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Upgrade help: Luxman and McIntosh.

This is my first here although I have been reading this forum for several years and and immensely thankful for several knowledgeable posters.

Current system is Bluesound Node 2i >> Schiit Bifrost2 >> Arcam A75 Plus >> Totem Sttaf. 

Musical interests are Jazz, Blues, Classical and Vocals(mostly female) and listen at low to moderate volume.

I have had Arcam/Totem combination for over fifteen years and have been happy but recently caught the upgrade bug, not because my system is unsatisfactory but rather because of the thought that I might be missing something.

After some research I have narrowed my selection to  Luxman L-507uxii with Spendor D7.2 or McIntosh MA352 with Dynaudio Contour 30i.

I think I can live with either of the speakers although I am leaning more towards the Spendors.

I would appreciate any comments/advice from someone who has listened to the specific models or experiance with products from both companies.

Thanks in advance.



dimbhaka
15 responses Add your response
erik_squires
16,056 posts
 
I can't tell you how happy I have been listening to my own 507ux. 

It is extended in the bass and treble, and has a sweet liquid midrange.  Also, the tone controls, including loudness work very well.

My experience with Dynaudio is they tend to make speakers for different listening levels/styles, so when picking, make sure you evaluate it at the level you actually will listen at.
dimbhaka OP
30 posts
 
@erik_squires  thanks for letting me know about Dynaudios and volume. I will look into that. I did  read your thread where you detailed your acquisition of the 507.
nitewulf
422 posts
 
The mid and high range Dynaudios typically require mote power to sound alive. The new Contours are really nice and lush sounding. I had Dynaudio Focus with MC252, but I’d get the Luxman given the choice. It should be a fine pairing.
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riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook
981 posts
 
Yep..Dyn's need to be played at higher volumes than most other speakers to get the best out of them. If you listen at lower to moderate levels forget about ALL Dyn Speakers. Just the nature of the beast...sold my Contour 30 a couple of months ago for that reason.
luxmancl38
580 posts
 
I have 2 dealers about twenty minutes apart. One sells Mac & Dynaudio ant the other Luxman & Spendor. The Luxman Spendor combo is livelier w/a a detailed bottom and a excellent top. The Mac combo just too warm and laid back for me.
dimbhaka OP
30 posts
 
Thanks for all the inputs. I just placed an order for Spendor D7.2 and Luxman L-507uxii. 

Hope to be listening to them sometime next week.
nitewulf
422 posts
 
Where did you order the Luxman from? Pm me.
andysf's avatar
andysf
269 posts
 
I  have a Luxman 507ux and am very happy with it.  I was also considering a McIntosh 2275 at the time but think I made the right choice.  I am using it with Spendor monitors.
shahram
115 posts
 
@dimbhaka

Any updates on the Luxman/Spendor combo? I've got a pair of D7s and have really been eyeing Luxman lately.

Make sure you get at least 200 hours on the Spendors. They can sound a bit bright/lean out of the box.
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
I bet that’ll be a fantastic combo. I’ve got D7 with ARC SS and really enjoy it. 
Down road in couple years thinking maybe D9.2 and L-590AXii as an upgrade, so yes, let us know how the Spendor/Luxman pairing is breaking in. D7’s take a long time to break in as others have mentioned 
dimbhaka OP
30 posts
 

@shahram  I have been listening to D7.2/L-507uxii combination every day and it is pleasure to do so. I listen for around three hours a day, so it is going to be a long journey breaking them in. Almost all of my albums, especially the quieter/sparse ones sound much better. I wish I had done it sooner!


@kren0006  It is indeed a fantastic combination. Since I upgraded the speaker and amplifier at the same time, I don’t know which component contributed more, I am happy for the results though. You may want to just upgrade the amp to Luxman and see if you still want to upgrade the speakers.


I may not know the right audiophile terms, but let me see if I can explain what I noticed:


1. I hear a lot more detail in the music even at low levels. There seem to be notes, that I didn’t notice before.

2. I can go up in volume, without any distortion and go down in volume without loosing details in bass and treble.

3. While listening to Jazz, I noticed that cymbals are, for lack of a better word, very granular.

4. Bass seems to have a lot more texture and much more extended than my previous setup.



Overall a beautiful setup and hope to keep them for a long time.


shahram
115 posts
 
@dimbhaka

Excellent! Are you experiencing any harshness in the treble?

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the following recording: "Hate it Here" by Wilco. The lead guitar comes in after the first verse and is still a little hot sounding in my system. Probably because my room is pretty small. It's also a pretty forward/somewhat bright recording.
dimbhaka OP
30 posts
 
@shahram 

No I am not experiencing any harshness; it was a poor choice of words on my part. What I wanted to convey was there was more clarity and detail to cymbals compared to my previous setup.  I will listen to "Hate it Here" by Wilco this evening and let you about the lead guitar.
dimbhaka OP
30 posts
 
@shahram I did listen to "Hate it Here" last night and the guitar sounded normal to my ears. My room 14ft wide and abound 30ft long. As you said, it might be room acoustics.

shahram
115 posts
 
@dimbhaka

Thanks for listening! Your comments are much appreciated. I guess I just need a bigger room...
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