Accuphase e800 or luxman m900u for sonus faber olympica nova 3

@vini234 EC gear is lovely, always loved how they look. Have you thought about the Gryphon Diablo 300? Gryphon gear go well with SF speakers, it’s a well known match. And no issue with selling them if you ever feel the need to upgrade in the future. It has the midrange warmth, diabolical dynamics and bass grunt unlike any other brand out there. The only fault you could find would be that personally, I would have loved a bit more refinement in the treble, but it’s not worse than on most gear in that price range.

Sorry to be so late to the discussion. 

I have a question very similar to the author of the topic, I have the duo Electrocompaniet AW250R + EC 4.8 (the first version) and I agree with all the opinions of the author of the topic about its sound, which I also love. 

They are very musical and at the same time have great resolution, they play absolutely well bad and average recordings, which is quite rare in a high level of electronics, from what I have experienced until today. They are very musical and at the same time have great resolution, they play absolutely well bad and average recordings, which is quite rare in a high level of electronics, from what I have experienced until today.

 The opportunity arose to upgrade to an Accuphase E-800 and I cannot hear that device. I’m afraid I’m doing sidegrade in this exchange since here in Brazil the Accuphase (new) costs twice as much as the Electro (used). 

Has anyone heard the 2 electronics to tell me if Accuphase would be effectively superior? My speakers are Dynaudio C1 Platinum.

Hello,
Thanks riaa,
How do you know what my portfolio is worth. I too was able to retire at 45 but was asked by my best friend who owns a trucking company to help him run it. Just because I work does not mean I have too. You are so wrong to assume I don’t have money. I have stated some of the cars I have owned when vehicles are brought up I the thread. You are a very rude person for replying like this and you should be banned. Until that happens I will try to avoid your insanity which you should still look up. 

My electrocompainet equipment sounds good, it has warmth and detail but I would like a little more brightness and transparency without it sounding analytical.
I tried various amps before taking the plunge, the ones they had in store were the moon 340, cambridge audio edge, musical fidelity nuvista 800, all of which I tested at home.
The moon was very detailed, although it lacked power and it felt a bit garish when turning up the volume.
The musical fidelity nuvista 800 sounded warm, mellow on top, but less bass control than electrocompainet.
They told me about trying the krell 300i but it didn't make it to the store on time.
The Sonus, far from looking like a small speaker, can give a great sound greater than its size, but they need a lot of amplification and quality current.
The electrocompainet was another level, previous and very superior stage of course,
He moves them very easily and has a thrust, but I think I was used to a little more transparency at the top, although it sounds very good, it is worth not trying a previous moon team and stage to compare, but at that time they did not have it.
I am happy with the sonus faber nova 3, their sound is also a bit warm and romantic, with a lot of resolution and more dynamic than the previous series, much more of everything, it is a good speaker in that price range.
If there is not a noticeable difference in the sound I would not make the change, although the exdemo price of the c900u preamp is very tempting and I would stick with the electrocompainet stage for the moment or as I said I am going for the accuphase e800 or the 2450 preamp and p4500 stage
but as long as it is to improve.

Thanks
Greetings to all

No...What you said is that he didnt purchase the Luxman gear which is an outright lie.
Jay Keeps nothing so that aspect is futile to bring up.
Who said anyone spent Serious Money on the VXR Amp? Stop putting words in people's mouths and twisting the actual facts. I bought the VXR and KXR- Twenty Pre Amp for less than 20K combined from Paragon Sound in Michigan.   I never sold the VXR....I traded it in towards ARC 160M and got more credit for it than what I paid originally. Trying to sell either piece was futile.
Poor money management? Yep thats me!! Retired in 2009 thanks to my horrific job at trading stocks at the ripe old age of 45. You WISH you made as many "poor money management" blunders as me.
Any AYRE Dealer if being truthful will tell you they hardly sell any of their product. Its not a popular brand at all. Some will tell you they get ZERO phone calls for an entire year concerning that Brand. Certainly not bashing the quality of the product but like many other high quality brands it just isnt in vogue and never will be.
Looking forward to more of your backtracking and lies.

Hello riaa,
What I was saying is he did not keep the Luxman gear. If he did what you wrote and bought it four times, that is literally the definition of insanity. Seriously, look it up.  Also, He was using the top of the line products from Ayre. Actually, he was running the $30k Ayre KX-R preamp connected to the Luxman amp. They just didn’t blend together. It happens a lot. Also, when you own a Porsche, you don’t put cheap Chinese tires on it. Just like you don’t put $30k speaker cables on a $2k surround receiver. What person spends serious money on a stereo VX-R amp when everyone knows you should go mono blocks. They don’t even sell the VX-R anymore. So you were selling something that no one wanted to buy in the first place. Every company has tried to sell a product that the public did not want. Most people know this. Very poor money management. These are the top of the line Ayre (R) series. As we all know the laws of diminishing returns. This is why I am suggesting the (5) series. One third of the price but 90% of the sound. 

HSHIFI,
What do you mean Jay didnt buy any of the Luxman product? He certainly did. He purchased it from Suncoast Audio in Florida. I still have a Brand New in the Box Luxman 900 Amp that I got from Jay...he had purchased this amp at least 3-4 times before From Mike at Suncoast.  Dont talk about things you dont know about.  As far as Ayre products go....I had a VXR Twenty amp and the TOTL Pre-amp KXR-Twenty.  Know the worst thing about Ayre gear....trying to re-sell it especially after Charles died. NOBODY wants it anymore. You Buy it be prepared to be stuck with it...so you better love it.  I had to trade my KXR-Twenty to Jay just to get rid of it!!!

