Luxman 590AX II Break-In

System update

The Luxman is gone. The McIntosh C2700/MC 611s sound glorious with the KEFs. The bass is easily 300% better. I could probably convince some that I am using a sub. 

The moral of this story is that room acoustics had nothing to do with the bass. It was the inability of the Luxman to drive the power-hungry KEFs. This fact was verified at a dealer also. I also tried the 509X at the dealer into the KEFs, there was a slight improvement, but neither of the integrateds had enough juice to drive them properly. Only the M10X could. The dealer also agreed.

The NEW model Luxman amps should be on their way soon! Most of their current models on their website are showing END OF LIFE!

The Luxman is gone. The McIntosh C2700/MC 611s sound glorious with the KEFs. The bass is easily 300% better. I could probably convince some that I am using a sub.

The moral of this story is that room acoustics had nothing to do with the bass. It was the inability of the Luxman to drive the power-hungry KEFs. This fact was verified at a dealer also. I also tried the 509X at the dealer into the KEFs, there was a slight improvement, but neither of the integrateds had enough juice to drive them properly. Only the M10X could. The dealer also agreed.

Good to know. I checked on the McIntosh MC 611 monoblocks. There isn’t much surprise your power hungry KEFs sounded a lot better with these monoblocks. The Luxman is after all an integrated amp, a modest one and not something like the monster Vitus integrateds that weigh a tonne.

McIntosh MC611

• Power Output per Channel

  600 Watts @ 2, 4 or 8 Ohms

• Unit Weight

  97.5 lbs (44.32 kg)

The capability of providing 600W into 2 ohms is surely something. One unit of these MC611s is close to 100 lbs, A pair would be close to 200 lbs. They surely look business!

Congratulations! It is great when you make a move that results in what you desire. McIntosh is known to be very midrange and bass heavy… sounds like the solution to your dilemma. 
 

On the other hand, in some other systems room treatments could be the solution.

@ghdprentice 

+1

My "wheelhouse" in music is bass/midbass and a warmer midrange. I have auditioned many amps/integrateds and I have not heard an amp that betters the MC611s in the bass/midbass range. The closest I heard was the Gryphon Diablo 300. I think the big MACs have it beat, though.

As far as highs, McIntosh is a little "light" on the top end. I fixed that problem by pairing my source DAC into the C2700 with Nordost Valhalla 2s. That cable has completely transformed the sound of the system.