I just read some reports. Those are certainly interesting-looking speakers. Doubtful that I'll see them over here soon. Were you able to somehow listen to the Luxman you ordered with your speakers before you ordered it?
As a happy owner of simple but classic older Luxmans, I am eager to start listening to new Luxmans. No time until February. |
No, I was not able too unfortunately. |
I doubt you will be disappointed. Please post a detailed report after your Luxman arrives! |
Chashas1 I can't find this thread for the life of me, although I can't ever find my socks or the pencil that I'm holding, either. Could you please give me some more details as to where to find it?
"There's a thread under Speakers now that might interest you, someone compares the Harbeth 30's with your speakers." |
Jim, I think this is the one...
01-10-10: Bwcanuck
My experience has been that the recording medium and media have been the weakest link in my system. I prefer higher resolution speakers but this places massive limitations on what I can play to get a truly live detailed sound without hearing background noise or errors in mixing. I've heard the Monitor 30 beside a pair of NS-1000M and they shared an almost identical response in that room. The M30 had a color or warmth, a wood note and was quite forgiving of material and gear even though it had more treble, but was still more detailed than many other speakers that I remember. I enjoyed them. The NS-1000M was incredibly neutral from what I could tell, dynamic, let me hear far too deep into what was playing in the audition, to the point where what I was hearing was almost programmed sounding. Things like distant sounding strings with a close sounding vocal that doesn't fit stood out. When I ponder about recordings maybe they should use speakers like those to know what they are doing to a recording, I think most listeners want to hear more music, less recording process.
Bwcanuck (Answers)
it was the fifth post under a thread for avalon, harbeth, etc...
I think what I was trying to show you at the time was that your speakers are monitors, hence very revealing, sometimes too much so, yet also requiring a good matchup in electronics. I doubt the lil Leben would have enough juice for your speakers.
In the latest issue of Stereophile, John Marks again goes crazy over the new Luxman 505u. He's pairing it with the Harbeth 7-3's...if you could find one of those over there who knows? |
Chashas1 - which recent issue of Stereophile (and what page) mentions the 505u?
Thanks,
Mark
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Chashas1 Thanks for that thread. I am aware that my NS1000x's are monitors. They (or the 1000M, described by Bwcanuck in your post, the little sister of the 1000x, with lesser bass, lighter box, etc.) were at one time government broadcast studio standard monitors in some European countries.
Today I spent some time listening to a new Luxman 509u. It is very detailed, clean, and balanced, but maybe lacks the warmth and silkiness of the old Luxmans. I would need some side-by-side listening to confirm that. I was using it to compare some B&Ws (my current rear speakers), and found a very interesting tweak for the 805N that I'd like to discuss once I find an appropriate board.
I'll try to get to other new Luxmans tomorrow and next week. I found a mega-store that has a decent stereo dept with nice listening rooms in its basement. They had a Leben in there, too, but I've kind of lost interest in that.
Actually, the Yammies are sensitive, it doesn't take much to drive them at all, and they sound brilliantly clear even at extremely low volume. |
Jim, you are so lucky to get to hear all those different models....I feel like I'm a backwoods yokel compared to that.
I know your yammies are sensitive, from what I've been told they need something that will control the bass better than a Leben. I think it's good you've moved on.
Have fun! Lucky.... |
Thanks Brian, I am still waiting for the Feb issue.
Mark |
Please post a detailed report after your Luxman arrives! I have had my L-590A II for a week now and I not only am very pleased but pleasantly surprised. I say surprised because it far exceeds my expectations. My main goal from switching from my McIntosh MC402 and C46 was hopes of a better match with my speakers; I have heard my speakers at a show where they sounded better than I had at home, by quite a bit frankly. My thoughts of change was based on various setups I know the founder used with them. The clarity/transparancy of this amp is far greater than any others I have owned and the bass is far superior to what I had with the Mac gear, in fact both the bass and transparency are simply incredible, I cannot over state either enough. One could easily confuse the two setups as having the reverse in wattage. There a songs even played via my tuner where I simply amazed, including hearing details I'd never knew existed. The Mac gear is laid back and I have accused some past speakers of being recessed in the midrange, where I now think it had more to do with the Mac gear. (I sure would like to have some past speakers back to hear with this amp.) I don't like sounding so critical of the Mac and that isn't my intent, it is just that the Luxman is that much better. (I usually like to say here, IMO, but man, there is no denying that the Luxman is better. Now there "may" be some things that some would prefer with the Mac gear, but that doesn't negate the obvious.) Great dynamics with the Luxman and I was hoping to get more depth using Class A, think 3D, which it achieves. The L-590A II is a great piece indeed. I will say that it is very revealing and if one has speakers on the bright side, it'll show it and I suspect it could be too much for you. Pair it well and you will be rewarded. Brian |
Oiy! but the price! that's quite a leap from the 505u...
