advertisement


Luxman/Accuphase/Yamaha - Quality?

Yerp it’s a fact... metals contract I’m sure you can do the homework.

But be as patronising as you like.. it still won’t change the FACT.. transformers are made of copper and they heat up; FACT...
 
And someone must be a witch if they weigh the same as a duck:


Can't the manufacturer just put the transformer in the fridge and the oven a few times instead of making us poor suckers wait for it to break in?

FACT
 
I’m probably over-egging the hum. It’s there but it’s not at all audible more than a few feet from the amp in a totally silent room. And the sound *more* than makes up for it...
 
A day in - probably ~15 playback hours on the clock - and I’m fairly certain that the Luxman betters the Mac across the board. The Mac is a terrific amp, way better than most, but I’m struggling to identify any area where the Mac wins, apart (perhaps) on vocal presence. The impression I get of the Luxman/Arden combo is one of ‘great electrostats but with tight, extended bass’. Sort of like my headphones in many ways. But in no particular way does it emphasise anything - it’s got that ‘master tape’ quality. I can’t speak for other combinations but it controls my speakers with total command, and shows them to be even better than I’d previously thought. I’m probably going to regret saying this, but this is pretty much end-game for me. I’ve not made a decision but there is a path to upgrade laid out that works for me; I just have to come to terms with what is still a non-trivial step. But this combo is - in theory - enough to put hifi on the ‘job done’ pile.

I guess what I’m saying is that, yes, this IS quality :)
 
Caveat: I’ve yet to do the in-room Luxman vs Mac comparison, and there are a few things in favour of the Mac, mainly tweakability (it’s valves) and price (Lux = Mac plus £££) but remember my objective was ‘final amp’? Well, this may well be it....
 
Ok. TL;DR summary on the MC stage (with my Apheta 2)?

it’s stunning.

I thought you would like it. Always nice to get the view of others in similar situations.

I was very surprised (pleasantly) about the MC phono stage with a cartridge that likes 100 Ohm loading.

Some others have recommended using SUT and the MM stage to get greater adjustment - however I am very satisfied with the MC stage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JTC
A day in - probably ~15 playback hours on the clock - and I’m fairly certain that the Luxman betters the Mac across the board. The Mac is a terrific amp, way better than most, but I’m struggling to identify any area where the Mac wins, apart (perhaps) on vocal presence. The impression I get of the Luxman/Arden combo is one of ‘great electrostats but with tight, extended bass’. Sort of like my headphones in many ways. But in no particular way does it emphasise anything - it’s got that ‘master tape’ quality. I can’t speak for other combinations but it controls my speakers with total command, and shows them to be even better than I’d previously thought. I’m probably going to regret saying this, but this is pretty much end-game for me. I’ve not made a decision but there is a path to upgrade laid out that works for me; I just have to come to terms with what is still a non-trivial step. But this combo is - in theory - enough to put hifi on the ‘job done’ pile.

I guess what I’m saying is that, yes, this IS quality :)

I like your description of the Luxman having "master tape" quality, and I can relate to it if this quality is associated to neutrality, true to the source. Perhaps that's the reason you find vocals to have more presence with the Mac than Luxman. I have said this earlier on this thread or on the Naim forum. The Naim also has slightly more presence with its forward nature which pushes the vocals out a bit more, and the bass considerably more which contributes to dynamics giving the sound more punch and liveliness. But this is, to me colouration. The traits may favour select speakers and some may prefer this sort of presentation.

Similarly vocals sound slightly flatter with less presence when compared to Naim. It remains one of two rows behind the plane. However, I find the quality of human voice on the Luxman to be more pure and silky, almost grainless when compared to other solid state amps that I own which include the Naim and Sonneteer. Perhaps the Class A topology has got something to do with it. The sound is much smoother at the top without glare.

