Luxman 509x vs Hegel H390

my 2 cents

i am a big hegel fan, they are wonderful amps for the purity of sound they deliver, but they are made in china to reduce cost and they hardly pass as audio jewelry

in my experience, sonically they do not take a back seat to luxman's solid state, i personally believe the upper models marginally surpass the luxmans for bass control and treble purity (i have heard the 509x and 507 models)

but i can understand, those attracted to luxman will usually not be attracted to hegel, and vice versa

Congratulations on the Luxman L-509x. I don’t have experience with the Hegel but own the L-590AXII. It’s high quality in terms of sonic delivery and very good.

The Luxman top models (509X and Class A 590AXII) not only sound musical but have high levels of refinement and detail. They sound closer to neutral and have a delicate refined touch as opposed to an energetic brute delivery of say Gryphon. The Luxman will let all the nuance and detail pass through to the speakers.

Jjss49 mentioned about the lack of bass control of the 509X in comparison to the Hegel. As I don’t have experience with the hegel I can’t comment. Nevertheless, based on my 20+ years experience with more than a dozen amps which include integrated and pre power combinations, the bass accuracy and control of the Luxman beat them all. The bass of the Luxman may sound leaner and lighter than other amps which are capable of producing a fuller, thicker or punchier bass(which gives the impression of more bass). More bass can be seen as a good thing but the increased thick bass or midbass produced by inferior amps can sound bloated, unrefined or uncontrolled. In other words, a smeared undefined bass although the bass sounds more substantial. The bass of the Luxman is accurate, defined and controlled although it sounds slightly lean in comparison to the heavy bass response produced by other amps. You will hear all the detail and nuance in the bass with the Luxman while other amps which produce a fuller bass will mask the detail in the bass.

Some costlier pre/power setups which I owned and currently own actually sound more colored/slightly inferior to the pure and musical delivery of the Luxman. The speaker and amp matching is of utmost importance and if you get that right, you will be immensely rewarded with a high quality sound from the Luxman. Just make sure your DAC or source is up to the mark and try to use good balanced interconnects if possible. Based on my limited experience I found that balanced XLR cables sound better than single-ended cables on the 590AXII.

Congratulations, and enjoy many moons of happy listening, cheers. 

op says he has bought a luxman already, so this response is not regarding his choice of luxman (doubtlessly wise, no debate from me, luxman’s are excellent, have many many happy customers, clearly built to last) but just a few points to clarify on earlier posts

Jjss49 mentioned about the lack of bass control of the 509X in comparison to the Hegel.

sorry @jjss49 didn’t say that ... @bigkidz did

what @jjss49 did say is that he felt while both have excellent bass, he felt the hegel was marginally superior to the luxman in this regard - neither amp produces anything approaching bloated or slow bass

Paid via paypal on ebay , 30 days to try it out , seller pays for return shipping if there is anything amiss, will have an audio tech give it a thorough check. Ended up paying a little over $7.5k incl. tax for the new item.

to be sure, buying a luxman (or a hegel) on ebay is pretty darned scary... mostly japanese sellers selling and shipping japan domestic market 100v pieces there... hopefully op did not err on this aspect... or if so hopefully he got a step-down tranny - granted op also did not state where he is located...

As for the Hegel H390, why so many on the used market anyhow, putting the issue of aesthetics in the long term...

let’s see... why are there so many more honda accords on sale used compared to acura tlx’s... could be maybe because there are 8-10-x more units sold new? 🤔

are people selling due to a tiresome possibly dark and dour SQ in time ?

this is very wrong ...

anyhow, happy listening... 

The hegel 390 proved non agreeable on many fronts with further analysis. What are they trying to achieve with these looks , then the overly man handled sound , did they think the 250 w over 8ohm would somehow dazzle the masses ??

The Lux 509 on the other hand along with the Moon tbh were all polish on natural offerings......something a bit weird about hegel and off-putting before long as evidenced by the quick detachment factor leading to trade ins after a short period in time. 

If not for the Lux 509, would have been the 600i or even the 340x from Moon. 

The journey has been long and in the end rewarding ......the 509 a thing of beauty .....the hegel a weird creation of which I decline any part of .......the Moon offerings remain in the agreeable and desired list ,  could be switched here and there with my 509....just for kicks  & why not....

Music is just the VE we seek in our lives ..........for that Luxman and Simaudio Moon check most if not al the boxes