Luxman 590AX II Break-In

Kef Reference 1 Meta speakers,

These speakers have a low sensitivity and impedance. I6 x 18 room is rather large and that might have contributed to the less than stellar result you are currently getting with the speakers.

I use the L-590AXII with speakers that have a sensitivity ranging from 87 to 88dB, impedance 4 and 8 ohms. Room is 10.5 x 18.

I have about 175 hours, and my bass is less than stellar. Also, there is not a luscious midrange (yet). I have read epic reviews but have not experienced that thus far. What should I expect over time? Getting a little worried!

The L-590AXII although a Class A amp sounds very close to neutral. In other words, it won’t give you an overly luscious, syrupy or glowing midrange that some tube amps are capable of. The midrange of the L-590AXII sounds smooth without any grain if compared to other solid-state amps but it won’t sound like a tube amp with glowing, warm or lit midrange.

The bass of the amp will be dependent on the type of speakers and room. The bass is lean, defined, layered, detailed and taut as opposed to loose or full. To me it's quality bass. 

I can listen for hours without fatigue or losing interest.

That is all that matters.

The Luxman is gone. The McIntosh C2700/MC 611s sound glorious with the KEFs. The bass is easily 300% better. I could probably convince some that I am using a sub.

The moral of this story is that room acoustics had nothing to do with the bass. It was the inability of the Luxman to drive the power-hungry KEFs. This fact was verified at a dealer also. I also tried the 509X at the dealer into the KEFs, there was a slight improvement, but neither of the integrateds had enough juice to drive them properly. Only the M10X could. The dealer also agreed.

Good to know. I checked on the McIntosh MC 611 monoblocks. There isn’t much surprise your power hungry KEFs sounded a lot better with these monoblocks. The Luxman is after all an integrated amp, a modest one and not something like the monster Vitus integrateds that weigh a tonne.

McIntosh MC611

• Power Output per Channel

  600 Watts @ 2, 4 or 8 Ohms

• Unit Weight

  97.5 lbs (44.32 kg)

The capability of providing 600W into 2 ohms is surely something. One unit of these MC611s is close to 100 lbs, A pair would be close to 200 lbs. They surely look business!