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
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 |
@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. |
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 |
@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!
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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 |
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. |
@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. |
@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. |
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). |
@ 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! |
@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! 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. |
@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 |
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. |
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 always say don’t use what you have in your main two channel rig for movies. You won’t wanna watch more than one movie. Heck, you may just turn it off because it is screaming at you. It will sound lifeless and unpleasant because it’s way to detailed. It’s different from just listening to recorded or live recording music. You want your movie you are watching to feel more realistic and not too bright. That’s why you separate the two in my opinion. My McIntosh theater is only for theater, nothing more.. I don’t use it for two channel. I don’t expect everyone to have that option. But some folks love the sound of it I. A lot of folks use it if two channel. Now in defense of McIntosh, I always here that people nag it and say, they only purchase it because of the beautiful blue meters. Playing devils advocate, what’s the excuse of the ones without it? As an audiophile, I can appreciate all types of audio equipment. I don’t close my mind to any brand. As far as I am concerned, every company makes good and bad gear. I don’t label one company as bad because they are the most successful and keeping smaller companies afloat by peaking one’s interest in the audio world. If they go down, sorry to say others will follow suit. |
Nor do I where it comes to where you live and where you’ve heard them. Apparently I struck a nerve, lol. Taking one’s comments and twisting them to your liking for a debate doesn’t make you sound smarter, it makes you look desperate. Since you didn’t read the post from the beginning last time, let me spell it out for you so that you can comprehend. Best Buy Magnolia stores across the country uses a Plano for all of their displays. In fact all name brand stores do so. No one is asking you to believe it or not but if you want to feel smart, look it up or ask your setup guys at Best Buy Magnolia. I have a friend who is a Manager at the Magnolia store. I don’t guess like some other people, I ask. That’s how I know weather i like the sound from their display or not. Apparently you’re have an issue with McIntosh and the company model. Last I checked they set the market for the audio world. I wouldn’t be silly or blind to think otherwise. As for a million dollar system, I’ve embarked on that journey. I have multiple systems in my homes. Not trying to brag but you went there, lol. A true Audiophile person knows it’s not how much you spend, it’s what you achieve in buying the best gear for your environment to get what you PERCEIVE as the best sounding system for your home. At the end of the day, it’s their money and who are you to dream otherwise. You don’t matter to them in their eyes. One last thing, I use McIntosh for my theater, that’s my theater and could care less about what you think. It’s not my many two channel rigs. My two channel rigs is far more advanced because that was my choice. I’ve volunteered many times in college at radio stations, so trust me! I know what great music should sound like. At the end of the day, I would be honest with folks but I definitely wouldn’t bash their gear like you seem to do. To me, that’s what people do when they can’t afford it themselves or lack self motivation to explore like some folks like to do, again it’s their own money, not yours. That’s what I call ignorance thinking that you know what’s best for others!! |
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@decathlon1991 I care not where you’re from or where you are now. Your statement that Magnolia stores are all identical is patently false. What’s also false is your assumption that I only listened to the Blades with Mac gear for only two hours. The fact is I got to listen to that system for many months with my own reference recordings I’ve heard on many systems — several of them costing significantly over a million dollars — so I kinda know what they’re supposed to sound like, and the Blades in this dedicated room with top Mac gear sounded like crap. Soundstage was truncated and upper octave details were significantly rolled off, which is absolutely NOT a characteristic of the otherwise excellent Blade speakers. It was a total mismatch. You may like the Mac house sound or you may not, but in my experience hearing several of their models on many different speakers is that they skew toward the warm — and I’d say bloated — side and are significantly rolled off in the upper treble. A lot of people like that “sound” or the attractive blue meters, but it ain’t neutral in the least, which is likely why no reviewers — not one — use them as reference components in their systems. That’s because they only portray their interpretation of the recording and not what’s actually on it, and I think you’ll find the majority of people here would mimic my impressions. But, u do u.
Uh, Rrrriiiiiight. This is your ignorant and warped view of the world. Nuff said.
