If you’re lusting after Japanese refinement in the sound, look for Accuphase E-480 upwards. You’ll forget Macs and their "meaty bass, but blanket-over-high-end" American sound that others here have pointed out. Macs are more bling than refined sound.
McIntosh to Luxman?
Hey everybody. I need some advice. It's fair to say I've lusted over Luxman equipment for a few years now. Something about Japanese hifi that just gets me. Anyway, one of the online retailers of new and used equipment has a Luxman L-507uX (not the mark ii) for sale. I do really like the sound from my hybrid MA252 integrated, and it drives my Maggie 1.7s with ease. Most of my listening is of the streaming variety (Bludesound Node/Qobuz), and some vinyl (Music Hall MMF-5).
Here's my question: what will the Luxman bring me that the McIntosh isn't providing? More refinement? More authoritative bass? Better soundstaging? If the answer is yes, then I may pull the trigger on the Luxman. By the way, I can get a nice trade-in on my McIntosh, so my out-of-pocket won't be too bad. Please weigh-in if you've had both McIntosh and Luxman gear and what your experience with both brands has been. Thanks in advance! ~ Jerry
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Man you are thick headed. Let me spell it out for you — I actually worked at Magnolia and they all ARE NOT exactly the same no matter what your manager friend says.
Love to know where you read that because it’s utter rubbish.
You gotta be kidding me. HA!!!!
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I had Mac for years but alway lusted for Luxman. When I lost my Mac gear in a flood I tried several different brands: Cary, NAD, Yamaha, Vincent, Cronus Magnum, before finally settling on Luxman. I’ve now had 4 different Luxman amps and currently have both the 550axII and the LX380. I would never go back to Mac. Just my preference. Enjoy the music. |
@vitussl101 Detail, imagine & impact. I think the Luxman nails it on all three fronts. One word comes to mind: Command…total control of my 1.7s. Snare hits have more impact and “bite” with the Luxman. The top end is more present and very smooth. I haven’t really listened critically, as work has kept me pretty busy the last few days. More to come… One odd thing…with the Luxman volume dial at zero, I still can hear the Bluesound Node playing. That’s using both RCA and balanced connections. I’m sure there’s an easy explanation. ~ Jerry |
@ Soix Haha, haha! Wait, you work for an audio magazine and Best Buy Magnolia! You are truly a joke! What other stories are you going to cook up this time! Wait, I got it. I have to tell my friend who truly works as a manager for the Magnolia that she won the bet. She said that the next thing you would do is say you worked at Magnolia just to control the narrative of this simple debate. I said, “Nahhhhh”. Wow,I was wrong, lol! You truly are simple! I showed her team the posts and they outright laughed at your comment especially about company Plano setups. She had a question for you. Don’t take too long to answer since you should know. Where was the last major Best Buy Magnolia meeting held and what was it about?? Did you go?, lol. Let us all see your ridiculous response!
On a positive note, let us all including the brand haters enjoy our musical content on our beloved system. May we find peace within the music we love and take a brake from nonsense.
As for Soix. Go ahead and have the last word. You need the boost of confidence. Too bad Toys R Us is out of business! I would get you something, lol. |
@decathlon1991 As usual your assumption is again totally faulty. I wrote for the Soundstage! network for 17 years and only worked for Magnolia for a few months well after I stopped writing, which would’ve obviously been a conflict of interest and Soundstage! would’ve never let me do both. Granted, writing professional reviews of high-end audio equipment for 17 years in no way qualifies me more of an expert compared to you who volunteered for a college radio station. Ehem. You are truly the joke here. To put a finer point on it, the Magnolia in Paramus, NJ had a separate room exclusively for the Blades and Mac gear whereas the Woodland Park Magnolia store didn’t even have the Blades at all much less having them in a dedicated room. So much for your theory that all Magnolias are identical. Have your manager look that one up, that I’m sure she can do, and be prepared to eat some crow because you know not that of which you speak, but feel free to keep making inaccurate and ignorant assumptions and I’ll continue to knock them down with actual facts. Good luck with that. |
@ Soix Haha, haha! There you go again twisting the narrative to fill the void in your miserable life KAREN, lol. I never new that someone who claims to be a writer for a Canadian magazine company can have such a negative attitude towards a brand. I never knew that writing about a piece of equipment of one’s narrow minded taste qualifies him as all knowing about audio gear, lol! You crack me up with you ignorant opinionated comments. Thank goodness we didn’t believe the BS of those articles when it came to purchasing our own gear, because you don’t sit in our rooms or our environment, so how would you know? Apparently you couldn’t keep a Best Buy job, lol. Must be the Debby downer attitude. As well noted on this forum, you couldn’t answer the question, you had to deflect because that was your best course of action! In reality, the joke is on you, lol. By the way, no one asked you to volunteer information about your past history or f employment! No one cares!!!
