My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!

@viber6 

I'm not really worried about people comparing both formats...to be honest... 

@fastfreight

You sound like a Bill Parish customer.....my favorite dealer.  Bill has a certain way of setting up for digital playback.  Bet your system sounds great.

Jay,

Yes, that’s a good deal--you play the LP’s and they play with the power cords. Try to get several examples of the same recording on LP vs digital. Someone said that CD’s could be mastered differently than LP’s, so if you have a few pairings of CD or other digital format plus LP, that will help you best answer the question of whether you prefer analog to digital. If Oz has analog tapes of the same LP, then you have 3 formats of the same recording, and that will be most informative. Then you can present at least 2 formats of the same recording on shootouts for the world audience to judge. At this high level, this has not been available before, and I guarantee your subscriber numbers will skyrocket. Oz seems to favor analog, but Carlos has both, and he could make another video appearance with great interest from all.

Otherwise, if you don’t have the two formats to present on the same recording, it will be an apples/oranges comparison, and nobody will be able to draw any valid conclusions about the best analog vs best digital.

Simaudio similarly created a notably better amp w the 860av2 compared to the 860av1 and the 870a.  The 870a was retailing at $22k before being replaced by the $20k 860av2.  fwiw

Thanks Bill...I had heard at one time that the huge markup was intentional by the first distributor. 

@aolmrd1241 - With all due respect I'd like to clarify the situation which led to Luxman reducing their retail prices across the board several years ago. It was not due to "price gouging" by their previous distributor, rather Luxman decided to open Luxman America and assume responsibility for US distribution internally. As a result they eliminated a level in their distribution structure and were then able to lower their retail prices by 20 - 25%. I know this since I purchased my C-900u when it was distributed by the previous distributor at $20K, and then later bought the M-900u after Luxman America had taken over and it then sold for $15K.

@fastfreight 

Thanks for the support and becoming a member of my site. 

Yes - i plan to keep bringing more great amps in the future. You amp and preamp have been on my radar. 

A quick update: i am assembling the new artesania Audio prestige rack which will accommodate the turntable, stromtank and Boulder 2010 phonostage. We are almost there folks ...it's been a battle to get everything ready for the big turntable set up but that will bring a ton of new eyes on my channel and good conversations. 

Luckily, i found a few vinyl lovers with big music collections that are willing to loan me their records if i let them borrow a few powercords to play with. Hey i can't beat that 🤣 !!

Hi Jay,  Good comparison of the Luxman and Gryphon.  It surprised me as i was not a Luxman fan prior.  comparing the Luxman to a Boulder is not apples to apples.

Now I know you are a man of means.  I know this for two reasons; 1) your uber exotic equipment, and 2) I signed up for your YouTube site!  So get an Audionet Stern and a pair of Heisenberg amps.  They will give your current amps a very big run for the money!  I am also a big fan of Kubala Sosna Elation and Realization cables.  The 'air and high end' described above is quite possibly a lack of meaty midrange. Bright / thin cables do this.  They accentuate the treble and sound brighter, not better. Looking forward to getting in the Audionet big boys!  I currently have the Audionet pre G2 and Max amps with Elation Cables. My front end is in a different room / different circuit. Nucleus+ > Upgraded Switch (JCAT M12 coming!) long run to my Muon Filter System (Supra CAT8) > Auralic Aries G2.1 WITH THE BOMB OF A CUSTOM SEAN JACOBS POWER SUPPLY (huge upgrade), USB to Tambaqui DAC.

I signed up like you asked, so let's do it!  Ken :)

Definitely good things coming from Luxman. Great power amplifier for the money. I can’t think of a better amp for $20k. That said, it’s a matter of time before something else comes out that beats it. Remember, Luxman 900u was in the 3rd spot for me (essence and 860v2 were ahead ) and look what the m10x has done while keeping the same price point. That’s commendable and more people here should recognize that Luxman didn’t back up prices even through the pandemic and yet the rest of the brands had multiple price increases. How can Luxman keep the same price and make a component better ? Someone explain that to me...

Those of you who complain and rant about brands jacking up prices should recognize what Luxman has done and give them props. 

The about face in favor of the Luxman doesn’t make sense. 

During the October 11 video with the 3 listeners in the room, it was clearly stated that the Gryphon was superior.   The claim that Jay was soft pedaling because the owner of the Gryphon (his friend – that Jay steered toward the Essence) was is the room is nonsense.  If you listen from approx. 11 minutes until the end, this doesn’t sound like soft pedaling.  And what about the 3rd participant who was also  in the room?  There was no doubt which one he thought to be superior either.

