My 9500 coming back to me with FINAL mods,and the BEST possible sound .

For comparisons of 999 and 9500 look no further . here it is .

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/sansui-au-999-vs-au-9500.448014/

enjoy !!!!:lurk:

That’s a very short comparison and doesn’t account for how a restored and enhanced 999 compares to a restored and enhanced 9500, folllowing current AK ‘best practice’ tweaks.

I was lucky enough to hear both amps with these mods a few weeks ago as mentioned earlier.

I should note that the 9500 tweaks outlined on AK are exactly that - tweaks only. They are largely based around the use of film caps in signal path locations. The design is otherwise not altered.

The 999 tweaks actually involve modifications which address some shortcomings in the original design and improve the performance of some of the circuits.

The properly restored and tweaked 9500 does sound better to my ears than a standard example, but the difference is nowhere near as substantial as with the 999 due to the nature of the tweaks.
 
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Hey kevzep,
During your mods to the 9500 Did you play around with the pre amp capacitors . Does it make any BIG differences ????

In those threads it was stated as only bringing subtle differences , the ones that a listener can only pick up when sitting alone in deep sessions and playing very familiar recordings .

However the differences that my tech have picked up are pretty noticeable ....especially in the high frequency department

No, replacing the filter caps doesn’t result in any large sonic differences, and especially not in the high frequencies of the 9500 IMHO. Something else must have been amiss for that to occur. Remember, these filter caps are part of the power supply, and are not in the direct signal path such as with the output capacitors on a capacitor-coupled amplifier.
 
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I think this http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....-upgrade-of-scribby31s-sansui-au-9500.654341/ thread should answer all of your questions, but I think you may have seen this before?

You seem to be obsessed with the possibility that you are missing out on some 'heaven sent' sound experience that maybe we are all enjoying, and that you are missing out on and have yet to discover. This is almost certainly not the case, as you own a model of amplifier that many here would regard as the last piece they'd ever need or want. I currently have the luxury(?) of owning 6 Sansui amplifiers, they each sound a little different, and I prefer some models playing some kinds of music but that's about it. They all sound wonderful to my ears and I love them all, even when not playing the music that makes them sound the best.

Your undoing is the slight variability of sound from some models of Sansui, partly because of the changing 'voicing' of those amplifiers depending on the exact model, and the time period they were produced in. But also because of the improvements (or not) that a reconditioner can make to those amplifiers by the subtle upgrading of some components to account for small shortcomings, or more recently found (larger) engineering issues in a very few models.

I am thinking you would be much happier auditioning new amplifiers and choosing the one you like the sound of, because honestly you sound like you're going to worry yourself into an early grave with your obsessing about this 'sound' that you are searching for. Only YOU know what it is - we can point you in a different direction of search with OUR descriptions of the sound of amplifiers - but that is with OUR music, sources, speakers, cables, rooms - and ears!

Please try to just use and enjoy your vintage pieces and accept them for what they are, there is no magic sound, it all depends on the individual. To be perfectly honest I don't think I have found total Audio Nirvana yet... but even if I don't find it (before my ears give out on me :)) - I KNOW I will still be hearing some really wonderful sound.

Spot on John - you’ve nailed it.
 
What Hyperion said! Thats as good an explanation as you can say it. To me the 9500 is what it is, you cant change the design to make it sound to your liking.
There are other examples of amplifiers out there, just have the find the one that does what you want.
 
Hey kevzep,
During your mods to the 9500 Did you play around with the pre amp capacitors . Does it make any BIG differences ????

In those threads it was stated as only bringing subtle differences , the ones that a listener can only pick up when sitting alone in deep sessions and playing very familiar recordings .

However the differences that my tech have picked up are pretty noticeable ....especially in the high frequency department

I have never modded an AU9500. Playing with capacitors is not going to make a night and day difference. Especially in the power supply.
You may have some slight improvements but nothing completely outstanding.

The only time I have modified anything is when there is either a design error or an improvement can me made to an existing design. There is nothing I can see in the AU9500 that could really be improved on, I thought the differential mod could be applied but at closer inspection, Sansui actually already have that covered....

The AU9500 is a great design, no expense spared, if you think it doesn't sound as good as you think it should then you need to be looking for a different amplifier.
I bought one, and i didn't like it, I recapped and replaced some faulty transistors and it didn't really change the sound much so I moved on....

Take Hyperion's advice......
 
IMO and experience, the "sound" of the Sansui AU-9500, or any other amplifier, is the result of the circuit topology and the implementation of this topology; the quality of the components used in the build (or restoration) can only reveal the inherent sound "fingerprint" of the engineered design.
 
Dear fellas . Thanks for the input . And beautifully conveying the message .
I totally agree .
I understand the CEILING EFFECT.
I just want the readers to know that the idea of working on the 9500 was to restore it to its originality of sound and removin the age related short comings .
I love this amplifier the way it sounds already.
Please dont take an impression that im looking for it to sound like any other .
I have luxman 550x , Marantz esotecs, Quad 303 and musical fidelity A1 amps .I have pioneer elites .older sony vfet amps and other experiences but 9500 strikes me.
It has its sheer beauty and robust presence .when in the rack.
The heaviness in bass compliments weak speakers ...
The fat bass thing is a feature more highlighted in my room because of boominess in the room and and frequency modes .I get that trouble with most solid states and thats the problem with untreated room acoustics .It will stay.
The bass from my cousins C200 pioneer tube amp is weak and least thrusty than all solid states and has way more extension in the HF that is why in same boomy room the c200 sounds good .
I will ask my tech to send it back soon. Iwanna enjoy 9500 . Its been 4months.
 
