AU-Alpha907i Mos ltd./AU-X1111 Mos V. visual comparison

1420-1503

Well-Known Member
Tran Vinh Tho's AU-Alpha907i Mos ltd. and my AU-X1111 Mos V. photo session/ Visual comparison.


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Very very similar thick glossy wood side panels,
but on au-x1111 look the way it's rounded on the front aswell as on the back. Well finished till the smallest detail!!
 
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AU-Alpha907i limited "Reference Amplifier" Highgloss frontpanel

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AU-X1111 "Master Integrated Amplifier" backlit writing behind glass frontpanel
 
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AU-X1111 Mos V. Cover is about 1 cm on the sides, but few mm's in the middle, not sure how much though.
 
AU-Alpha907i Limited Feet, very pretty!!!

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AU-X1111 Feet; no grooves on them.
 
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Extra :)

I'm terribly sorry about the quality of this shoot, but it's the only photo I have that give a realistic vieuw of AU-X1111's unique backlit glass frontpanel. I took 5 other photo's and this is the best. Nightphoto's without flash (otherwise you don't see the backlit) are very very difficult. Too bad I moved!!!! :gigglemad :D

PS, this is the last picture! Enjoy
 
Hi 1420,

Your pics are much better this time. I love your X1111 Mos V. so much. But a bit surprised at the weight of the 'foot' as I thought it wiuld be heavier. I'll let you know that of 907i Mos ltd tomorrow.
Regards,
Vinh Tho
 
Hello Vinh Tho

I'm glad you like my pictures better this time, but I have difficulties to get my pictures done aswell as yours.

Looking forward for the measurement of your alpha907i Mos Ltd's full brass feet's weight. :)

Regards,
Dennis.
 
Hello 1420

Here comes the weight of the Reference 907i Mos Ltd. foot. I hope you can read it on the scales : 300grs.
Actually, I had a story about this. Some years ago when I got to the dealer's to receive my 907L Extra (which I had to wait for months after asking the dealer to look for it), one of his assistant told me that four feet of that amp. were 1.2kgs and that was unbelievable. I asked him how he could say that and whether he actually weighed them. The assistant said that in the morning some assistants from other shops nearby came to see that amp.('cause it was really rare here) and they made a bet on the weight of 4 feet. My dealer's assistant won because others made it 1kgs max. It turned out 1.2kgs.
The feet of 907 L Extra are the same as those of 907i mos ltd. But because I never actually weighed it, I could not tell you yesterday. The colour of the foot in your pic. (if it is accurate) and its weight make me think that it is kind of a different alloy with brass on the side surface. Anyway, in my opinion, X1111 mos v. is a very good amp. that I'm hunting for.

Regards,
Vinh Tho

PS. The AU-111 Tube and X1111 mos V. I missed were used ones. There are no brandnew ones of such models here. However, later models of 6xx series sometimes 7xx (DR or MR) brand-new ones can be available, but I'm not interested in them.
 
Hello there Vinh Tho,

Does your au-alpha907L Extra look like the one on the picture below?
(www.sansui.us picture)
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There's a picture of the same amp on Isao's site where you can actually see the serial number. The 3rd number is a 9 so this means it's a 1989 unit.
My AU-X1111 Mos V was made in 1992. It's interesting to see they didn't give these units the same feet.

I'm curious to learn more about the philosophy behind the use of these feet on some of the Sansui amps. I suspect they might provide a better envirenment to help prevent magnetic distortion caused by steel although this is just a raw raw guess, and it would still not explain the 2 variants of feet. (the lighter yellow feet on my amp and the heavier full copper variant on yours)

I remember seeing on Mr. Ichiro Ohshima's website (Sansui's last product manager, who was in charge for the hi-end lines of units, from AU-X111 Mos V till AU-111 G) a photo of the AU-X1111 Mos V fitted with the brass feet. This is when I took notice of the different feet installed on my AU-X1111 and began to wonder which ones were the original ones fitted on the brand new AU-X1111 Mos V's?

(Mr. Ichiro Ohshima's website:
http://www.aqua-audiolab.com/model/custommodel11.html
also note the older transformer used on that unit)

I later discovered another AU-X1111 Mos V and this time on Isao's site, pictured with the full brass feet. This however, could simply be related to the fact that these are photo's of the very same unit.

Engineering philosophies aside, I'm curious if these Sansu full brass are still available as I'm interested to actually find them.

You're correct on the yellow colour of the feet of my AU-X1111 Mos V.
I didn't expect your amp's feet would be more then twice the weight of my amp's feet. This is indeed unbelievable, as the feet on my amp are already of exceptional construction quality.

(and all this talk about feet :D )
 
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Exactly it is the 907 L Extra which I have. Below I attach some photos of it for your reference.

Regarding the feet of your X1111 Mos V., I think that yours is the international model, so maybe it is a little different from that produced for Japanese domestic market. A more noticeable difference is the transformer. Whereas most Sansui hi-end amps. even the superb power B-2301 are powered with transformers manufactured by Sansui, some international hi-end models are with Sansui & Tamura transformers. In my country some people really like 'Tamura'. Perhaps, it is the same internationally. So, is it for marketing purpose? I really don't know for sure.

The serial No. of my 907L Extra shows that the model was introduced in 1989, but in my opinion it is unnecessarily was made in that year. The AC cord is 1990 ! It means the amp. was produced in 1990 or later. One pic is taken of the rear panel of the amp. for the S/N and other info. If possible, I'd love to have a look at the rear of your X1111 .
Regards,
Vinh Tho

PS. The wood side panels look similar to those of X1111 with both ends rounded.
 
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As you see, the inside construction of 907 L Extra is very very similar to that of 907i Mos ltd., but I've found that their audio electric parts are of different specs. Both are 10kgs heavier than my AU-D907 Limited, which was TOTL in the late 1970s (1979), the era of 'metal' and Sansui's peaktime. Some thoughts about this.
 
Awesome pictures you posted there, Vinh Tho.
Especially the Electrolytic Capacitors-closup!

The rather important difference in weight with the TOTL models from Sansui's golden years makes indeed for some food of thought. It's rather surprising their most recent amps weighting nearly twice as much as their 1970's battle ship amps.

As you ask, I'll post a picture of the au-x1111's back.

Regards, & thanks for the additional pics!! awesome
 
btw, regarding the difference in Power Transformers, didn't they use the Tamura's on all their post-90's hi-end amps? But this is another interesting observation indeed.
 
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