Luxman EQ-500

This might help.

https://forum.audiogon.com/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Luxman+EQ-500

I recently purchased a Luxman EQ 500 and it is outstanding! Coming from a Tavish Design Adagio (with upgraded transformers) which is no slouch, the Lux plays at another level or two, and it should since it is quite a bit more expensive. It is very powerful and dynamic sounding. It is also very quiet and may be the only phono stage I have ever owned over the years where I do not hear the least bit of hum! I once owned a battery powered Sutherland PhD and even that had hum! Sound staging is very expansive and images are solid. Vocals and instruments are more expressive. The overall sound feels like everything is firmly grounded. Also, it is easier to discern the recording venues, whether studio or live concerts, in large or small venues. I get much more of a sense of actually being there. Although the Tavish was good at that, using NOS tubes, the Lux (using stock tubes) is simply better. This is my end game phono stage. While there are undoubtedly even higher performing phono stages, they will likely cost quite a bit more than I care to spend.
Update: I just rolled some NOS tubes including a Mullard rectifier tube and some Amperex tubes made for med tech companies that took  performance up to an even higher level. Plus, they are even quieter than the stock tubes which are very quiet.

Interestingly, I noticed that the EQ 500 does not have an IEC ground. It is a two pronged IEC, that likely contributes greatly to the lack of hum and low noise. No ground loops to worry about here! Also, if you use balanced out, you should flip the phase reversal switch, since Luxman is one of the few manufacturers that has the 2 pin as negative instead of the more common 2 pin positive standard used by European and North
American companies.

Note: It appears that there are no longer any new units remaining in the US. Factory production in Japan has slowed or shut down again due to COVID and the distributor does not anticipate any new stock in the US for at least another 4-5 months.

I have not tried any outboard SUTs, since I  really don't have any more room on my rack for anything else, plus I don't want to spend any more money.  I use the MC high loading and highest gain setting of 59 db, which is fine with my Kiseki PH NS phono cartridge. However, I just started using the mid gain of 57 db while increasing the gain of my Sugden amp by 6 db. The amp has a switch to change the sensitivity ((hence the gain) by +/- 6db. I am liking that option so far, but time will tell if I revert to my original setting. I also may play around with other gain settings. The 36-40 db settings are for MM carts.

Hello,
    I've had one for about a year and am in love with it. Here is one reason why. I had cleaned an old box set of Beethoven Piano Concertos, I don't have it with me to be more specific at the moment, but the 50 year old vinyl was pristine. Playing along at a decent volume (Accuphase integrated and ATC speakers) I was transported like I have rarely been. Then a crescendo nearly blew my socks off (the ATC's and powerful integrated helped too). But that's not the reason! A bit later on in the record, an EXTREMELY quiet passage played. I was amazed that the engineers so successfully captured such a quiet passage, and that I could enjoy it as Beethoven must have intended. The notes were still alive with musicality, but just a whisper of sound. Turning up the volume to too high reveals the hiss generated by the Lux. When it finally becomes audible, nothing but respect comes to this listener's mind to the talented engineers that designed the circuits. The tiny 'rush' audible with the volume turned way up is quieter, more harmonious, and weirdly reassuring compared to the somewhat louder self-noice that emanated from the Parasound JC3+ that I bought new and had to sell here because even that was too noisy for me. 
    I have it between a Luxman PD-171 turntable with an Ortofon Cadenza Black and an Accuphase E-470. Speakers are the ATC 40's. A  Bryston 15 amp isolation transformer keeps the juice flowing clean.
   
It's past my bedtime, but I have more to share about it if interested.