Basically the Luxman doesn't flatter anything but the level of clarity, detail and neutrality is quite stunning at its price range when compared to costlier integrateds from the likes of Vitus etc. There are tweaks and adjustments that are able to improve on dynamics and vocal presence, making the sound more solid and dense in the midrange. I'm still in the process of adding one or two final tweak to the system before I call it quits.
 
Another very good thing about the Luxman is that you won’t have any listener fatigue even on very long listening sessions so this has to be kept in mind.
 
Never say never and all that. Who knows what the future brings, but I would dearly love to get off the hifi treadmill. I’m basically there but for the amp.....
I've got bad news for you. Unless you totally lose interest in hifi, you will stay on the treadmill. To cite my own example, I already have my end-game amps. Unfortunately, they are over 40 years old and, one day, they might irreversibly expire. To cater for that possibility, I keep an eye out for something new that is equivalent. It seems the Accuphase C-2150 or C-2450 into their A-48 would do the job nicely. I'm strongly resisting the urge to try them out, and so keep MY treadmill on pause for as long as I can.
 
Like listening to the master tape? How can you possibly know?
Although I’ve heard a few (though not through my system admittedly) it’s more a figure of speech to describe the uncoloured, truthful and extremely detailed sound. Of course, you can never really know unless you actually own the master tapes, but those I’ve heard had the same almost intangible quality about them.
 
Although I’ve heard a few (though not through my system admittedly) it’s more a figure of speech to describe the uncoloured, truthful and extremely detailed sound. Of course, you can never really know unless you actually own the master tapes, but those I’ve heard had the same almost intangible quality about them.
Fair enough, it is just one of those terms that has become meaningless. What if the original source is a digitally compressed mess?

Sounds like a great amp anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JTC
Yerp it’s a fact... metals contract I’m sure you can do the homework.

But be as patronising as you like.. it still won’t change the FACT.. transformers are made of copper and they heat up; FACT...

Orders of magnitude lower effect than the parameters I mentioned earlier.
 
I own several Accuphase power and integrated amps. My new heavily modded Texas Instruments TPA3255 amp sounds so much better, it's like 2 different galaxies. All Acuphases sound soooooo slooooooow in comparison, they are also sound styled or sounded and lightyears away from neutral. But somehow smooth on the ear with big upper bass and body. Leads to a rather large gestalt. But honestly, the TPA3255 is out of this world class, ultra deep and fruity bass but still totally detailed like nothing else and in comparison razor sharp fast. Much much more detail, space, attack. The music sounds so much more attractive and pure. Accuphase sounds like sleep pills.... My Sansui AU-517 & 719 are also much more neutral and faster and more fun. Sorry, but thats my honest opinion.
Which era Accuphase do/did you own? If you are referring to the current crop, that would be at odds with how others find modern Accuphase.
 
I own several Accuphase power and integrated amps. My new heavily modded Texas Instruments TPA3255 amp sounds so much better, it's like 2 different galaxies. All Acuphases sound soooooo slooooooow in comparison, they are also sound styled or sounded and lightyears away from neutral. But somehow smooth on the ear with big upper bass and body. Leads to a rather large gestalt. But honestly, the TPA3255 is out of this world class, ultra deep and fruity bass but still totally detailed like nothing else and in comparison razor sharp fast. Much much more detail, space, attack. The music sounds so much more attractive and pure. Accuphase sounds like sleep pills.... My Sansui AU-517 & 719 are also much more neutral and faster and more fun. Sorry, but thats my honest opinion.

Does that mean you’ve spent a fortune on kit only for it to be blown away by a £160 board? It’s how it reads with all the inevitable questions that can flow from it.
 
Basically what I was saying. There is a tendency to exaggerate the build quality and tactile nature of some of these amps. They’re good, and I’d put it ahead of Naim and many other brands, but not by a huge margin. Sonically, this Luxman is quite a way beyond any Naim system I have owned or spent significant time with, but even that assessment is based on memories of older kit (in my case 52/SC/250 and into different speakers) so it is nigh on impossible to be objective.

All I can say is that this is a very fine audio system.
 


advertisement


Back
Top