Dear fellas . Thanks for the input . And beautifully conveying the message .
I totally agree .
I understand the CEILING EFFECT.
I just want the readers to know that the idea of working on the 9500 was to restore it to its originality of sound and removin the age related short comings .
I love this amplifier the way it sounds already.
Please dont take an impression that im looking for it to sound like any other .
I have luxman 550x , Marantz esotecs, Quad 303 and musical fidelity A1 amps .I have pioneer elites .older sony vfet amps and other experiences but 9500 strikes me.
It has its sheer beauty and robust presence .when in the rack.
The heaviness in bass compliments weak speakers ...
The fat bass thing is a feature more highlighted in my room because of boominess in the room and and frequency modes .I get that trouble with most solid states and thats the problem with untreated room acoustics .It will stay.
The bass from my cousins C200 pioneer tube amp is weak and least thrusty than all solid states and has way more extension in the HF that is why in same boomy room the c200 sounds good .
I will ask my tech to send it back soon. Iwanna enjoy 9500 . Its been 4months.

I have the AU-7500, my favorite part about that is the tactile feeling of those knobs. I can keep turning them all day :-D
 
Hey kev,
I spoke to my tech yesterday. He told me something great. He listened to the 9500 for a few days and decided that its bass was in need of a leash .i disagreed, but then i surrendered as he compared it to supreme 600s bass responce . So i left it to him to do the needful to reduce the bass . After a week he had done something to the components the details of which i cudnt get over the fone with him.
He now says the 9500 is with a linear bass and that fat bass is 90%gone .
Theres a pleasantly noticeable improvement in midrange detail like he heard a violin note in a recording through 9500 only .that violin wasnt noticeable in the supreme ...i was pleasantly surprised and am really excited at the changes he has found in the sonics of this amp.
Ill tell you all in 2 or 3 days after jusding with my own ears....
Adios
 
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Hey kev,
I spoke to my tech yesterday. He told me something great. He listened to the 9500 for a few days and decided that its bass was in need of a leash .i disagreed, but then i surrendered as he compared it to supreme 600s bass responce . So i left it to him to do the needful to reduce the bass . After a week he had done something to the components the details of which i cudnt get over the fone with him.
He now says the 9500 is with a linear bass and a noticeably detailed midrange like he heard a very feeble violin note in a recording .that violin wasnt noticeable in the supreme ...i was pleasantly surprised and am really excited .
Ill tell you all in 2 or 3 days
So what you are saying is it doesn't sound like an AU9500 any more? The Bass was the best part about these amplifiers......
 
No he thinks that the bass in sansui amps is generally a tad more punchy compared to other brand amps that have 150 to 200 watts and render a more balanced and controlled bass. Bloated bass is what he disliked about my unrestored 9500 and au607

He found a similar bass boost in an AU607 (au-517)some 2 years ago.

Then i gave himhmy luxman L550 class A.
He immediately noticed that Luxmans don't have that kind of bass punch.they are softer and gentler in their disposition.
Marantz have a midrange bloat especially in the 22xx series. Not so much in the esotecs though. Esotecs are flatter.and he also didnot like marantzes.
Im mentioning his feelings .But i do feel the same about these 3 amp brands.

He would play my 9500 by 2 step lowering of bass knob.
So he removed that bass bloat .
Kev, i have a C200 tube amp. It delivers bass notes beautifully .and doesnot continuously colour the music with low end all of the time .It only reproduces true bass notes when they are in the signal. Thats T beauty.
Thats Th

Thats something im im looking for
 
Now if bass was the true beauty of 9500 i wouldnot have heard fat bass comments from you and better views in favour of 999.

Many like 999. Others prefer 9500.
I will give you my comments after listening to it for a week .
 
There is no bass boost designed into any Sansui amplifier I have ever worked on, my bass EQ mod only works with the EQ it does not change the sound of the amplifier when the EQ is not being used.......
 
I will say that when I compared my AU-9500 (which I no longer own) to my modded AU-999 I found the higher registers lacking in comparison.
 
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Spoke to the tech for what made the most sonic difference in the amp..

He pointed to 3 areas :
1) Some decoupling capacitors that were way out of spec or replaced previously with unacceptable values.
2) electrolytic replaced with polypropylenes .
3) some changing in power amp section mainly the capacitors.

He worked out and reduced the bass boom that had previously hung over the entire listening experience making it sound boomy boring n dull. He mentioned that , to him it was intolerable for music listening when he first heard it few months ago. But now most of that bloat was gone because of the above changes the highs had extended beyond belief because of some mess up of component values .
And now its way more pleasing of a machine...with a lot better soundstage , detail and musicality
 
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I'm skeptical. A correctly restored 9500 has flat response and is in need of no modifications. I'd note there are two "solid aluminum" capacitors that feed one of the boards, and those get leaky and must be replaced. Naturally anything else out of tolerance need to be replaced, but screwing with the values is likely a mistake. The amplifier is wonderful as designed, unless you don't like the Sansui tonal quality for some reason- there are those that don't. IMO, they should get something else, rather than screwing up a classic design.
 
Agree w/Conrad on this amp. I think the last thing I would have done is alter this classic amp to favor your taste, but it is after all your amp.
What it once was is no longer, unless you have it changed back to build specs. As stated before this amp has a different sound to it but it remains one of my “ never leaving” favorites.
 
I'm skeptical. A correctly restored 9500 has flat response and is in need of no modifications. I'd note there are two "solid aluminum" capacitors that feed one of the boards, and those get leaky and must be replaced. Naturally anything else out of tolerance need to be replaced, but screwing with the values is likely a mistake. The amplifier is wonderful as designed, unless you don't like the Sansui tonal quality for some reason- there are those that don't. IMO, they should get something else, rather than screwing up a classic design.
Conrad the amp should be here tomorrow. He just told me to have a listen and if it didnt suit me we can always get back to factory settings /specs
 
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