I'm driving my Forte III's with a Leben CS-300xs and it's crazy good. The Forte III's are not the last word in detail but they are fun. I actually have a MQ-88uC in my primary system and haven't trying pairing it with the Forte III's yet. I can see how it would work well. Perhaps a weekend experiment ;-) I will report back on this thread if I get around to trying it out.
Showing 5 responses by three_easy_payments
Just tried pairing my Luxman MQ-88uC with my Forte III's. There's no magic to be had here. I tried the 4,8, and 16 ohm posts....sounded best on 8 ohms as expected, but after 45 minutes of trying I couldn't wait to get the Leben back in. The Leben CS-300xs has oodles more synergy with the Forte III's. I will keep my Luxman amp paired with the O/96's, where it obviously thrives. |
@charles1dad Totally agree on synergy! Just because something looks like a good match on paper that's certainly no guarantee - and the converse is often true as well. You just have to try - and trust your ears, not the specs. The Leben CS-300xs and DeVore O/96's are a well-chronicled effective pairing and sound excellent in my system/room. The duo produce a rich, impactful and textured tone, if not a bit forward-sounding as influenced by the EL84-driven Leben. The Leben gives up some detail, finesse, holographic imaging, and agility to the Luxman MQ-88uC and it doesn't quite produce the large and weighty 3D soundstage that my LM805ia provides - but it's a really fun amp with a lot of slam and overall great pairing with the O's. Interestingly I'd say I nearly enjoy listening to the Leben through the Forte III's as much as through the O/96's. The Forte III's mainly don't image as well and are not as resolving on detail - as one would expect. So far I haven't heard a better pairing with the Forte III's than the Leben. |
@charles1dad Did you see the 2019 Stereophile review of the Luxman SQ-N150? Ken Micallef really liked the pairing with Forte III's, in fact in some ways better than his O/93's. The DNA looks similar to the Leben for sure with possibly a little less drive due to 5 fewer watts - and possibly transformer quality (tough to say). But talk about value - $2,795 and it comes with MM/MC phono? This could make a lot of Forte III owners happy I'm sure. It did sound like MC carts performed appreciably better using a SUT instead of the onboard MC stage - not surprising at this price point. https://www.stereophile.com/content/luxman-sq-n150-integrated-amplifier |