LUXMAN 505u?


im looking to pickup a Luxman 505u integrated. any experiences, feedback and speaker recommendations would be helpful.
maurager
A lot of people love these Luxman integrateds, and I think they're impressive when it comes to detail and delivering that "live, in the room" sound. They look cool, too. But like most Class A amps, to my ears they're rather bright and fatiguing, even the 590 and 509 models. I auditioned the 550 last week over Harbeths, and even those extremely warm speakers couldn't tame its upper end. I know the salesman agreed with me, and we both preferred an LFD integrated in the same room, but I've spoken to others who think the Luxman is clearly superior to LFD, so YMMV. Anyway, to answer your question properly would require more info on your setup, but the best speakers I ever heard the 550 paired with were the Gershman Avant Gardes. Again, that's a warmish speaker, and in my opinion these Luxmans really need that. I'd look into Spendor, JM Reynauds, Harbeth, although if you can handle that high end, they were very impressive with Devores.
Do listen with your own ears. Upper end needing to be tamed? I can't disagree more with what coverto says with what my ears are hearing. I own the L590A II and it is the one I will live my days out with. I have never read a review that said anything like what coverto mentions either. That is why it is important to see if this is what floats your boat. Everyone's ears and biases are different so what I hear and what coverto hears may not be what you like.
clarification: the Luxman 505U's amp section is Class AB, not Class A (as the 509 and 590 are).