Luxman 509z or Aesthetix Mimas

the Luxman 507 with Harbeths are excellent choices.  Not heard with the 509, and no experience with Mimas.

the tradeoff, as you are aware, is whether to get a separate dac/streamer you can replace later on or not.  I'd consider the 507 + separate DAC as a better comparison between Lux and Mimas.  Also consider the UI / Streaming options.  If it has it's own OS/UI make sure you really like it and you trust the company to keep it updated.  

There's a lot to be said for fewer cables though! 

I like the Harbeth 30.2 a lot.  I know Harbeth pushes solid state and a lot of power for their speakers, but, I've heard the 30.2 with medium powered tube amps and I like that combination a lot.  I would not overlook tube integrated amps in the 30-100 watt range.  

Thank you both!

Erik, I have owned an Aesthetix Rhea Eclipse Phono Stage used in my main system for 12 years. It is my all-time favorite component. I recently had Aesthetix complete a factory refresh at a very reasonable price. Their customer service is exemplary. I assume the Mimas is of similar quality and reviews have confirmed that.

The reason I am considering Luxman 509z is it has great reviews, the build quality is great, and I love the decibel meters; they are very cool with a modern retro look.

Probably best that I haul my speakers to both Luxman and Aesthetix dealers and do demos. There are dealers in my area and I would like to support them by purchasing from them rather than online.

FWIW...I owned some of the finest audio gear you can have below the $20K price point. Boulder, Accuphase, Ayre, etc. I now own a Luxman 509z paired with Harbeth SHL5 2nd gens. What sold me was the phonostage. The Ayre was outstanding but the 509z was just as good with a better phonostage.

My humble opinion

Yeah, so all I would like to say to help you out is about the meters. I have a MAC amp and love it, but after a few days I stopped staring at the meters. They're cool and all that, but really, today I hardly notice them. Go for the best sound that you like.

Very helpful responses, the only way to make an informed decision is to demo both these products.

 I have owned both the Harbeth M30.1 & 30.2Xd & run them both with low powered Class A SS (16wpc.) & Class A Tube (10wpc.) power and the sound was absolutely sublime..Peak decible levels of 90 db.with no compression or distrortion were easily obtained with the 16wpc.Sugden but the 10wpc.tube amp did run out of gas quickly..
 When I bought my 30.2Xd’s I was lucky to get them from a dealer that stocked both Luxman & Aesthetix & demo’d them with the Mimas with internal DAC & the Luxman 590AXII/D-N150 combination..
 The Mimas did not have the level of inner detail & texture of instruments that the Class A Luxman had..IMO  it came off as very slightly mechanical compared to the Luxman..The Mimas however did have better defined staging & imaging,something I attributed to it having those 6922 tubes..The Mimas also seemed to have a slightly more authoritative bass,better slam if you will..HOWEVER the bass was not as textured & natural as the Class A Luxman..
 I did not demo the 509 Luxman so I can not comment on that comparison..I believe that as far as overall performance between the Class AB Luxman & the Mimas it will be pretty much a draw with the Mimas again serving up better imaging & staging thanks the the hybrid design..The Luxman also exhibited slightly better build quality,the Mimas feeling just a tad flimsy & thin compared to the bank vault build of the Luxman...
 

You might find this interesting...
https://youtu.be/3y0q3P4OOgk?feature=shared

Luxman USA confirmed the L-509X is biased to run 6watts pure Class A before going A/B to rated power.

I have Audio Note AN-K SPx/Spe speakers rated at 90dB efficiency which sound natural and relaxed at low/moderate levels for jazz and acoustic - probably all within that 6watt envelope.

I would suspect the Z series Luxmans are similar.

Myself was looking on these same lines I ended up with the excellent 
pathos Inpol-2 MK 2 dual mono class A integrated amp tubes for signal aswell as preamp at 86 lbs  very conservative 45 wpc into 8 amps 75wpc into 4 ,and a work of art hand built all in Italy Nothing from the far East for under $11k with discounts

sounds like a nice SET amp on steroids ,in Europe Pathos is aBig seller ,

I sold the way back in 2005 while in the U.K ,upscale audio,Kevin did  pretty good review that caught my eye , forgetting that was a verygood product 20 years ago ,is much better still impol technology is still their working patent,.I thought well worth the mention they have excellent big class AB amps very powerful and hybrid in the $11 k trance retail,

I’ve heard the 30.2 with either an Audio Note Soro or Oto integrated amp and with the Synthesis A40 and A100 integrated tube amp.  All sounded good.  These two Synthesis amps are among my favorite integrated amps—warm, bold, punchy, and a sense of weight and authority, particularly at modest listening levels, that one does not commonly find in most amplifiers.

Buy the Luxman because it sounds fantastic and because you WANT the Luxman to win this race. There is no wrong move here, just pull the cord. I listen to the 509Z daily and it gets better every day

On a purely practical note, the Luxman will hold its value better and likely sound just as good. 

Although both are great amps, I’d go with the Aesthetix because their both their DAC and phono cards sonically punch way above their price points so it is a better buy.