Hello,
If these are the only two companies your looking at that is ok. For $10k Ayre sells the KX-5 preamp. Instead of an attenuated volume on the inputs like these companies do it has a variable gain stage on the back end. You have a total lossless sound regardless of volume. You get a little warmth like a tube preamp but all the fast detail of a SS. I have tested this on several amps and they all sounded incredible due to the Ayre preamp. I know Jay’s did not prefer this to the Luxman on the Luxmin amp. He also did not buy any of the Luxman product. In fact he still cannot make up his mind. If you can try the Ayre preamp. It’s awesome!  This is my endgame gear. I have heard Ayre on Dali, KEF, Revel, Soliloquy, Maggie’s, coincidence, Theils, and several others. They all sound better. If you are in the Chicagoland area this is the closest dealer that I know of. https://holmaudio.com/I like how they let me try stuff at my home. This is the most important thing for audiophiles. 

As an alternative you could look at Karan Acoustics KA S400 or KA S600. VITUS AUDIO SS-025 or VITUS AUDIO SS-103.  I heard a lot of good staff specially about Karan Acoustics.

Gerry, Im talking about BRAND NEW...not used prices. Dealer COST on the combo is 21K.
Half of my collection is Tube Amps...7 of them. Variety is the Spice of life.

The Luxman 900 "combo" can be purchased for less than $20K. I do not like the sound - it is too smooth and should I say "musical"? I am a tube guy and I hated this combination. 

Lalitk,
Not sure what dealers you are using but your claim that an Accuphase E800 costs more than the Luxman 900 Combo is ridiculous.  I purchased my E800 for $12,500. In Canada I could have gotten it for $1000 less.
Please let me know where I can get the Luxman 900 Combo (Which retails at 35K now) for that kind of money (Or less as you claim) and I will buy a 2nd set today.

Just want to say if your looking for Aries Cerat, recommend Bob ( @worldwidewholesales  ). He is a great guy and dealer!

Hi,
I have owned a few world class preamps, Vac Statement, Goldmund 22H, Nagra, Soulution 725 and several other top preamps and the Aries Cerat preamps are another level.

Cheers,

How do the electrocompaniet, luxman, and accuphase sound compared to high end Swiss gear like nagra, ch precision, goldmund, etc?  At similar quality level?

Accuphase or Luxman is a good choice but you already have good equipment i would look more towards a speaker upgrade which will matter a lot more than the amp upgrade in your case.

A comment about Accuphase pricing, and surprised no one has brought this review up before. Soundstage posted a review a few weeks ago on the Accuphase C-2850 preamp. I know folks have talked about the crazy US pricing before but this really brings it into focus. SoundStage is in Canada, to quote the review:

"The C-2850, which replaced the C-2820, sells for $24,999 in Canada, but I must also mention the US-dollar price because that’s what we typically quote in our reviews: $34,500. In the US, Accuphase has a different distributor, and if you know about Canada–United States currency values, that’s a huge price discrepancy. According to the exchange rate around mid-June 2021, $34,500 USD converted to $41,932 CDN, while $24,999 CDN converted to just $20,568 USD! To me, that’s too big a price discrepancy for two countries situated next to each other and where people travel pretty freely back and forth (at least pre-COVID). But for the moment, I’m going to set the price issue aside—though I can’t help wondering if having too high a price has been a problem getting the brand established in North America."

That is just crazy so if you live in the US and want Accuphase your best bet, buy it in Canada!

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1571-accuphase-c-2850-preamplifier

and…few in USA have heard Electrocompainet, which is hyper neutral and excellent gear. In Euro you might look to Brinkmann to pair with IF you seek a whisker more warmth.

+1, @twoleftears

When you evaluate people’s opinion here, keep in mind Luxman is a popular choice in the USA due to lower price point compared to Accuphase. So, many here either can’t afford Accuphase or see a better value in buying Luxman new or used.

I personally prefer Accuphase slightly warm sumptuous sound over Luxman. Luxman is more neutral and that may not be a good pairing for your SF’s. Just my .02 cents.

OP: when evaluating all advice given by all posters, I recommend you take a look at all the posters' systems pages.

Yup.
You are all free to share your opinions.
Not here to argue. 

@mastering92, have you heard both the Accuphase E 800 and the Luxman M900, or are you making an educated guess, just wondering?

I know MANY people who had the Accuphase E 800 including Myself. The same people also have the Luxman M900....in all cases the Accuphase was Sold and the Luxman was kept. What does that tell you???
Accuphase in my opinion excels at female vocals and lightweight stuff. It certainly dont Rock!!  Luxman is far and away the better all around amp. You can ask several other people on this forum about a comparison between the 2 (GreginNH, Jaysaudiolab, Joeinid) Can probably come up with another name or 2 once my brain starts working this morning

The Accuphase may provide more depth, a livelier experience and greater overall textural resolve than the Luxman. The Luxman may sound a little "boring" if musical enjoyment is what you’re about. Both provide high quality amplification.

While both are technically excellent, another important consideration is styling and how it would look with your other components.