Sansui's masterpiece, the integrated amplifier AU-111 was introduced in August 1965 and soon won the reputation as one of the best valve-powered amplifiers ever built in Japan. Production continued into the early 1970s with at least five revisions, and the AU-111 was reissued twice, in 1999 and once again in 2001.

The output stage consisted of fixed bias 6L6-GC's via Sansui's own SW-50 output transformers with cathode feedback design.  In keeping with Sansui's valve tradition, the AU-111 was designed for the maximum capability of 6L6-GCs with 485V plate voltage yielding 40 watts RMS per channel at less than 0.8% THD.

The preamplifier section consisted of a first stage cathode follower followed by three amplification stages to manage sophisticated tone controls, low/high filters, loudness and presence switches although the tone control circuit could be totally bypassed by the tone defeat switches.  The phono equalizer stage utilised a solid-state circuit to improve signal to noise ratio.

The earliest (and rarest) versions of the AU-111 have distinctive control knobs that were built in two parts and it was this model that established Sansui's black front-panel designs - a tradition that was continued for more than two decades.

Priced at around $270 in the USA when new, today you wouldn't see much change from $1,500.00 for a well-presented and fully functional example. Recently I've seen pristine AU-111's reach almost $2,000 on internet auction.

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Photographs courtesy of Rick Phillips