Luxman Integrated - What do they sound like


Hi Everyone,

I'm considering getting myself a late 2018 Christma present or early 2019 birthday present.

Modern Luxman reviews are really hard to come by, and are generally just superlative without being very qualitative. I mean, it's all "rah rah rah!! " and no actual details.
For anyone who has listened to them lately, can you tell me what they actually sound like in comparison to other nice amps I might have heard?

Thank you,
Erik


erik_squires
so......on the beginning I will say that I own 509x and got it in the trade from twice the price Dartzeel LHC208.
I had following amps at home in my system before I finally settled down for L509x:
1. Nagra Classic Integrated
2. DartZeel LHC208
3. Hegel H160
4. Hegel H360
5. PassLab INT150
6. Hegel H20/P20
7. Luxman L550AX2
8  Luxman L590AX
9. Shindo Monbrison with Haut Brion
10. Line Magnetic LM219a
11. Sudden A21SE
12. Ars Sonum Filarmonia
13. Ars Sonum Gran-Filarmonia

I used to own DeVore Fidelity Orangutan 0/96 but finally settled on DeVore Super Nines as being best fit for my room and music taste. 
Luxman D08u is used as a source and Audience Au24X cables across the whole system.

Ask me more specific question about 509x and I will do my best to answer it. 
@arturgorniak Nice set of amps that you have been through. Not surprising that the Luxman 509x topped your list. It is fantastic providing vibrant, dynamic, controlled sound but is also a great all rounder. An end game amp for a lot of people. 
@arturgorniak I was wondering about the sonic differences between the 507ux and the 509x...if you have ever compared them.

btw, a quick update: the 507ux is a wonderful wonderful match with Dynaudio Contour 30's; I just replaced the Focal Aria 948's with the Dyns and love the results. 

I've got the DAC/AMP plugged into an Isotek Aquarius power conditioner.
Using a Silnote PC on the AMP.

I did not have a chance to audition 507u BUT 509x is way above all the previous integrated made by that company. Brand new league. Some likes the 509 better than 900-Series separates (google a review written by the Australian guy). I truly love it and have no urge to change the amplification for a long time. 
On the other hand - let's be realistic, if you are driving inefficient (below 86dB) speakers in a larger and damped room, this amp will quickly run out of steam. 
I have Dynaudio Contour 60 in my second - living room system, in a room that is closed to 30 X 20 heavily damped with rugs, soft furnitures, books, etc. When I tried Lux in that set-up, I did not get the 82dB sound pressure in my listening spot (15' away from speaker) before 509 entered "red zone" on the UV meters and sound started to be distorted. 
That set-up will require something like Hegel H590 which I will be demoing soon.
Also, hearing any amp, speaker, CD player, cables etc at the dealer is truly wasting your time - I cannot stress it hard enough. Anytime you want to buy a piece of ANY gear, make sure you demo it in YOUR room with the equipment you use everyday. Otherwise you will be wasting money - example. At my dealer, Devore 0/96s sounded bright to the point of giving me headache  - in my room , exactly opposite - rolled off to the point that I got rid of them, replacing  with new - Super 9 design. Never, ever buy something off of other people recommendation. We all hear different and value different aspects of sound. The guys at Stereophile are heavy biased and often have totally different expectation than average guy.