Regards,
Oan

@grk   Thank you so much for your reply!  That's kind of ironic that the battery powered phono had hum :)  I appreciate you sharing the sonic differences between the various phonos that you've had and this Luxman....that is very helpful!  Could you help me understand the various gain settings and how they work when using the MC High settings vs me using just the Moving Magnet input?  I'm just confused about this for some reason.  Thank you for your help :)

@oranfoster   Thank you also for your reply!  I appreciate your response and telling me about the musicality of this phono stage with the excellent example of the Beethoven Piano Concertos. Which gain settings are you using with your Cadenza Black?  How high do you have to have the volume control before you start to hear any hiss or tube rush from the EQ-500?  I look forward to sharing more with us about this phono stage when you have time :)

Best Wishes for great health and happiness this holiday season,
Don

Unfortunately, the Luxman is not the most intuitive phono stage when it comes to operating it. The gain settings that are on the front panel relate to MM. The manual and the reviews show that in moving coil mode, the gain level starts at 55 db, corresponding to the 36db on the dial and then increases by 2 db for each of the remaining gain levels on the dial. Therefore, at 40, the max MC level would be 59 db. In other words, the MC section adds 15 db to the MM section at each level, because of the transformers. Hope that helps.

Also, the loading values correspond to the internal MC impedance nof the cartridge. For instance - the Kiseki pH has an internal impedance of 40 ohms and is typically loaded at 400 ohms or more, externally. But with the Luxman, I use the "high" MC impedance setting which is right at the 40 ohm level of the Kiseki. A perfect match!

@grk   Thank you for your reply.  I appreciate you helping me understand how the various gain adjustments work :)

So if I understand correctly, when using the MC High input, the output in dB would range from 55;57;59 respectively to the 36;38;40 moving magnet dB gain settings therefore resulting in an additional 19dB over the moving magnet stage.  So that looks like to me that the step up ratio of the MC High SUT would be roughly 1:9 which would show a load to the cartridge of roughly 580 Ohms based on 47K input impedance. 

It looks like the MC Low input will add 27dB to the corresponding moving magnet gain settings which should calculate a step up ratio of roughly 1:22 showing the cartridge a load of roughly 97 Ohms based on 47K input impedance.

I think one of the features that I like best about the EQ-500 is the flexibility of using an outboard SUT into the moving magnet input.  This should allow you to not only be able to adjust the amount of gain 36/38/40 db, but just as importantly, being able to fine tune the loading.  

If I am understanding this correctly, by using an outboard SUT into the moving magnet input, you wouldn't have to use the standard 47K input impedance, but could adjust it up to 100K.  By doing so, if your outboard SUT had a step up ratio of 1:9, the cartridge would now see a load of 1234 Ohms; and with a step up ratio of 1:22 it would now see a load of roughly 206 Ohms.  Having the ability to fine tune the loading in this manner can greatly affect the sound of the music in a very positive way!

The more I learn about this phono stage, the more interesting I am finding it to be.

Wishing you all the very best of health and happiness this Holiday Season!

Don

Hmm, my math was off a bit yesterday...must have been the wine! ; ) Yes, there is a 19db difference between the MM and MC levels on the dial. Can't say much though if the ratios are correct or not.

Also, I can't say much about using an outboard SUT, since I have never used one. You may want to check out the "Audio Shark" forum where I recall someone discussing using an SUT into his EQ 500 to obtain a closer impedance match. Happy Holidays!

Nothing like relaxing with a nice glass of wine while listening to your favorite music :)  I figured it was just a typo, but the main thing is that thanks to you, I think I finally understand how the gain is structured.  Thank you!

I think the ratios should be relatively accurate as I was using a Step Up Transformer Calculator that can solve for gain and impedance depending on which variables you select for input impedance and the turns ratio of the transformer as found here... http://www.mh-audio.nl/Calculators/StepUpTransformer.html

I've been searching many of the various forums for additional information about this phono stage, but haven't found many experiences of people using outboard SUT's.  Of the one or two people that have said they used their own SUT, it sounds as if it has been quiet, but not much of a sampling.

It seems as though the EQ-500 is a very nice phono stage.  Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me :)

Best Wishes a safe and healthy holiday!
Don

You are welcome Don and same to you!