Luxman 507uXi vs. Luxman 507uXii

@hoopster Congrats. You'll like it. Sitting here working right now listening to my 507 on Aerial 7Ts/Aerial 5Ts. Nice to have speaker switch depending if I'm at my desk or coding away on the sofa. Aerial's 5Ts and 7Ts are all the speaker I will ever need. Still waiting for a good deal on 6Ts to show up to use for surrounds in my HT. Currently I'm using 5Bs.

Astelmaszek et. al,

"There is a bit more to that than that. I've had both. Recently sold the 505 and replaced it with 507. The preamp section of the 507uX is better as is the output stage. How much better? Depends on the speaker. Not much of a difference on Aerial 5Ts. Much better bass grip and bass to lower midrange integration on Aerial 7Ts. 507 doubles down into 4ohms. 505 doesn't."

As luck would have it I had a chance to hear the 505uXii with Aerial 5Ts this past weekend. I have to say the sound was impressive. The sound was sweet and effortless. I could live with that combo.

But as luck would also have it I did buy a used 507uXi that popped up on Audiogon a day or two ago. You may not have seen it because I think it was up a matter of minutes before I bought it. Haven't received it yet but I will post impressions later.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

I had noticed the 505 does not double into 4 ohms. I am running 4 ohm 86db efficient speakers so doubling into 4 ohms is an important consideration for me if I go back to SS.

507 doubles down into 4ohms. 505 doesn't.

Good eye! I missed that.

Best,
E

@erik_squires 

There is a bit more to that than that. I've had both. Recently sold the 505 and replaced it with 507. The preamp section of the 507uX is better as is the output stage. How much better? Depends on the speaker. Not much of a difference on Aerial 5Ts. Much better bass grip and bass to lower midrange integration on Aerial 7Ts. 507 doubles down into 4ohms. 505 doesn't.

@hoopster

FYI, he has the 505s, which as far as I can tell from reading are different only in the type of transformer they use, and less fancy casework. The power, and even the idling power is identical. 

For $2,500 I'd encourage you to think about it. :)


Best,

E

@erik_squires 

Mike did tell me they were awfully close. It was another dealer who was told me the ii was much better. Mike said if you A/B them you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. I think I am going to sit tight for a while unless a good deal on a used unit pops up.

Hey @hoopster
Sorry, I was that guy. :) I've been talking to Mike about those for a while and he set aside the last one for me. I just picked it up.

If it helps, he said the opposite. He said the 507ux II was about 95% the same as the original. :)

He does have a few 505

Best,


E

You need Marie Kondo

@hoopster The EL34 that I find surprising value that can still be had for next to nothing is Japanese Matsushita. I have a couple of quads of them and I swear they sound just like a Mullard XF2 for a third the price. I'm probably never going to sell that collection even though I currently do not even own an amp capable of playing them. Same with all mine 6DJ8 and 6922s. They just collect dust for now, but it took me forever to build up the collection and I'm sure I'll get another amp eventually.

@astelmaszek 
Hey, ship me a quad of those for some quality control testing, lol! I have some RFTs and Siemens. I like the Siemens best but the RFTs sound pretty darn good.  I’ll bet those Amperex are the bomb! Hold on a few more years and you can probably name your price. I think I have talked myself out of chasing a Luxman...for the moment. Listening to my setup this morning, it sounds pretty darn good...and it’s paid for😉

@hoopster One of these days I will put my collection of NOS Amperex EL34 up for sale. I've got 5 or 6 NOS matched quads. Best EL34 ever made. I wonder what a quad of them goes for these days.

astelmaszek

Thanks for your response. Exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately I seemed to have shuffled my feet and lost my seat. Mike sold the last one yesterday. Hey, I like that tube buffer idea. I am now a tube guy and love the sound. I am running el34 monos about 40 wpc with a simple 6n7 pre. The tubes are a small hassle and good sounding nos el34 tubes are getter scarce and expensive. I tried a Primaluna Dailogue HP amp which had a nice but too polite sound for me.

Basically there really only is once difference between the two as far as I've been able to tell after listening for a while. The bass is even tighter on the Mark II, just a bit more resolution to it. But the original 507uX never really suffered in that department, so it's a minor improvement.

At 3600 bucks, brand new from Mike Rose as advertised here on Audiogon, the unit is a steal. You will not find a better sounding integrated for anywhere near this price unless you want to deal with tubes, then I'd get the Audio Research VSI75 which can be had around the 4000 range. Believe it or not, the bass is as tight on my Aerial 7Ts beeing driven by AR VSI75/REF75/VT80 as it is driven by Luxman. Where I feel it AR gear is superior to Luxman is 3D holographic soundstage. Not that the Luxman soundstage is flat by any means, but driven by a Chord DAC, AR VSI75 is just sublime.

Fun thing to do with your Luxman, being it has PreAmp out and AmpIn, is to stick a tube buffer between, like ifi iTube 2. It's subtle, but you get a bit of tube magic without the pain the ass of large tubes.

From Luxman, sorry I no have actual experience as I haven’t heard any Luxman products in years. I don’t know if these supposed "enhancements" make any sonic difference at all. Incidentally, I was thinking about this exact unit myself when I saw the discounts offered.  Please report back if you purchase it.
http://www.luxman.com/product/detail.php?id=4

dpac996 of course you are right about dealer speak

hoopster, what else should we expect Luxman dealers to say...lol

I have a 507uxi and I find it absolutely sublime. Love the synergy with my Dynaudio Contour 30's; Does it all.
Good luck and let us know what you find out.