PS. I’d rather read Absolute Sound or Stereophile magazine. They are more on my level and now I truly understand why I never bought Soundstage! Hey Soundstage! If you’re reading, you now know why you weren’t the number one Audio magazine company! |
I've owned a few Luxman and McIntosh amps too. I prefer the Luxman Class A sound to the other class A/B from both companies. If I liked the A/B I'd have to compare them again. I grew up with McIntosh amps in the house and love the old tone and tempo but they never had good clarity/transparency and I don't think they ever got that part right (for my ears). |
@Bjeslen I agree with your assessment about the Class A Luxman amplifier. They sound pretty good to me as well. I also like the Accuphase Monoblock amplifiers particularly the M-2000! To me the best McIntosh Monoblock amplifier I have ever used in my system was the MC2301. Especially if you upgrade the tubes. Gosh, I’ve owned so many types of equipment. In one year, in the past I probably gone through 9-10 different Monoblock amplifiers. My favorite recently have been the legendary old school fully restored Krell Pure Fixed Class A KRS200 Monoblock Amplifiers as well as Boulder 3050 Monoblock. Jeff Rowland Model 7, Model 12, Model 925, and even Gryphon Mephisto Solo Monoblock. The journey never ends. |
@decathlon1991 Once again you show your utter ignorance. Soundstage! is the #1 online audio review site and you don’t “buy” it as it’s free. How absolutely clueless can you possibly be?
Yet you felt the need to let us know about your “all-knowing” experience “volunteering” for a college radio station. Really??? I can cite several of my published reviews of various high-end audio components. What exactly qualifies you as an “expert” volunteering for a college radio station? Get real dude. You’re clearly out of your depth here. Once again, I’ve revealed all of your unfounded and ignorant statements as complete bunk, and you’ve got nuthin’. Keep going and I’ll just keep debunking your uninformed assertions and keep exposing your ignorance. |
You are far above @decathlon1991 , and should not even engage with him. You are a long standing and valued contributor, and he is a lurking troll. Ignore him. |
Back to my assessment of the Luxman... 1. The lady of the house says "Did you get a new stereo?" 😀😀 She thinks it looks really cool. 2. Build quality is top-notch. Dials feel great. Input dial moves from position to position with a nice "thwunk". Very solid. I do with the meters were a tad brighter. 3. I Listened to Coltrane and Hartman last night. Vocals were spot-on. Johnny was in my living room! 4. Bass. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the 1.7s now have bass! Tight and full, but not bloated. Certainly not the type of bass you feel, but bass that has texture and speed. Very cool. 5. Soundstage. In my room, I'm not noticing a bigger or deeper soundstage than the McIntosh. I'll keep listening. That's it for now. I hope the moms in you lives have a wonderful day today! ~ Jerry |
@JRod I’m glad you’re enjoying you Luxman/Maggie 1.7 combo. Would love to hear more about it. I’m a big fan of the Magnepan speakers especially if you do the upgrades to them. I’ve owned several models in the past. The only issue I’ve experienced with the speakers over the years was the Lack of Dynamic Range. In your assessment with your system in your home. Have you experienced that at all? What lease share your thoughts!
Thanks |
I've only had Maggies in the last 20 years. I owned Klipsch Heresy speakers for a few months, sold them and took a bath on the price. Oh well. My point is, I don't have much recent experience with "dynamic" speakers. However, I've never felt that I was missing anything from my 1.7s (or 1.6s before them), especially from a dynamics perspective. Having lived with the hybrid McIntosh for 3+ years, I now understand that I was depriving the 1.7s of high-quality (and abundant) power. Not to say that I didn't enjoy my time with the MA252...I did! They're just two very different amps. I will miss that midband "lushness" of the McIntosh by the way. Enjoy your day! ~ Jerry |
@Jrod68,
I can see your point! For me I feel that almost all pieces of music has a certain dynamic range,. What I mean by that is that there is a difference between the loudest and softest passages. Believe it or not even some audio gear has a distinctive dynamic range, though in this case the term. This defines rye distinct boundaries of what your equipment is capable of producing. From what I have experienced in the music industry is that Dynamics, Harmony, Melody, along with Rhythm are essential to making music pleasurable and compelling to listen to at times. That was the toughest decision equipment wise, I had to make in giving up the Maggie’s as they do so many things well. I do miss having the brand within my system at times. |
Hey all, Happy Thursday! The MA252 was boxed and shipped to CO yesterday. No doubts and no regrets (yet). The Luxman is a really cool piece of gear. I'm still in the "get to know you" stage, and it's been a lot of fun! We'll be doing some construction in the kitchen & listening room (taking down a wall, going to open concept), and smaller Maggies are definitely in my future. The 1.7s are just too big. Thanks to all for the lively discussion. Take care...Jerry |
I also grew up with a mcintosh in the house, and when it was my turn to buy I auditioned a lot of the mcintosh amps. The ma5300 and ma7200 were just okay and I can understand a lot of the criticisms here about the veiled treble and lack of resolution. I felt that way too. But then I went to a top Mcintosh dealer here in S. Cal, the AV Source and auditioned the ma352 and ma8900 with Sonus Faber Nova l, 2, and 3s. The clarity was absolutely stunning and crystal clear. Literally sounded life-like, organic, and real. I think a lot of people who are saying the amps never sounded resolving probably weren't using the right cables,.conditioners, and speaker combos. It took me a lot of time to find and money to find the right combinations, but my ma352 now is highly resolving and engaging. I use a synergistic research loom for power cords and interconnects, and a portable, battery operated power supply. In my set up the clarity is crystal clear , but it wasn't always that way . |