I bet it's lovely... |
Curious how the 507u will turn out.... |
After reading this chain, I decided to do a retail test as well.
I brought out four pieces of music: Paul Kelly, May 1992, Spoon's Ga Ga Ga, Booker T's Potato Head, and MGMT's debut album.
I used Luxman's CD player to standardize the input. I then heard the Luxman's 507 and 590s with the D-8 CD player, versus Leben 300 SX and 600, driving Devore Nines speakers in NYC last week.
Devore tends to sound more relaxed rather than forward, are musical forgiving, and somewhat efficient. They work well in small room setups.
Overall, I was very impressed by the level of detail by both brands and all the "musical" attributes you associate between the brands around a Japanese sound. Everything sounded acceptable to my ears--you could have long listening sessions with both. Also, it should be noted that there is a significant price difference between the integrated amps, so you have to factor that Luxman costs thousands more.
What sets apart the Luxman brand is its high slew rates. I can't think of a better product that produces the magical quality of sustain and slam to give the music real dynamic character. This is especially present in the AB amps like the 509. The Leben has a warmer tonality, more mid to high range, but really excelled with organic recordings like Booker T. This was constant for both the 300 and 600 models. The Luxmans were able to play all music extremely well, including the cheesy electronica of MGMT, with more presence, end to end. I loved the 590 for presence of sound stage and natural timbre.
I think the Leben sounded better from a headphone amp perspective. I brought a pair of Sony 7506s and found I was very immersed with the overall sound.
I have a Luxman N100 valve system in Japan (my son lives in Tokyo and I have business interests there) and the Leben seems a tad richer. With that said, I would rank Luxman 590 as the best sounding amp in the shootout. I view Leben as a better "starter" system if money is an issue, but Luxman is clearly in a class by itself. |
Thanks for that, Bongo, but, all is not apples and apples.
If you're throwing the Luxman 590 into the mix, then you've left a big void of around $5k here between the Leben 600 and it. If you were only comparing the 505 or the Luxman 38SQ, which at around $6k would be the one to merit a comparison, that would maybe be a better comparison. After all, the thread started with the 505.
Why does no one hardly mention the 38sq, and why does Luxman have to have so many confusing model #'s? Does Accuphase do that as well? |
Chashas1
I agree, and mentioned specifically above there is a price difference in the thousands. I have not actually seen the 38 SQ at retail. It is a very known model to the Japanese.
It appears not to be distributed here yet. PS: The founder of Leben worked on the 38 model so I would imagine that the sound profile is very similar. |
Boy, I would love to hear it...hear it all, actually! and then buy what I loved most, and never look back. (hopefully)
The small Leben is only 15 watts, which means very efficient speakers and usually a smaller scale system. By the time people consider the bigger Leben integrated, they head for Shindo.
The Luxman is all relatively new here, as stated earlier, so maybe eventually I'll get to hear it.
Thanks again!
Chas |
Chas
A friend told me that the 38 is now for sale on musicdirect.com. Don't know them as a retailer, but they are showing both the amp and CD player. They also show my N100 combo. It is roughly 35 to 40% higher than what I paid in Japan. |
..and the calliope plays as the merry-go-round turns round and round. |
has anyone heard both the 505u and the 550A (20w class A) ?
is the 550A just as powerful as the 505 U?
I'm thinking of trying the Luxman route with my harbeths.
thanks for the inputs. |
I've heard both the 505u and the 550IIa on Harbeths. I went through lots of amps, seperates and integrateds ... I own Hl5s, and I liked the 550a best, for all music... It had to do with the detail and clarity and that illusion of speed with class A. The 550 is more upfront ... and has no problem driving the Hl5s on even deep soul and heavy rock 'n' roll. The 505u is really something, tho. It's down to personal preference. I've heard the 505u amp hold its own against big mono-blocked rogues driving Harbeth 40.1s, which the 550 couldn't handle. |
Jabas
Yes, thanks for the reply.
