

Carl Craig said...

arg...that's my amp!!.. or rather I had one and it was stolen. WAAA. loved that amp

Anonymous said...

I love my 888, this thing drives pretty much anything I can throw at it with no complaints and still sound amazing!

Unknown said...

I've got one too. Love it! I've bought a lot of different amps since this one, but haven't found a real contender. Until now, maybe.... I just bought a Yamaha CA-1000. Have yet to do a proper comparison, but this Yammie's sounding pretty damn good.

alexbaiona said...

I was 5 years old when my father bought one AU888. That sound was a surprise for me since I was a boy. With this sansui I learned to love music. Now I´m 45 years old and I still enjoy this amplificate like the first day. I love it.

Anonymous said...

Contemplating buying one,i know their getting more expensive but harder to find so i may just bite the bullet.

David said...

Hi

How does the au888 compare with the au999 for classical and easy listening where clarity is important for myself? Cheers David

Alan Chong said...

A Response to David.

I marginally prefer the AU999 to the AU888 for Classical and Easy Listening. For the best result in comparison, adapt the power cable to the IEC socket type and use anything other than a stock power chord to link to the mains or a power distributor.

You will find the AU999's wealth of detail worth every second of listening because the treble and bass are completely adjustable by Hertz such that even weakly remastered recordings on CD sound like newly pressed Vinyl! I am not into vinyl yet but I reckon Vinyl will sound supremely good equally on both amps. On instrumentals, I feel the 999 coaxes an extra ounce of emotion more than the 888.

BUT on vocals, my experience is that the 888 offers a more rounded smoother presentation. Dig older recordings by Matt Monro, Julie London, Rosemary Squires, Rosemary Clooney, Nat Cole etc and you'll be stunned at how much presence they will demonstrate in your listening space. For newer vocalists like Diana Krall, the smoky edges of their voices are accurately represented with a warmer edge by the 888.

You can't go wrong with either but the 999 is ahead by a small margin!

ALAN