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Accuphase E-470 or Luxman 590ax II ?

Hi, I have the opportunity to buy either a Accuphase E-470 or Luxman 590ax II for nearly the same price, the speakers are Graham Audio LS 5/9 (bbc speakers) 
The 470 I know is powerful enough , and I been told that the Luxman is much more powerful than the 30 Watts would suggest and should drive the 5/9 without problems in my 18 kvadrad room.
I don’t have a opportunity to try the amps at home.
From a sonic standpoint, which one would you recommend ?
gryphongryph
oranfoster's avatar
oranfoster
127 posts
 
Forgot about the headphone question.... I have used them both, they both sounded great, but I've never owned top notch headphones or low sensitivity 'phones either.
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greginnh
382 posts
 
To clarify, I have owned the Luxman L-590 AX followed by the Accuphase E-470 and now an Accuphase E-600. It’s a long story as to how and why I made that journey - suffice it to say it had a lot to do with speaker selections.

Unless you have difficult speakers to drive, the Luxman will provide a much purer sound than the Accuphase E-470. If I had to do it all over again, I would take the Luxman L-590AX even though I have the Accuphase. With a phono card, it’s twice the price of the Luxman and provides only a marginal improvement in sound quality.
gryphongryph OP
350 posts
 
greginnh, that’s my thinking too, I like the Accuphase looks better, but the class A e-600 is so much more expensive than the Luxman, also the Luxman already has a phone card built inn as standard and it is supposed to be rather good, so should I start spinning records again, I would be all set.
Only worrying aspect is the power, as I understand it goes 30 watts into class A then to about 90 into AB.
That the Luxman is said to be very powerful to be a 30Watter got me interested in it, as Class A is said to have better sound than a AB amp.
The Advantage S100 I have, gets quite warm, so maybe it is operating in class A for the first few watts, not sure.
I would like a bit more meat on the sound though.
jafant
18,803 posts
 
Beautiful pics! oranfoster.
Guys, which amp for CD/SACD applications? I am not into a phono stage.
Happy Listening!
builder3
750 posts
 
gryphongryph, I own the Luxman L-590AX. I wouldn’t call the sound warm. If I had to describe it, I’d say it’s neutral & uncolored, without being harsh or stark. I’d also take exception to the statement that it "runs hot". It gets warm, that’s about it. Maybe if I had the volume cranked way up all the time, it would be different, I don't know.
So, greginnh, do you still have the Luxman CD player? Or did you part with it as well? I don’t see many used ones for sale.
L.
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