I do plan to use the 550A for the SHL5s which i also have.
Great! Looks like its a good match with the SHL5s.
Noli |
Last weekend I heard a Luxman L-507u paired with a D-05 CD player and DSS monitor speakers. it's difficult to judge a set you don't know. But from what I heard the amp is a really nice amp. Maybe a bit upfront but I prefer that over laidback.
Don't think I would trade in my own Symphonic Line la Musica which costs about the same as the Luxman L-507u in Netherlands. But one could do a lot worse the the Luxman intergrated amp I think. |
Noli ... Let me know what you think! |
will do if ever i push thru with them |
Other than Harbeths, what other speakers are you driving your 505u or 550II with ?
is the 550 as powerful as the 505u ?
Thanks for the info. |
How big of sound quality difference between 505u and the 507u ?
thanks |
Hi Nolitan,
I have both had the 505u and the 507u, and they sounded very similar to me. I did not have them at the same time, there was a month between the two, but they both struck me with the warm, detailed powerful musical sound. In the time between I had listened to a accuphase e408, but that was a big dissapointment in comparison to the 505u. The accuphase seemed to lack the power to really control the speakers, especially in the bass. Strange, because the e408 has 180wpc and the luxman 100?.....but luxman always understates the rated watts. I sounded more like 300 watts. Then I decided to buy the 507u directly from japan.........and I still love it.
To be short. If you really want a full bodied, musical sound with a deep and super controlled bass, buy one of these luxmans. The only big difference between the 505u and the 507u is that the build quality of the 507u is higher. More like the accuphase e408 build quality..... |
Thanks for the insight Paul... I will surely give the Luxmans a try one of these days. |
I have to agree wholeheartedly with Paulyh assessment of the 505u. What Paulyh described as the sound of 505u was exactly the same kind of feeling I got from hearing it.
I heard it driving a pair of Monitor Audio Platinum 100 bookshelf speakers. And you know what. It makes me want to give up on tube amps. I have never heard amps that got a better bass control and I have heard a lot. It has the warmth that you normally associate with tubes but yet has the clarity that tube amplifiers at its cost couldn't match
It still has a typical Japanese character where music often comes off sweet and full bodied just like Accuphase and Marantz. But I would rate the 505u ahead of them and by a distance.
To illustrate how good it is. It leaves me wanting to give up on tube which I have been a fan for over a decade. |
Looks like the Luxman is a winner.
Looking forward to them. |
"The only big difference between the 505u and the 507u is that the build quality of the 507u is higher.
Paulyh"
So 507u cost twice as much as the l-505u but you do not hear much of a difference in the sound?
To me it seems there should be a obvious difference in the sound quality for that much difference in price.
What improvement in sound have you heard with the L-507u over the L-505u?
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Hi Jbsl43, I did not really mean that the sound of the 507u and the 505u are exactly the same, but they really sound a like. Unfortunately I have not had the 505u and the 507 at the same time. Their was a month in between with an accuphase e408. And I only had the 505u for 2 weeks. So I was not really able to tell the big differences.
The only thing I directly noticed was that that same warm satisfying feeling came over me when I plugged in the 507u after the e408. The same deep bass, the ease and tranquility in the sound I heard with the 505u. |
is it worth buying or saving up for the 507u over the 505u ?
The difference i think is almost double between these two units. |
And why not go all the way and buy the 509u? |
if anyone has a good Luxman dealer in the US, please email me offline.
cheers,
KR |
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Hi Nolitan, as I said before, I have not been able to compare the 505u and the 507u at the same time. The 505u also was not given enough time to "mature" its sound. That is why I can not really say that the 507u is much better then the 505u. Bottom line is that the 505u really amazed me, as in the same way the 507u does. If I were you I would certainly start to listen to the 505u. Maybe I will do a test with a 505u and 507u at the same time.....that will answer lots of questions.
When are you planning to buy a new amp? |
Thanks Paul- I have briefly heard the 505u at the dealer & was quite impressed with the sound.
The one thing I immediately noticed is the dynamic & lively sound.
I'll listen more to it after I get back from my out of town trip. |
Well, it has been over five months since my last contribution to this particular thread. I have some new information that I feel compelled to share.
I purchased the Luxman507u, and have been comparing it to my former unit, the 505u. Here are my impressions:
- The 507u is superior in terms of clarity, depth of stage, and overall dynamics.