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If you have read my post, I was only speaking about the Magnolia Best Buy stores only. I’m in Southern California and trust me, growing up on the east coast, sSouthern California have some of the best stores. Most Magnolia doesn’t get the McIntosh MC2KW or McIntosh 1.2KW & 1.25KW. I’ve traveled all of the world and been to some of the incredible stores during my venture. As far as you writing for 17 years for a audio magazine, wouldn’t be my decision making on how a system sounds. As you claim, being a writer and testing systems, you should know systems are room dependent and system synergy. You may not like the brand or the sound but to say it sounds like crap for an hour or 2 of listening is pretty funny. What you like as appose to what someone else like is called a choice so your point of view wouldn’t matter to them especially if you haven’t heard their system in their environment. This is why the Audiophile magazines are going to be extinct. Folks are wising up and thinking for themselves. Buy with your ears and eyes, not with what someone is telling you to purchase with an article. |
A few years ago when I was shopping for an integrated I narrowed my choices down to a Mac MA2275 and one of the Luxman SS. After reading a number of posts comparing McIntosh and Luxman, I went for the 507ux. I am very happy with mine. The phono section is really good. I think I would have to pay over $2000 to significantly better it. That being said, McIntosh generally hold their value much better than Luxman but since you are buying used, that shouldn't be an issue. The one thing that bothered me about my unit is that it developed a slight buzz after I had it for about 6 months. The sound comes from the unit itself-it is nothing you hear through the speakers during playback. It is not very audible but it did bother me. It seems to be a fairly common issue-something to do with the way the transformers are mounted is what I have read. Luxman has no interest in addressing it so far as I know. |
@decathlon1991 While that may be true with your basic Best Buy that’s just simply not true when it comes to Magnolia. In NJ I have four Magnolia stores within a half hour from me, and none of them are set up identically and differ in their number and setup of individual listening rooms. In point of fact, my Magnolia had one separate room set up for only the Blades driven by very high-end Mac electronics including massive monoblock amps, and the other Magnolias did not have this. So that’s that. Also, I wrote professional reviews of high-end audio equipment for 17 years and have heard Blades in several different systems and all sounded markedly better than the setup at my Magnolia — not even close. So yeah, I kinda know what I’m talking about here. |
I have friends who manage what use to be Magnolia and sorry, I wouldn’t let them set up my system. When it comes to Plano design with Best Buy, at every store, the setup is the same. They don’t deviate from one store to another. In the room where they set it up with the McIntosh MC1.25 Monoblock amplifiers, the room isn’t established properly. Making a room look decent isn’t the same as setting it up properly to get it to sound good. The sound bounces around all over the place and it seems hollow. For that room size, the blade 2’s would be better for that size room but still would need to be dialed in. Also, one Mcintosh amplifier doesn’t have the same signature sound as another model. Each model has a different signature sound. I have friends and family members that own a McIntosh/ KEF Blade 1 & 2 combination and their setup sounds amazing. It takes a while to truly dial in the Blades. I have McIntosh as a theater setup but my listing room is Boulder. Just my 2 cents worth due to all of the gear I’ve owned in the past 40 years.😀 |
@decathlon1991 At my Magnolia the Blades were set up in their own room and 5 feet away from the back wall so setup wasn’t an issue and they still sounded like crap with the Mac gear. But I agree in the main listening room the speaker setup is a total joke. In fact, whenever I did an audition for someone I always pulled the speakers out and set them up so the customer could get a real idea of what they could do. I will say though that their home install service is exceptional and would recommend it highly even if you don’t buy your equipment there. They are very professional and experienced, and the price you’re quoted is the price you pay regardless if they run into unseen issues and need to eat the added cost of equipment and labor. They just do it right, which isn’t always the case with independent installers. |
CORRECTION!!!
