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Sansui AU-888 or Sansui AU-999

rasenthiran

rasenthiran

Well-Known Member
hi guys,

Need your opinion for buying one of the above amplifier. I am confuse which one to take,i only can afford to take one of it.I already have a sansui au-777 with me and wanted to know if au-888 sound different since its newer than au-777/999.I dont have oppurtunity to listen it first because i am buying from a different country.
 
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I havent a clue, but just from thinking around the design of the 3 amps mentioned,as you stated, the au-888 was released a little later, probably with the au-666 and the au-555a (which is quite different from the au-555 internally), cosmetically different exteriors to the au-777 and au-999, I wonder about the sound too. Was there any circuit improvements/changes between these amps. I have an au-888, but still havent plugged it in since I bought it. for various reasons.

I got a feeling that the chioce can be made on the looks of the amp you prefer.
Though the au-999 has a couple of tone filter choices the au-888 does not
maybe the specs will shed some light?
au-888_au-999specs.jpg
 
Guys,

Finally decided to go for AU 999.The exterior is not as good as the AU 888,but the seller promised me there is all orginal inside.Any advise and tips on what to do after getting the amplifier??It is still in good shape in term of sound quality.
 
Hi Guys
Let's stick to that thread : AU 888 vs AU 999.
I am comparing both as preamps of an Accuphase E 406 I bought last year and found very precise but far too cold thus corresponding to its reputation.
The solution came with an AU 888 found in France bringing the warmth I was expecting for.
When utilized as amp. the Accuphase lets the preamp do all jobs of volume, balance and tone control.
Later on I won an auction on ebay US for a AU 999 said to be cleaned and in good shape but not recapped.
I've just branched it on my Accuphase.
I am bound to say the AU 888 does the job better than the 999 but I have hard time to describe why.
The AU 999 is great but everything sounds just nicer, more accurate, cleaner with the AU 888 on the all spectrum of music.
I don"t know wether it's a difference of conception or if its stems from their respective history and wear.
So I'm gonna go back to the AU 888 and recap the 999 and use it solo or again as preamp.
One question : What components shall be changed in priority when focusing on the preamp fuction mainly and not on the amp ?
 
hie Chremilos,

I am not sure yet how good is the sound of sansui au-999 yet since i have not collected it from the seller but i have compare au-777 with au-888 and liked more towards the au-777. I find the clarity and detail is more on au-777 and sound more like old british amps.I guess everyone will have their own view in this amplifier.
I still have the au-777 and will be waiting to add the sansui au-999 in my sansui collection very soon.I do have friends here who prefer sansui au-999 more than au-9500...,its their opinion and liking.
 
I would vote for the AU999. I would also caution that when you compare these almost 40 year old amps that have not been recapped or restored, you are not comparing different models, you are comparing individual units in their various states of degradation, due to age. The only way you could compare them realistically, would be to at least recap them. Where they have been stored, temperature, humidity, will have more to do with their current state than their status as particular models of the Sansui line.

Sansui used high quality components, which is the reason they still work at all. The sound each would give in their restored state would be more of a change than whatever differences between them are apparent now.

Sorry to be negative about the comparison, but it's really the truth.
 
Trnsfmr said:
I would vote for the AU999. I would also caution that when you compare these almost 40 year old amps that have not been recapped or restored, you are not comparing different models, you are comparing individual units in their various states of degradation, due to age. The only way you could compare them realistically, would be to at least recap them. Where they have been stored, temperature, humidity, will have more to do with their current state than their status as particular models of the Sansui line.

Sansui used high quality components, which is the reason they still work at all. The sound each would give in their restored state would be more of a change than whatever differences between them are apparent now.

Sorry to be negative about the comparison, but it's really the truth.
Click to expand...

Good call Jim, I would vote for the 999 as well.....when they are in good operating condition they can really hold their own....
 
hi kev,

Just wanna ask a simple question,how come old amps like au-777 will still plays the music for a few second when we off the power while the newer amps like au-719 does not??Is it because the transistor used??I also had a hakkoh amplifier which also manufactured around 1970's had the same issue.
 
rasenthiran said:
hi kev,

Just wanna ask a simple question,how come old amps like au-777 will still plays the music for a few second when we off the power while the newer amps like au-719 does not??Is it because the transistor used??I also had a hakkoh amplifier which also manufactured around 1970's had the same issue.
Click to expand...

The older amplifiers had no protection relay, so when the power was cut, they could keep on playing using the energy in the big power supply caps. Newer units use a protection relay, and as soon as you cut the power, the power to that relay is cut and the relay opens to the speakers, and thus no more sound.

:D
 
Trnsfmr said:
I would vote for the AU999. I would also caution that when you compare these almost 40 year old amps that have not been recapped or restored, you are not comparing different models, you are comparing individual units in their various states of degradation, due to age. The only way you could compare them realistically, would be to at least recap them. Where they have been stored, temperature, humidity, will have more to do with their current state than their status as particular models of the Sansui line.

Sansui used high quality components, which is the reason they still work at all. The sound each would give in their restored state would be more of a change than whatever differences between them are apparent now.

Sorry to be negative about the comparison, but it's really the truth.
Click to expand...

Dont be sorry I do agree with your remark and I questioned myself wether it was linked to the conception or to the good shape of each.
In addition we all may prefer the sound of what we are use to than a new and different one. As for a new and disturbing version of Don Giovanni...
 
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