SAE or Luxman

The only advantage Luxman gear has is the "bling" factor. If you value that instead of "best sound per dollar" ...

Lest I be seen as a Luxman "hater" I have a Luxman preamp in my collection. Albeit one from the 90's Alpine era. Still, it is a nicely-made and very good sounding unit!

Plus I had a massive Luxman integrated amp from the same era that needed repairs. I stupidly left it behind when I moved south! It certainly had that "wow" factor styling!

@roxy54  One reason is the SAE preamp is almost half the cost of the M-3. My 2400L has just been gone thru and sounds great. Is the M-3 going to sound 2x as great? 

@jasonbourne52  bling factor not important to me. I like the look of the SAE. 
One thing about the SAE pair is you have to run speaker wires between the pair. I suppose these had better be as good a  quality as your wires that run to your speakers. So that's an added cost.
  I did find a matching vintage Luxman cd player. Dont think SAE has one.
Thanks for your responses.

I really think things have changed a great deal over time.

I could not imagine trading a current Luxman component for an SAE, but I don’t know the sound of every piece of gear ever made.

The SAE amps I remember hearing were fine, but technical, not particularly smooth. Also quite pretty looking for the time in that matte black and red LED sensibility of the time.

If you can't hear a difference, sell the more expensive one. :-)