It’s because the Magnolia at Best Buy has to follow the ridiculous floor plan which the setup is a disaster for sound quality. If you have ever been to a place or speak with the KEF Group, you would understand that the KEF Blades need a lot of room. You don’t put that kind of speaker next to a wall. It even sounded horrible with the Mark Levinson Gear. Not a place to go and listen to a system that’s isn’t setup properly. The amplifier and speakers are not the problem. The room and the setup is along with the folks trying to sell you the gear. |
Soix “My experience with Mac is that it’s very tonally rich but is rolled off in the upper treble range that veils upper-octave detail and the openness of the overall soundstage. My experience comes from working for Magnolia at Best Buy and hearing the KEF Blades driven by Mac gear and it sounded like a blanket was thrown over the KEFs relative to how I’ve heard them sound at audio shows. It was a disgrace and total sonic mismatch IMHO. My guess is Luxman will do a better job in this area without ever sounding etched or hyper detailed. Given what you’re looking for I think Luxman could be a considerable upgrade. Just my $0.02 FWIW”.
It’s because the Magnolia at Best Buy has to follow the ridiculous floor plan which the setup is a disaster for sound quality. If you have ever been to a place or speak with the KEF Group, you would understand that the KEF Blades. Reds a lot of room. You don’t put that kind of speaker next to a wall. It even sounded horrible with the Mark Levinson Gear. Not a place to go and listen to a system that’s it setup properly. The amplifier and speakers are not the problem. The room and the setup is along with the folks trying to sell you the gear. |
I cannot comment about the specific model you've mentioned, as I've never owned it. Below are comment's on what I've owned and hopefully they may be of some help to you: My first step from a common receiver to separates was first a used McIntosh, than a brand new unit. I do not remember the model numbers of the amp and preamp. At that time, for speakers I've owned B&W 802 series 3. After few months I've stepped up to CJ Premiere, because of sonic preference. After couple of years to Thor Audio. Regretfully, having issues with tubes made me sell them and return to solid state. Luxman 600 series amp and preamp were my first Luxman components. I liked them so much, I've stepped up to their 900 series after about a year. I've added more Luxman. products later. I have not found the sound lean as one of the entries noted. It is all about the system as a whole. SYNERGY is key. In my case, Luxman electronics, Focal Sopra Speakers, Shunyata Sigma 2 cables are a good match. Be well, vic
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Good to know the Luxman L-507uX is sounding great. I have the L-590AXII and have owned many integrateds and pre-powers, some costlier than the Luxman. As mentioned by others here, I share the same impressions about the Luxman. Without going into detail, I’ll just say it just sounds right and brings joy to the listening experience. I’ve briefly tried the McIntosh MC275mkIV years ago and I’m not sure if it’s the typical McIntosh house sound. It’s warm with a full fat bass and lacks air, definition and detail. The overall clarity of the amp is not very good to me. |
Good evening. The Luxman arrived today. Got my streamer hooked up and listened for a few minutes. Then my lady says “hey, can you pick up some food?” Off to get Chinese. 😁 First impression…holy s***. So the Maggie’s CAN make some serious bass. This thing seems to have unlimited headroom. Wow. More to follow. ~ Jerry |
I'm probably a little late with this, but I was going to suggest doing some tube rolling in the MA252 and see if that helps give you more of what you feel is currently lacking. I haven't yet done it myself in my Mac tube preamp, but have read many comments about it. Seems many folks feel the stock JJ tubes are not the best to bring out the full potential of the Mac tube gear. Improvements in soundstage, bass and "top-end sparkle" are often mentioned. |
I've owned Mac gear and really enjoyed it. Then I auditioned it with some Moon gear and I then identified a 'veil' lifted - more dynamics and clarity. I switched and have enjoyed it. And really appreciated my time with McIntosh and encourage you to audition if you can and trust your ears. I've heard some Luxman gear casually - they make quality gear and I think you are in a win-win situation |
jrod68 congrats, I bet you will love it. I just glanced thru the manual, love it's optional features https://luxmanamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/L-507uX-English-Manual-print1127.pdf
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@russbutton There actually is a significant audible difference between McIntosh and Luxman. The detail and soundstage of Luxman is superior to McIntosh. Having owned McIntosh 1.25KW mono amps and demoed Luxman products you would be surprised at the differences. Also, based on @jrod68 speakers he would notice an even bigger difference. Check out Ohm's law and you will see that the Luxman goes much lower than the McIntosh. Hope this helps provide some color around the two products. |
Both Mac and Luxman are good gear. I doubt you're going to hear significant differences. Certainly not worth what it will cost you for the Luxman, plus the pain of selling off the Mac. |