In the video regarding the poll results, Jay basically says that he wasn’t sitting in the right place while in the room for one of the amps, and, therefore, had to go back and listen to a recording via headphones – and only then did he realize that his conclusion, and those of the other 2 in room participants, were wrong.  This rings hollow.  In the room wins every time.

The about face was poll driven. Nothing more.

By the way, based upon the video, I preferred the Luxman also.

The M900u was initially 20k when first introduced into the USA...because the original importer decided to do some price gouging on his own behalf. Kudos to Luxman for switching to another distributor and keeping in line with their own pricing program... at the retail value of 15k...So there is a 5k increase for the new M10x.

Congrats to the folks at Luxman.  I have been a loyal Luxman owner since the 70's having owned literally dozens of their pieces. While I have migrated to a more expensive brand, Luxman will always have a special place in my audio journey. 

BTW - I still have my L-595A SE playing happily in my second system.

Thanks to Jay for this great shoot-out!

What a decisive win by Luxman. Nearly 75% in the poll, and definitively by WC when he didn’t have to soft-play his real thoughts because the biased owner of the Gryphon was present.

I have historically very much liked both the Luxman and Gryphon (and Boulder) sound, so I had absolutely no bias (unlike a frequent poster who make excuses here) going into the shootout. I expected that I would choose Gryphon, and would have been fine with that.

The other thing you really have to tip your cap to Luxman for is that the msrp of its amp didn’t change over these last couple years. M900u was $20k and m10x is too. That doesn’t happen

I would say that the most pervasive and consistent complaint on this forum is dealing with harshness or brightness, however you want to describe it. Audiophiles buy these hyper-revealing components and then have to spend countless thousands dialing them back with cables, footers, room treatments and whatever else. Or else they only listen to “demo” music that sounds good. Everyone enjoys this hobby in their own way, although I think that to many, this hobby is just a source of constant stress. But I think one reason the results came out the way they did was because of the question. “Which system do you prefer?”  Not “which system sounds the most accurate or the truest to the source?”  So a more euphonic system might do better in a “which sounds better” poll, but worse in a “which is most revealing of the source” poll. Political polls are manipulated this way as well, and it becomes obvious once you become aware of the manipulation. 

The Luxman is just a typical warm SS amp for lovers of tube sound.  Compared to the G Essence, it is fuller/richer in the midrange and bass, just like tubes.  This fullness yields more dynamics and an easy going tonal balance.  The G Essence is less full in the midrange, so it appears less dynamic, in a manner like the Simaudio.  I agree with everything Jay, Carlos and Oz said about how the Essence is more focused, revealing with a more open soundstage than the Luxman.  Oz rated the Luxman at 7, and Essence at 9.5.  I agree.  The Essence is smooth and actually more musical than the Luxman, in the sense that it is more accurate and true to life, revealing more of the music.  So I give the Essence the reigning award for high fidelity at its price.  

Jay, if you have the opportunity, a great shootout would be the Boulder 1161 vs G Essence.  Both amps cost about the same, with the 1161 having more power than the Essence.  They are probably in a similar sonic camp.  Does class A guarantee better sound?  Within the Boulder line, yes, as more class A power is available higher up in price.  But even the 1161 runs class A at low power where low level resolution resides.  It would be interesting to see if Boulder's overall design makes up for not being fully class A vs Essence.

Small point.  At 7:06, you said the ESSENCE has more richness and bass, and then 30-40 seconds later you said the Luxman has their qualities.  I think you meant the latter, so you might want to edit at 7:06.

Thanks again for this shootout, with the added bonus of comments from Oz and Carlos.

WC,

Seems like Luxman really upped their game with this new amp.   I think this goes back to one of the negatives you had about the Pass Labs amps - that they haven't really done substantial upgrades.   I think the .8 series came out 8 years ago. 

Dave

Good points. You all should have been extremely surprised with this last shootout because i was. I even had to change my pick !!!

I’m sure many will be surprised that the Luxman was the winner. It’s called selecting a product based on listening as opposed to reading subjective reviews, looking at pictures and advertising.  I think people want products that actually sound good as opposed to ones that let you know how crappy the source material is. Maybe mastering engineers need that, but it gets old fast at home. 

