Built at the peak of the 1970s "receiver wars", the Sansui AU-11000 was the company's no-compromise flagship integrated, and it shows. 110 watts a side, dual fully-independent channels from power supply to output stage, milled-from-solid knobs, and a triple tone control with a midband most amps don't bother with. Audiophiles prize it for vanishingly low distortion and a grip on a loudspeaker that belies its age. There's even a block diagram printed on the front and a protection circuit that cycles green-to-red-to-green before it lets a note through. Nineteen kilos of Japanese over-engineering that still embarrasses plenty of modern amps.

FEATURES & PROS:

• 110 Watts Per Channel: Effortless power into 4 to 8 ohms, with the headroom to drive demanding speakers.
• Dual Independent Channels: Separate circuits per side, right down to the power supply, for true stereo separation.
• Vanishingly Low Distortion: 0.08% THD, the spec that made it an audiophile favourite.
• Triple Tone Control: Bass, mid and treble shaping with switchable turnover frequencies. Rare and genuinely useful.
• Built Like a Vault: Milled metal controls, a 19kg chassis, and onboard power protection. No cost-cutting.
• Flagship Status: Top of Sansui's mid-70s range, a high point of the receiver-wars era.

THE WORD: The AU-11000 is celebrated among audiophiles for its high output and very low total harmonic distortion, a top-of-the-line integrated from Sansui's mid-70s peak. Read more.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Year: 1975
• Type: Integrated stereo amplifier
• Power output: 110 W per channel into 8 ohms
• THD: 0.08%
• Frequency response: 10Hz to 50kHz
• Damping factor: 80
• Inputs: phono (MM), line, DIN
• Tone: triple (bass/mid/treble) with selectable turnover
• Speaker impedance: 4 to 8 ohms
• Dimensions: 460 x 160 x 373 mm; weight 19 kg
• Power: mains
• Manual: Sansui AU-11000 manual (HiFi Engine)