McIntosh to Luxman?

Luxman and MacIntosh could not be much more different. Luxman is rather evenly tonally balanced but with forward treble and lean midrange and bass and big on buttons and dials. MacIntosh is very heavy midrange and bass. Mac… the “muscle car”… Luxman the Toyota Avalon.

You definitely need to let your ears draw you to your choice.

My experience with Mac is that it’s very tonally rich but is rolled off in the upper treble range that veils upper-octave detail and the openness of the overall soundstage.  My experience comes from working for Magnolia at Best Buy and hearing the KEF Blades driven by Mac gear and it sounded like a blanket was thrown over the KEFs relative to how I’ve heard them sound at audio shows.  It was a disgrace and total sonic mismatch IMHO.  My guess is Luxman will do a better job in this area without ever sounding etched or hyper detailed.  Given what you’re looking for I think Luxman could be a considerable upgrade.  Just my $0.02 FWIW. 

@soix 

+1

My C2700/MC611 system is excellent. Mid-bass/bass to die for. I do agree about the highs. I fixed this issue by pairing  Nordost Valhalla 2 XLRs between my DAC and the C2700; boy, what a difference! It has transformed the MAC system from top to bottom. 

@jrod68 

I went from a Luxman 590 AXII to my current McIntosh system. The Luxman did not have enough power to drive my speakers. I did compare the McIntosh to the Luxman M10x and accompanying preamp. The Luxman is fabulous and more detailed than the MAC. However, the MAC is warmer and far more powerful with thunderous bass. My preference is for warmth and bass as exemplified by the direction I headed. It's all up to what your ears tell you!

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your input. I like the comparison of McIntosh to a muscle car. Very appropriate! I do appreciate the “tonally rich” sound of my MA252. It sounds like the Lux is a totally different animal altogether. The Mc has qualities that I like, so maybe I’m better off keeping it. I’ll have to check on the TMR return policy. ~ Jerry

TMR has a 14 day return policy. I assume I’m on the hook for return shipping, should I decided against the Luxman.  Shipping is not cheap, but hey, getting a really cool piece of equipment to try out sounds like fun!  Thanks again guys. 
~ Jerry