Mcintosh MC462 versus Luxman M10X

Since you are already falling in love with the Luxman DAC, I'd bet that you'd be very happy upgrading to the M10X.  I had an MC452, had a Luxman M600a, auditioned the M900u, and currently own an M800a.  I really liked the MC452.  I could live with it forever if I had to.  Their autoformer amps have a distinct tone and texture that I find very enjoyable, natural, and unique.  That said, if I put on my audiophile hat, I find that the Luxman gear is just more refined and nuanced with more detail, air, microdynamics, speed, but also gorgeous tone.  There are many lifelong diehard Mac fans, but the praise is more about musicality than technical prowess, so I think it depends on the kind of audiophile you are.  Since you like your Magico speakers a lot, I think you will really appreciate what the Luxman gear brings to the table.

Also agree that Mac isn't well regarded for their source components.  I had a C8 pre with DA2 and found the DAC section to be okay, a decent implementation of the Sabre chip, but nothing to write home about.  

@rman9 That is great news--glad your dealer came through for you!  Not surprised at all that you loved the demo and C900U in your system.  Your listening pleasure should only grow from this point.  Exciting!

I love the M800a; it's driving Joseph Audio Perspectives.  It's not as detailed and not quite as transparent as the 900u, but sounds more natural to my ears.  It does run very hot though.  There's so much heat dissipation that it almost feels like air is being gently blown through the top vents.  Maybe an M10x will be in the cards for me if I tire of having a space heater in my room.  Still, I think it's a shame that Luxman didn't keep at least one highly class A-biased power amp in the line up.

Please do let us know what you think of the M10X after you've had some time to get familiar with it in your system.  I think you might be the first person on the internet forums to share direct experience with it!  All of us Luxman fans have been waiting for reports.  😄