Luxman vs Hegal

@jjss49 

You win!! No amplifier in the world other than Hegel will drive a 3-ohm load. This is a "cake-walk" for a Luxman. Measurements are just that, only a small metric that may or may not contribute to listening pleasure. The ears are the ultimate judge. 

@michobr59 

I apologize for the competition between myself and jjss49. I will no longer be contributing to this post. Please feel free to PM me, and I will help you in any way that I can! Or, just follow jjss49's advice and always wonder if the Revels are performing their best. I just wanted to show you that there are other options out there. If you don't go the Luxman route, please try to hear a Gryphon Diablo 300. A true marvel of audio engineering. 

Oh dear , More than a whIff of the over defensive going on here …bordering on the Butt Hurt, go with quality build Japanese moving onwards and upwards imho. 

I stand by my observations above. Hegels are not "clinical". They are very very good amps, in fact, rather excellent. But there is a certain Je ne sais quoi about many Luxman products. Their mid level and reference products simply sound natural and inviting to me.

My system consists of Audio Research 160M amplifiers, Wilson Alexia 2s, 3 different cd players including the Spectral SDR 4000SV as well as an incoming Techdas Premium 3 with SAT arm--so I can’t say that the sound I have at home is anything like what I heard, for example, with the Luxman tube amp and preamp and Triangle speakers at the last audio show I attended. But I can say that I felt compelled to revisit that room 4 or 5 times because I was so taken with music coming from that system. Nothing stood out as the best trait, nothing extraordinary---except the overall sound which was clear, uncolored, well balanced and completeIy natural. It truly felt like the musicians were in the room.

Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread. Not having a local source to listen to various amps (and other audio equipment) is frustrating and comments from people that have actual listening experience with these products is invaluable. I’m in search of that elusive sound and just don’t know how to get there without just throwing money at it.

Audio like many things is very subjective. I have a buddy with whom I share a drink of bourbon. We can never agree on what’s is amazing and what is mediocre. But we continue to take the journey together and respect each others taste.