I'm back.

  I was out of Canada all of October, and was glad to see fall leaves still on the ground when I got home. Now it's getting cold fast, and this awesome Sansui is just what I need to drive whatever cool speakers show up this winter.
  The AU-8500 is rated at 60 watts/ channel, and is the little brother of the AU-9500, which some consider the finest solid state integrated amp Sansui ever made.
  Yesterday I compared it to a Nikko Alpha 230/Beta 30 amp/preamp combo, rated at more than twice the power, and the Sansui was better in every way (the best aspect of the Nikko gear is the Beta 30 phono section), and sounded much more powerful.