Luxman 509x vs Hegel H390

I’m sure the Hegel is fantastic and great build quality before I get berated. Very understated look.

The Hegel’s build quality is the sole reason I scratched it off the list. The plasticky look feels cheap as it reminds me of budget NAD amps.

Congratulations on the Luxman L-509x. I don’t have experience with the Hegel but own the L-590AXII. It’s high quality in terms of sonic delivery and very good.

The Luxman top models (509X and Class A 590AXII) not only sound musical but have high levels of refinement and detail. They sound closer to neutral and have a delicate refined touch as opposed to an energetic brute delivery of say Gryphon. The Luxman will let all the nuance and detail pass through to the speakers.

Jjss49 mentioned about the lack of bass control of the 509X in comparison to the Hegel. As I don’t have experience with the hegel I can’t comment. Nevertheless, based on my 20+ years experience with more than a dozen amps which include integrated and pre power combinations, the bass accuracy and control of the Luxman beat them all. The bass of the Luxman may sound leaner and lighter than other amps which are capable of producing a fuller, thicker or punchier bass(which gives the impression of more bass). More bass can be seen as a good thing but the increased thick bass or midbass produced by inferior amps can sound bloated, unrefined or uncontrolled. In other words, a smeared undefined bass although the bass sounds more substantial. The bass of the Luxman is accurate, defined and controlled although it sounds slightly lean in comparison to the heavy bass response produced by other amps. You will hear all the detail and nuance in the bass with the Luxman while other amps which produce a fuller bass will mask the detail in the bass.

Some costlier pre/power setups which I owned and currently own actually sound more colored/slightly inferior to the pure and musical delivery of the Luxman. The speaker and amp matching is of utmost importance and if you get that right, you will be immensely rewarded with a high quality sound from the Luxman. Just make sure your DAC or source is up to the mark and try to use good balanced interconnects if possible. Based on my limited experience I found that balanced XLR cables sound better than single-ended cables on the 590AXII.

FWIW I’ve owned both of these and like them both a lot. I would say Luxman sounds more natural tonally with a clean and clear presentation that is also sweet, liquid, and a touch warm. Hegel also has a sweet, but a touch drier and meatier sound, a bit darker, more clearly defined soundstage, better control and bass authority. Maybe a little too much control, meaning tone seems to be subtly lacking some harmonic complexity and natural decay compared to Luxman. Luxman can sound a bit thin at times.

Good description eugene81. Although I do not have experience with Hegel amps, your description pretty much mirrors mine with regards to the Luxman in my case L-590AXII vs a dozen other assortment of amps both integrated and pre/power. The Luxman excels in reproducing the nuance and fine detail in the music. It’s a more delicate sounding amp in comparison to other alternatives which may sound bolder, more dynamic or with more impactful bass etc. But in turn some of the nuance and fine detail are masked or not reproduced as effectively as the Luxman.

The speakers that will be matched to the amp will play a huge role too as the speaker-amp interface is of utmost importance. Different speakers, different result. Nevertheless, generally in my book :

LUXMAN (L-590AXII) - clean, refined, delicate, detailed, sweet and slightly warm at the top

OTHER SELECTED AMPS - slightly hazy, not as clean, refined and detailed with a less nuanced delivery although music may sound bolder or more dynamic with punchier bass etc.

Correction to the above post;

OTHER SELECTED AMPS - slightly hazy, not as clean, *less* refined and detailed with reduced nuanced delivery although music may sound bolder or more dynamic with punchier bass etc.

Hegel is marketing their products as high end without the high end price.

The price may not be high end costing up to say $20k or 30k but they are not exactly cheap. The MSRP of the H390 and H590 is $6k and $11k respectively which is far from small change. No doubt the sound quality may be stellar but for the price I would expect higher build quality from Hegel. Other people may have different priorities but for me, looks, build and sound quality go hand in hand.

NAD C388, MSRP $2k. Looks a lot like the Hegel. If I were looking at an amp within this price range, I would be able to accept the NAD although sound quality may not measure up.