Help with XLR between Luxman L-509X & Hegel HD30 DAC

Congrats! That luxman is on my shortlist to try next year.

I took delivery of the 509X today and picked up a couple of regular old mic cable XLRs (Whirlwind) from my local pro music shop. They sound great... can't really tell any difference between my Wireworld RCA cables and the new XLRs. Maybe a slight boost in output? 

Anyway everything I heard and read about the L-509X so far is turning out to be true. Plus it's been a great opportunity to downsize everything. I even plugged my LG OLED's optical out into my Hegel HD30 and eliminated my Anthem Atmos system. 2.1 channel sounds amazing for home theater through the 509X.

Looking forward to cleaning up the room by taking down all these speakers!

@luxmancl38, very cool, I bet it sounds awesome. 

Bryston 2.5 sst 2 w/a pair of Aerial 5T's. TT a Linn Sondek, Bluesound Node and a Cambridge Audio 752 BD universal player which go through my RME DAC. Apartment dweller so I can't really go big.

@luxmancl38, that sounds awesome. I wish I could read Japanese as I have the work order for the refurb that was done at Luxman in ’13, would be interested to see what all work they did to it. I’d love to compare the two preamps... I have not seen either a CL38 SE nor a CL40 owner in the wild before, I think they are both pretty rare birds. I’m not using a TT, I listen to all digital (FLAC & Tidal via Roon)... Quite happy with the Hegel HD30, it is very smooth and analog-sounding. I did notice the DA-06 over at Higher Note when I read your post and made them an offer on it just for kicks but it seems it has been snatched up. Too bad, I’d have loved to done a head-to-head with the HD30. What is the amp you are using with the CL38 SE?

jsqt The tube layout is exactly the same. 3 12AX7's  for the phono preamp and 5 12AU7's for the preamp. In the SE they are using oil caps and the phono has 4 step up transformers 2 for MC high and 2 for MC low. Lp's have a lot of punch and are very quiet. I would venture they are quite similar. Hard to compare as Luxman only made 100 units so not a lot of owners around. This unit has a remote but it's very limited just volume and mute. Everything else you have to get up to do. By the way I'm using an RME ADI2 DAC w/this preamp. Very happy w/the combo. Art Dudley compared it very favorably to his Shindo preamp. It's listed as a Class A preamp in Stereophile. 

@atmasphere  thanks for setting my mind at ease... wasn't sure if it would blow up my new amp or what, ha... good to hear that it's not that big of a deal.

@luxmancl38, very cool to hear you have the CL 38U SE. I am really curious how it would sound compared to my 35 year old CL-40, which underwent a total restoration at Luxman Japan in 2013.

The CL-40 is a real find - just shimmering sound and holographic imaging, plus the inset volume knob is an absolute joy to spin. There's no remote but I have no qualms about walking across the room to get my hands on it.

To be clear, the American standard is pin 1 ground, pin 2 **noninverting**, pin 3 **inverting**.
There is no 'cold' and 'hot'; both signal pins carry equal importance.
The Euro standard reverses the phase- the assignments of pins 2 and 3 are reversed.

So if you just hook up, the worst that can happen is the absolute polarity of your system might be inverted, assuming that the amp does not invert otherwise. However, exactly 50% of all recordings are inverted polarity, so this is really a non-issue. The only time you can really hear this sort of thing is when the recording is done with 2 or 3 mics in a true stereo pattern. Even then you need to compare to see which way is right (an inversion switch is handy for this as inverting the speaker connections of both channels is a bit of a pain in the rear).

Bottom line: don't worry about it!

jsqt I have the CL 38U SE which Luxman just made 100 for their 90th Anniversary. I compared it to the $10k VAC and to me it was no contest. Plus the phono which has 4 step up transformers/the same 3 tube design as the CL 40. I would give it a shot w/the CL-40. If you have a TT I'm sure it'll sound fantastic. Luxman makes excellent tube gear but their solid state get's top billing. Both are great IMHO.

Luxman L-509x

Balanced input terminals(1, 2)
(NO.1 GROUND,NO.2 COLD,NO.3 HOT)

Phase inverter switch(1, 2)

According to Hegel your your DAC runs on 2.6 volts. .1 higher than Luxman. I would contact your Luxman dealer to see if this slight difference will have any affect.

@luxmancl38, thanks - I already had the Hegel, which I'm currently running into a Luxman CL40 valve preamp and M2000 power amp. Looking forward to the new L-509X to eliminate some boxes and update my sound... BUT I am also curious as to how the CL40 may sound as a preamp into the 509X. It is seriously the most incredible sound I have ever experienced. The pre in the 509X may be hard pressed to beat that valve warmth and sparkle of the CL40!

Great, thank you - how can I find out if the pins match? Just ask Hegel and Luxman which of their pins are "hot?" Is there any doc anywhere that may have this info?

According to Luxman they use transformer balanced inputs. The inputs are at a Max of 2.5 volts. They say "Be aware if you connect the device w/a higher input level (higher output voltage) signal may be distorted." Check the specs on your Hegel. The Luxman is a 509x is a fantastic integrated. For the same price I would have gone for the matching Luxman D-06 DAC.

Yes - be sure the pins coincide. I had a Rowland with different wiring of the XLR connections, and until I found that out, I had lots of problems. You can always get the pins rewired, but you have to know from where you are starting.

Well, if it is true, surely someone can custom fit the connectors you may need.