If you’re a fan of high-powered amplifiers from the late 70’s… Here’s something to consider. The high-end audiophile division of Panasonic was “Technics”. For 5 years starting in 1977, they produced the rack mounted SE-9060 stereo power amplifier.

This Japanese built amp has several unique features. It will amplify from DC (which is 0 hz) to 100,000hz plus-or-minus 1db. This DC amplification capability results in almost unmeasurable phase shift at low frequencies. The amp doesn’t use capacitors in the audio signal path.

It’s 120db signal-to-noise ratio was unheard of back in the 70’s. The CD which wasn’t introduced until the early 80’s, can’t deliver a 120db S/N ratio. This amplifier also boasts a total harmonic distortion level of less than.02% at full power output and less than .002% at half power!

Each of the amp’s channels are rated at 70 watts RMS continuous power into an 8 ohm load. Or if you need a kick-ass mono amp for a sub-woofer or whatever, you can flip a switch on the rear panel for 180 watts RMS continuous power into an 8 own load. 

The SE-9060 is unique in that it has dual, completely independent power supplies. This means heavy bass or percussion on one channel doesn’t pull down the other channel. Each supply has its own heavy power transformer. The power supply design is “old-school” analog with full-wave rectifiers, huge capacitors and no digital switching noise. The only things shared by the 2 channels are the 120V AC input and of course, the basic chassis.

This power amp was used for about 7 years driving large JBL control room speakers in a broadcast editing suite. It was replaced by self-amplified Genelec speaker systems. The only repair/update on this unit was the replacement of the power indicator light and the “mono” light. They are tiny 12v bulbs… not LED’s.

The amp was powered and operational for 24+ hours last week. It performed as new with no hum or noise and tons of power. It’s also a powerful and amazing sounding headphone amplifier.

This unit appears to operate perfectly. Cosmetically, it’s C+ with numerous scratches in the paint, primarily on the top of the rack mounted front panel from rubbing the device mounted above it in the rack. (see unretouched photos) The push-on decorative, plastic sleeve which covers the power lever switch is missing.

Thanks to the large, heavy power transformers and heatsinks, this amp weighs 27 pounds. I’ve included FedEX Ground shipping within the continental U.S. Sorry, U.S. sales only.