- The 507u is superior in terms of power.
- The sound 507u appears richer and more ambient.
In a nutshell, I can tell you that while its cost is double that of its predecessor, its sound quality is indeed noticeably superior.
I purchased the unit from a Japanese-superstore with a bank transfer. Some people have taken the liberty of questioning the ethics behind my purchasing from an overseas store. While I can understand the desire of others to purchase only from a US-Luxman dealer, I politely contend that these units, which are masterpieces of the industry, should be made available to the masses - but the current middle-man cost additions, which are undeniably exorbinant, unnecessarily prohibit this from happening. I would also add that the warranties of all US-Luxman units are limited solely to their original purchaser, and are utterly non-transferable upon resale.
As an electronic technician with 30 years of experience, I can assure based on experience that using a Japanese transformer (chiefly Sanyo TSDN15LU, and Nissyo NDF1500U) will not degrade sound quality. Claims to the contrary are incorrect - years of both personal and consumer products testing have yielded no evidence to support such a claim. Japan, Brazil, Taiwan, parts of Columbia, and North America use 100 to 117 volts, 60HZ. There are no issues using these transformers in the aforementioned countries. But I would not recommended using European 230-volt, 50HZ against the USA 117-volt, 60HZ via transformer. Additionally, the transformers I recommend will stay cool despite hours and hours of continuous operation, and provide unwavering 100-voltage output - which eliminates the need for a power conditioner. |
And yet more US dealers close their doors.... |
Chashas1
In the age of a truly global economy and currency weaknesses, why would you care if someone buys off-shore in the native OEM country. I don't see the harm, if you are smart enough to execute the trade. The US dealer offers the ability to hear the device and service it. Given the high standards of Luxman, this seems as an unwanted mark-up. |
Bongo, that's a good question...maybe I'm feeling a bit of a protectionist these days? not sure. Having been a retailer all my life, it bothers me to see so many businesses close (and we know why). Maybe I'm also a bit old fashioned. You mention that a dealer could still get to "demonstrate and service" a product....what happened to the "selling" of, which would make the dealer money?
What happened to the common good, rather than individual greed? I'm just sayin.... |
Oh no here we go again . . .
On a different--personal--note, I'd like to say that I'm no longer a dummy regarding voltage/transformer in my initial posting. At the time, I thought Japan was 220 like Europe, but I was relieved to learn just before my purchase that the transformer converts down from 117-100. I can confirm what Renjy651 says about the consistent, clean power offered by the transformer. I've really enjoyed reading the discussions comparing the L505u to the L507u. Fortunately, it will be a long time before I feel a need to upgrade from the 505u--I'm going to concentrate on building around it! |
I just purchased a fine example of the first issue of the L-550 series, which from 1981 was also the last of the great Luxman series before Alpine took them over and ruined Luxman's reputation in 1984. This is a pure class A amp, like it's modern descendant. Ugly maybe, but the sound is extremely clear and has that subtle, warm, silky texture of the old Luxman tubes. Extremely detailed, yet no highs are ever shrill. Precise staging and exquisite separation of individual instruments, similar to the original SQ38FD. The bass is there, but maybe not in the quantities I like, and becomes somewhat "boomy" if I turn the bass knob up too much. Otherwise it slowly floated into my room like a feather from heaven.
I love this amp and just thought I'd share that with this thread, where it looks somewhat appropriate. |
Hi...Has anyone compared the Lux L505 with the Rogue Audio Cronus which has similar features. Very nice thread btw. |
Is the Luxman 505u a good match for Sonus Faber speakers (like Cremona Auditors)? I prefer a little warmth for my popular music. |
Has anyone with the Luxman integrated amps tried the feature that lets you use it simply as a power amp, using your own preamp?
I have a nice tubed preamp and think that's a nice feature, as for just another pair of interconnects, I can choose between my own tubed preamp path and the Luxman on its own just by flipping a switch.
The best of both worlds. (Good for the terminally undecided like me, and the feeling that I can tailor the Luxman's sound by tube rolling.) |
Rgs92
Yes the Luxman 505u will work great with Sonus Faber. http//audioaficionado.org/sonus-faber/6495-sonus-faber-luxman.html
I use to own both Luxman L505u and Luxman L507u. Luxman 505u has a very good premap. I was running a Levinson 331 amp with Luxman L505u preamp out with great results. |
Thank Renjy-- I'm going to try out the 507u. |
