Luxman 550AXii and 509X

Just FYI, the Luxman class A integrated amps are rated "funny." They have the power supply and amp stage for much higher power, but, I infer, can’t pass the pre-heating part of the FTC requirements. They’d need much bigger heat sinks.

If the FTC didn’t have the pre-heating requirement they’d probably be rated much closer to their A/B siblings.

This is my guess since otherwise there is no reason for Luxman to take a different approach to rating the A amps vs. their A/B.

@ryder @elliottbnewcombjr I listened to the SQ-N150 at the dealer.. and they were driving some Harbeth speakers.. I was smitten by how such a small guy can just fill up the entire room with beautiful sound.. and the build quality, my goodness..  I had just recently bought the MA352 from them and just walked away quietly. Think I am turning into a life long Luxman fan.. can't wait to get the C900U in June, so I can complete the separates setup D03X and M10X.. Now the M10X, not sure I have enough words.. gives me the tingles whenever I turn it on and listen to it.. even at low volume levels.. It is breathtaking..  

@ryder understood!! awesome you have the 590AXii 😀. I wish I had got my hands on it, before Luxman decided to pull the plug on that.. I am quite content and happy with the 550AXii.. 

The SQ-N150 looks wonderful with high build quality, just like the other Luxman units. Good to know it is capable of driving inefficient speakers. Perhaps in small rooms it wouldn’t be too much of an issue. I believe most owners use high efficiency speakers with the SQ-N150.

Man9, I am aware that the 550AXII is compared to the 509X. I am bringing in the 590AXII to the mix to suggest that the 550AXII is likely more powerful than the official rated output of 20W since it is a Class A just like the 590AXII. I have the 590AXII and it surely punches above its weight and sounds much more powerful than the numbers suggest.

good info, thanks for posting

My Little Luxman SQ-N150 10 wpc certainly punches above it's weight class

It's my lowest power tube amp, and in my 10 x 12 office, it has driven two inefficient speakers with ease, prior Wharfedale Diamon 225 87db, and now restored AR-2ax, not sure, but not efficient.

I’m not surprised that a 550 might pair better than 509 with Magico. For many other speakers it would likely be the opposite

The Luxman L-509x is biased for 6 watts Class A before going AB to rated output.

Depending on speaker pairing, most/all listening can be in Class A.

@ryder Thanks for the great information. You may have misread my post or maybe I am misreading your post. I was comparing the 550AXii to the 509x and not the 590AXii. Luxman no longer sells the 590AXii. In any case, I am stunned by how the 550AXii grabs the whole room and I am just thrilled.. I wouldn't doubt for a second the numbers are conservative.. Thanks again!! 

The numbers for Class A Luxman are conservative. For the L-590AXII rated at 30W(8 ohms) / 60W(4 ohms), the real output on test bench was revealed to be 95W(8 ohms) / 165W(4 ohms). The numbers between the 550AXII and 590AXII won’t vary much.

Link below.

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.luxman.cz/download.php%3F48,cz&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjw6v28rtv3AhV7SmwGHQ0yDiQQFnoECAAQAg&usg=AOvVaw1XauqQ6hOd3t5Ep3a1Ud5B

@pdreher the 550AXii is rated 40 wpc class A into 4 ohms.. I am driving Magico A3's..

The 550 AXII is 20 wpc class A, whereas the 509 is 120 wpc class AB, so I guess it is somewhat surprising that the 509 fell short on bass and fullness.  What speakers are you pairing it with?