Sansui AU-9500

Emperor5353

New Member
my father in law passed away last year and in the process of going through his things I found that he had purchased an AU-9500 brand new back in the 70's

Now this thing seems to be out of commision...

I brought it to my house, plugged in my tt and listened to it through the headphone jack to see if it worked...I can hear sound but it is very faint...volume will go up and down but the sound never gets any louder than basically a whisper

I assume the reason my father in law packed it way is because it is not working

Now my mother in law seems to think she wants to pay to have it fixed....why, I have no reason...she is 80 and seems to think she wants to go hi-fi :)

Is this thing going to cost her quite a bit to fix? I told her if she wants to listen to her records I could buy her a phono pre-amp and run it through the aux on her boom box...I told her that if she spends money to fix this thing she will have to invest her time in setting up her hi-fi system once again (speakers, etc)

I think her thinking about this thing is wrong and she should take a cheaper rooute to listen to Ray Conniff (LOL)
 
It sounds a bit like your mother in law may have formed a sentimental attachment to that AU-9500, so another means of reproducing Ray Conniff may not be what she wants.

The AU-9500 will need a thorough clean, particularly the switches and pots, and at this age it will also require a re-cap. That is a lot of work, and might cost 2 or $300 if it is done properly, when finished however it will be worth a lot more.

The AU-9500 is a legendary amplifier and worth the money and effort to get it fixed - but this should be handled by someone who knows what they are doing.

Just my 3 ha'pence worth
 
It sounds a bit like your mother in law may have formed a sentimental attachment to that AU-9500, so another means of reproducing Ray Conniff may not be what she wants.

The AU-9500 will need a thorough clean, particularly the switches and pots, and at this age it will also require a re-cap. That is a lot of work, and might cost 2 or $300 if it is done properly, when finished however it will be worth a lot more.

The AU-9500 is a legendary amplifier and worth the money and effort to get it fixed - but this should be handled by someone who knows what they are doing.

To what Hyperion has replied, YES! I agree wholeheartedly.

Admirable that your mother-in-law is interested in using this classic amp. The AU-9500 is worth the investment to repair it, perhaps to fully restore it.
 
I did talk her out of repairing it....at her age I don't think it would be a wise investment..she is on a rather small fixed income
I may try and sell it for her...or maybe I will hang onto it myself :)

Thanks for the quick responses!!
 
I did talk her out of repairing it....at her age I don't think it would be a wise investment..she is on a rather small fixed income
I may try and sell it for her...or maybe I will hang onto it myself :)

Thanks for the quick responses!!

The AU9500 is possibly one of the best amplifiers Sansui ever made......The design and build quality is something we will not see again in our lifetime....

If it were me I would be keeping it for sure.....

There will not be much wrong with it, but it will need the right person to look at it.....
Well worth almost any effort to get it going.....:thmbsp:
 
Don't worry about the recap. It's likely all it needs is to be cleaned and that should be less than $100. I think you could have that done for her and let her enjoy the memories associated with that amp. Where are you located? There may be someone nearby.

- Pete
 
Sorry to hear about your father-in-law.

I would definately fix it!! Especially if the cabinet looks like 'new'.

It may be a very simple fix. But it would be a really good idea to get the amp all cleaned up and checked out too as mentioned above.

If you got the amp up and running then all she would need is a regular TT and a 'small pair' of new speakers like Cherwin Vega which would be and sound perfect for her needs. She probably would think it sounded amazing!! Even one of those little portable CD players for $25 (or less) would sound fine. My brother bought a CD player at the dollar store for like $15 and it sounded fine, I was amazed really! Unless she has many LPs, I'd skip the TT and just get her a CD player and some used Ray Conniff CDs. :)

The expensive part would be tubes..if required.

One fine amp!! Wish I had one.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
I've had mine for the last 35yrs. Just cleaned it a couple of times and haven't even recapped it yet! It is lighting up the room as we "speak". They are definitely keepers.
 
I had my 8500 fixed the cost was small just a resistor. I would get it fixed I think she would really like it like said above.
 
Yes.....what they all said above......I agree.....

Besides the weight, I would try and see if a audio friend could help with a good deoxit job, and at least get the DC set straight. Not a lot of cash there, and it would be for a good cause......a family member memories=priceless.

By the way, excuss my manners, from your post number, Weclome to AudioKarma.......you have audio friends here that will help you......just ask......
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all these responses!! You guys truly are the best!!

In regards to the AU-9500, I really don't know what the issue is but maybe this can give you guys an idea on what could be causing this?

I plugged it in and everything powered up fine...I hooked up my tt to the amp and tried listening with the headphones....
There is sound there but it is really faint...the volume DOES control the sound but it seems there really isn't any output (?)

As far as cosmetically, this thing looks great!

Back around '74 my father in law bought this along with an entire system..so sitting there unused for 15-20+ years is a Pioneer PL-120 and a Teac cassette deck (I want that thing badly) and 2 gigantic speakers..next time I am over there I will find out what kind they are

Recently my mother-in-law decided to contact of all places Radio Shack for service info..they basically told her they couldn't fix it and promptly tried to sell her some 99.00 receiver....yikes
 
Step one: cleaning

This guide to the use of Deoxit may help you considerably. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207005

Don't bother with any of the other common-garden-variety electronic cleaners out there, this is the only product that really works on vintage audio gear. If you are somewhat technically-inclined, you could do this yourself. There is a lot of information at the link, and to the uninitiated it could appear a little intimidating. It is all very well-explained.

Or, properly warned about what is involved, find a tech to do it for you.
 
My 8500 had a similar problem. My buddy fixed it and said it was a old resistor. He said it was not so much the resistor as the glue they used on it. Got her fixed plays like a charm now.
 
I hope all you guys thought to check that the PRE-OUT/MAIN-IN jumpers were in place, and had not been removed to connect an equalizer or something...also that all the switches are in the right position.

I had one GIVEN to me when I was running the repair shop for a hi-fi store. Its owner said it "only put out a tiny signal" and bought some plastic crap, just left it because he didn't want it. The sales guys said I could have it. I forget whether the "4-channel" switch was thrown to the ON position, or another switch was thrown, or maybe the PRE-OUT/MAIN-IN jumpers were missing, but after finding the operational issue, cleaning the controls and switches (a VERY typical problem with old Sansuis) and resetting the idle current and DC offset, it sounded glorious. I sold it for multi-hundreds and the current owner still loves it.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom