Luxman Integrated - What do they sound like

I owned an older version of those amps the L560 Japanese version. for about a year and I can tell you what I liked about it. The L560 was a 50wpch pure class A amp made in 1985. I ran it on my Living Voice speakers.

The L560 was a surprise to be honest I didn’t think it was going to be as good as it was being a little older. It was a very powerful sounding 50wpc with excellent extension top and bottom with very good base control (to 35hz of my speakers anyway). I say yes a little warmer sounding but not tube like warm just maybe musical warm sounding. quite detailed through out especially in the top end (which surprised me). It also had excellent decay in notes and quite good instrument separation. It liked to rock too. one of the things that surprised me was how fun it was to listen just very involving. I came from Tubes to that and didn’t miss much of the tube sound with the Class A amp.

 Ultimately the very top extension was a little less then newer amps that’s about all I missed with it. I also really liked the tone control system on it. It  was actually really nice to have for lower listening levels or movies. Had a rather nice phono stage too just lacked some settings for MC only 100ohm but two gain settings, so I didn't use it much.

Yeah it ran hot class A and all.  Back then Luxman used heat pipes for cooling instead of all the aluminum fins. wonder why they don't anymore?  It was wrapped in wood. I miss the wood cases so beautiful to look at and touch. 

I still regret selling it too be honest but needed the money for my current amp 8wpch 300b SET.

I would like to say something here about people saying class A wont last that amp was build in 1985 and was running perfectly only thing I needed to do to it was get the bias checked-adjusted and a cold solder joint re-soldered not bad for 33 years. 

this is the amp
http://www.thevintageknob.org/luxman-L-560.html

ericsch,

I have 505 UX. If I had to describe the sound, as futile as that may be, I would say it is not noticeable. Of course, it does make sounds. It may be what people would call "neutral". Nothing sticks out while everything is there. Nothing that would make me think about an amplifier. It simply amplifies and does not make me think about it. That may be the answer to...

"Maybe there’s’ a certain audio magic which makes Luxman owners forget to diagnose the sound?"

Maybe the answer is not about magic but about the priorities and personalities of Luxman owners. Luxman marketing department may have answers.

Comparing it with anything else may not be easy on the Internet. Auditioning would go much further.

Comparing it with anything else may not be easy on the Internet. Auditioning would go much further.

I think I'm pretty much going to have to. :)


Best,
E

Erik I have a brand new Luxman 507UXII, purchased to power my new Magico A3's. The Magico's have been on back order since October 12 and are due for delivery sometime in February. I'll report my findings to you soon as they arrive and things are hooked up.

The only thing I can tell you now is that  the Luxman 507UXII Integrated is very heavy and looks like it's built solid as a rock. I like that. At the time of purchase I incidentally discovered Magico was using the Luxman 509AXII, one step up from the 507UXII, to demo their A3 speakers at shows. For now that's all I have.  February cannot get here fast enough. 

Mike

Surely you’re not going to make a $6-10k purchase based on what others on the internet "hear" out of their Luxmans compared to other amps...

Barring the positive reviews and other feedback here on AG and other forums from Luxman owners, only YOU will be able to make a comparison between what you’ve heard in the past and what your listening impressions of the Luxman integrated will be.

You need to get out to a dealer and hear them for yourself and see what your ears tell you.

Personally I moved from some very decent AVRs (Denon, Anthem) to vintage Luxman separates (tube and solid state) finally to the 509X integrated.

I have the feeling that Luxman is very much an "enthusiast" brand, where people like myself fall in love as much with the history, aesthetic, and build quality of the brand and are very happy with the sound the brand produces. So to some extent, you’re going to have that baked into the feedback you get from Luxman owners & enthusiasts.

They obviously are doing something right, so get out there and listen to what your ears tell you.