Luxman L505u . . . why not?

I have auditioned both McIntosh MA6300 and Luxman L505u in
New York. They were connected to B&W 801D. With McIntosh
bass was weak but with Luxman was totally different sound.
Much more dynamic, but highs. You have to hear to believe.
If You buy from Audiocubes2 you do need transformer. If you
buy from Higher Note you don't need transformer but it's
more expensive.

Kiza

I played the Class AB amp at 100 watts (505), the 20 watt N100 Neoclassico tube amp, and Class A 20 watt (I believe it was model 550). I did not preview the 590.

I auditioned a wide variety of speakers as well. These included ATC 11s and 19s, Harbeth 40.1, KEF 201s, Spendor A1 and A6s, Zu Essence, Devore 8s and 9s, and B & W 805s and 801s.

I thought the ATC and Harbeth sounded best with the 505.
100 watts easily drive both speakers. Really added nice mid range depth to vocals (the English BBC side to these speakers) which married well to my audio content (acoustic, punk, indie, reggae, funk).

I liked the Devores and Zus with the N100. The Devores threw a better soundstage in a small room environment, very neutral and "human", and the Zus had better dynamics in vocals, piano and cymbals. More lively, not hot. I have never been a fan of this company, Zu, but the new line is wonderful at 3,500/pair with tubes like Luxman.

Almost all the speakers listed above sounded great with the 550, except for power hungry ATCs were a tad understated and not fully formed. Spendors and B & W sounded fantastic.

Agree with your comments about the Luxman over the 6300, but to my ears, I thought the differences were narrow versus wide. The 6300 sounded great with speakers who relish solid state clarity. I thought they were very quiet with the sound emerging from blackness. The Luxman had an added lushness. It seemed you could hear more detail, but not in an analytical sort of way.

I would not personally buy an amplifier that is not 120V, 60 cycles. One, for performance. Two, for resale. Professionally, I always recommend buying from the proper country's distributor -- for service and for warranty. Plus, they can be invaluable for help with system matching. They are truly experts who go to shows and get feedback from their dealers and gain knowledge that "money just can't buy."

I had a rare 120V Luxman new series integrated that I purchased from the Canadian distributor off ebay three years ago before the new US distributor took over. Foolish me for selling it for 25c on the dollar!

That kind of deal is over. You must pay to play sometimes :)

Peter

Bongofury
I agree with you. It's all about synergy. Somebody told me
that Luxman actually sound best with Studio speakers.
One guy from England tested Luxman L505u with Harbeth and
sound was great but then he tested with old JBL L100T3 and
he was amazed with the sound. I am also intending to buy
L505u. I spoke to some people that are familiar with
electronics and they told me that transformer does not
degrade the sound. Japan version is 50/60Hz,also transformer
(from Audiocubes 2). I really don't see why would be a problem
with the sound.

My son lives in Tokyo and brought me back the N100, which are 40% cheaper there. Have had no problems so far. I mostly listen to it on headphones.