Sansui?

I sold Sansui in 1970. The 5000 was the top receiver - 55 wpc; good FM section and we had very, very few returns/failures. In the Army, I bought a Sansui 7000 receiver (Sansui 7000 on the Mainland). Liked it a great deal. Used it with AR-2ax speakers. 

I still have my first piece of high end gear from 1973, a Sansui AU 9500.  I had it re-capped quite a few years back but only listened to it once.  It's been sitting there ever since.  It was top of the Sansui line coming in at 75 WPC, 20 to 20000, 4 to 16 ohm.  A good 50 lbs.  I'm gonna pull that thing out of storage tomorrow and take a listen.

My first receiver was a Sansui bought from my friend’s dad. I owned and played it for 15 years and passed it onto a new home. Loved the sound of it! 
 

- Steve

Back in the day I had a Sansui AU 9500 and I loved it. Everything about it was beautiful right down to the feel of the switches.

That being said, I have no idea what it would sound like to me today, but the memories are glorious.

Some of the love for vintage receivers is in the look as well, including the lights and meters.  You might not get the full "nostalgia" vibe with an integrated.  I have the 8080 (non DB) in my office system and like was mentioned before about a 9090, it is a real beauty and to my old ears, sounds great driving some ADS speakers.  A lot of Sansui owners talk about the synergy between Sansui and ADS.   It also sounded great with my Bozaks as well.  As for speakers, what kind of music does he like?  That will drive recommendations. I am currently an "all vintage" guy with gear from the 60's and 70's primarily, with a few pieces from the 80's.  It's a lot of fun!!