I liked amplifier #2 better than #1, especially on tracks 2 and 3. I thought the clarity was better and the dynamics were better. Piano sounded more real; same with trumpet. Gonna go watch the reveal video now.

Edit: Wow, surprised. A new king!

@zprr 

thanks for the support!

All subscribed and rolling these past few days. Already enjoying the extra video content and worth every penny, to me. Honestly, so many of us enjoy/have enjoyed, and learned from, your thread and content for so long, I feel like there should have been more monetary support along the way. so thanks. and looking fwd to all that is to come.

No forums YET... Thats a full time job...the site will eventually scale up and more will be added. 

Does your website have a forum? For some reason I thought it was going to, unless you don't see it unless your logged in.

I didn't know you sold IsoAcoustics, I've seen discussions about stands maybe I just didn't make the connection. I just bought a pair for my front speakers.

Nice website I deal with websites in my work and they all say to put your journey on it, it draws people in and connects them with you. 

Thanks Dave. It has been fixed 

WC,

On the website, under My Journey, I see Brands I Represent at the bottom of the page.  I was curious, so I clicked on those links to look at the manufacturer's site.  However, the IsoAcoustics link is going to the wrong place.  Just thought I would let you know.

Dave

I watched the video. In my opinion the comments succinctly summarize the differences between two different amplifiers. Moreover, I submit the comments more broadly describe differences we hear between systems, some being "truthful" and others "colored". My opinion has always been there isn't an "absolute better" component and/or sound, because it comes down to the end users preferences. 

@viber6 

Perhaps, the support should come by becoming a member first and then you can  send a private note with your recommendations? 

Interesting website.  Unique are the offerings of esoteric stands/isolation components I have not seen elsewhere.

One suggestion.  Change the wording of the three membership levels.  Low-fi and mid-fi members who still pay a significant fee are striving for the best hifi components they can afford don't consider themselves low-fi or mid-fi.  Excellence can be found at all price levels.  How about this for the three membership levels--good, better, best.  OR--tier 1, tier 2, tier 3.  Arts organizations that seek support have membership levels such as--friend, generous supporter, angel benefactor.  Etc.  

The number of videos are primarily based on the component rankings i provide for each group. There are plenty of videos on all groups but the top group has my raw opinion on "garbage" components which the rest of the groups don’t see. I also have an active WhatsApp group for the top membership. All these members were shown yesterday on camera the new boss amplifier plus everything i have hiding in the room. In short, it’s not just videos but also live chat with me via WhatsApp.

Jay/WC/Jaywc/wcJ/whitecamaros/Best sound east of the Mississippi (sorry OCD Mikey). We all should be congratulating u on the website. That is such a HUGE achievement, the effort and outlay i can’t fathom and the looks are fantastic. One element I was most curious about before choosing mid or hi tier:

- level of access to your extra videos depending on the tiers of subscription. From what I infer “hi” tier has the most but how does that compare to mid vs low?

Congrats again on this next step

For 80% of this thread he was WC. Only last 20% Jay. So we are grandfathered in. Even if he prefers Jay I’ll stick with WC, haha  ; )

I still refer to him as WC too.   If he lets us know a preference, I will use that going forward.   If he doesn't care, then it doesn't matter.

Dave

@rpeluso - As I recall his username was initially WhiteCamaroSS.

Why do you refer to Jay as WC?  I mean I know it was initially referred to as that, sort of, but once he was Jay’s…, why?

Well folks, after a year of hard work and dedication and many hurdles, my website is finally LIVE!!!. 

I am very happy and somewhat emotional at the same time because the amount of leg work, anxiety, financial commitment and backaches have been overwhelming, but I finally did it and I hope you guys enjoy this. 

Within the members section, there are over 5 hours worth of content that has NEVER BEEN SEEN before on my Youtube channel. 

Thanks for the support and remember, I couldn't do this without you!

Cheers!

@kren0006 

Amén brother !

That’s funny. Viber telling WC what WC’s weaknesses are. Good one, Viber. I think your weakness is that you assume WC cares, even a little bit, about what you think. He doesn’t.

Many of us, myself included, will make suggestions or requests, as I’ve done above, but never issue commands ("do this in the test"), demands ("record using these songs;" "do dac-direct" (the all-timer)) or accusations ("your weakness is ...") as you do almost daily.

