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.

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!

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!

You are welcome Don and same to you!