WC will probably use whatever he has ample access to, and we’ll all get to benefit from his generosity with his time and funds. I am continually surprised by how you repeatedly instruct him to do certain tests or shootouts, or perform them in a certain way. He doesn’t listen to you - take a hint.

Viber - feel free to buy the chord dave and send to me like you did with your amp?

I'm game... Let me know how you want to do this. 

Jay,

Your weakness is clinging to your contention that expensive stuff almost always wipes out reasonably priced stuff.  On your previous DAC shootout between the MSB and DCS Rossini, you said that it is foolish to spend more than $30K on a DAC.  In that shootout, I preferred the MSB by a hair.  Now is your chance to A/B the Chord DAVE against the MSB.  Some readers here own the DAVE and are very happy with it, and kren0006 just requested inclusion of the DAVE in the shootout.

You are afraid of the possible outcome that enough people will vote for the Chord DAVE (or comparably priced other DAC) in a blinded shootout with the MSB. Similarly, Alon Wolf is afraid (but won't tell anyone) that recordings of the M9 against much cheaper speakers will not show the supposedly vast superiority of the M9.  I predict right now that I would prefer the S7 against the M9 because I don't like the tonal balance of the M series.

Alon Wolf certainly has excellent qualifications as a former violinist with current technical competence.  But he said he is no longer an amateur audiophile, but now he is a business man.  Note that "amateur" literally means a "lover" and doesn't imply that an amateur is less competent than a professional.  In short, he is primarily focused on making as much money as possible, and the same is true for you.  Nothing wrong with that, since I believe in free market capitalism.  But a few business people are successful by engaging in open minded exchange of ideas and experiences, without bias for selling overpriced stuff.  They earn the highest trust from their customers by doing that.  

As for you, you stretched your finances to get the Boss amp.  You also did the same to get the outstanding Boulder 3010 preamp.  Both of them are worth the money to you for their significant virtues.  I would predict that the DAVE would give the MSB tough competition, and you could save lots of money for things like the Boss and 3010 that make much bigger differences in your system than the MSB.

Aqua La Scala or Formula

dCS Bartok

MSB Discrete or Premier

Weiss 501

Lumin X1

Chord Dave

Playback Designs Edelweiss

I hope some of the above make it into the dac shootout

Nice job Jay.  I have been a Luxman fan for decades having owned dozens of their pieces.  Although I just sold my Luxman separates (trying to simplify my system) I cannot think of a better all-around choice at this price point either.

I’m not comparing my select 2 to an affordable DAC. The narrative will be endless about how a 10k dac destroyed a 120k (sure thing !)

There is a reason why Alon Wolf doesn’t let anyone record the M9 in the factory or Wilson Audio with the WAMM.

IF they ended up doing such videos, they don’t prove a thing nor do they win anything other than people creating narratives about how such speakers aren’t worth the money blah blah blah etc etc. Yet, none of these individuals who would criticize such statement speakers have the finances to buy such speakers to begin with. If someone had serious interest in buying such speaker, I’m sure they aren’t hurting for money and can easily fly in to hear the speaker in the factory.

I totally understand their positions and I’d do the same to be honest. It’s no coincidence that you don’t see a Bugatti Veyron racing Honda Civics on YouTube... No reason to...nothing to gain from such stupid race...doesn't matter if a souped up Honda civic beats the Bugatti...it's still a Honda Civic... 

Hell yeah--how about Chord DAVE vs MSB Select, for clarity and detail?  Jay, I think you heard the DAVE in your room a few years ago--comment?

If you can only get the cartridge before you get older, that may "school" you to the point where you ditch the uber expensive digital stuff and be content with something like DAVE.

Luxman M10x vs Gryphon Essence, followed by an affordable DAC shootout....hell yeah

Gryphon versus Luxman should be great.  The consensus winner from the first shootout versus a known good amp.  Hope you keep it blind like before, but that's probably a no-brainer.  Thanks for the efforts.  I bet YT loves the variety in terms of traffic and signups

Jay, it's fine to hear the G Essence against the Luxman, but please use the same songs and recorded levels so we can go back to the shootouts and hear the Essence against the Sim and Connie amps as well. 

According to the Connie sales rep Irv Gross several years ago, the cheapest Inspiration was sonically comparable to the bigger Centaur.  At medium high power, the Inspiration would be an outstanding buy ($11K at the time).  I actually chose the Connie Taurus (#3) on the 2nd round over the other two amps for the combination of the Connie's good clarity and smoothness.