Peter Finney
Active Member
The Luxman 509x is now in my system as of yesterday and all good. Sorry for the typo earlier it was the Accuphase E480.
I rearranged the room to move the seating area a fair bit closer to the speakers.
I recognise most of what you say above, Tony from my own slightly more limited experience of the E650. The only thing I’d say is that I’ve not detected much lacking in the presentation of rock (but then again, I’ve never lived with a Naim system, albeit my Albarry stuff is on a similar page I think). I don’t listen to all that much rock, though, so I’m not best placed to judge. But modern, well recorded rock (eg Steven Wilson) is awesome in my experience, and I can’t imagine that Naim would bring more to the party.Had a couple of similarly-afflicted chaps round to listen to my new system setup yesterday. They'd not heard this since I had my full-blown Naim active setup and before I rearranged the room to move the seating area a fair bit closer to the speakers. Their views, which I value, were very positive. In my view, the Accuphase does bring with it a nicer, more laid-back Class A sound, perhaps not so good for rock and lively music but better for gentler fare. As I've gotten older I tend to lean more towards the latter in my listening sessions, so overall more enjoyable. Something that stands out now, and one of the first positive differences I noticed, is the ease at which I can now follow bass lines and patterns. This was also picked up on by my guests.
So I thought take your advice and bought these. I have never had balanced XLR cables in my system before as my previous amp only had rca connections. So these cables arrived this morning and I connected them between my Luxman 509x amp and Audiolab MDAC+ and put a Stevie Wonder cd on...........Oh wow, I couldn’t believe the transformation, literally opened the sound right up, I am completely blown away. I was always in the camp that cables are cables and only make small differences. These have just transformed the sound. ThanksBuy a couple of these in the mean time, they might just surprise you!
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=271976814620
Hi Mike, I'm not a big fan of valves, having moved from a dalliance with them many years ago to Naim. Funnily enough, we were discussing Sugden yesterday. Not heard their stuff recently but I've always had a bit of a soft spot for them. One of my other visitors has a Vitus, another old mate also, but I heard the latter's one & it failed to blow my skirts up at the time, and they're very expensive for what they are.Usually, the further back you are from the speakers, the more laid-back/diffuse/relaxed the presentation becomes. If you've moved your seating forward and still get a more relaxed sound, you've probably brought about a sea-change. I'm assuming the same speakers as the active Naim powered. Did you consider valves, Tony, or, for that matter, Sugden or Vitus
Yes, age has elicited a gradual change in listening genres here as well, but rhythmic stuff, as long as it has melodic content, still gets played. I try to avoid funereal music though; too close for comfort!
The magic doesn't come from the cables themselves but rather from the method of transmission and, in particular, whether your amp and/or source was designed for optimal performance with single-ended or balanced transmission. In cases of the latter, it's likely that even a 99p balanced cable will outperform a £1k single-ended cable, assuming it's been made correctly.So I thought take your advice and bought these. I have never had balanced XLR cables in my system before as my previous amp only had rca connections. So these cables arrived this morning and I connected them between my Luxman 509x amp and Audiolab MDAC+ and put a Stevie Wonder cd on...........Oh wow, I couldn’t believe the transformation, literally opened the sound right up, I am completely blown away. I was always in the camp that cables are cables and only make small differences. These have just transformed the sound. Thanks
I'm exploring possible options to pair with higher-efficiency large Tannoys. Anyone using Luxman class-A into 15" DCs? The top-end Luxman is around £7k so quite a bit over my budget but not out of reach either. Not having heard one, is it really that good? I mean, it looks good but how does it compare to other options in that price bracket? Would I regret getting one out on demo to try (for fear of having then to dig deep)?
Usually, the further back you are from the speakers, the more laid-back/diffuse/relaxed the presentation becomes. If you've moved your seating forward and still get a more relaxed sound, you've probably brought about a sea-change. I'm assuming the same speakers as the active Naim powered. Did you consider valves, Tony, or, for that matter, Sugden or Vitus
Yes, age has elicited a gradual change in listening genres here as well, but rhythmic stuff, as long as it has melodic content, still gets played. I try to avoid funereal music though; too close for comfort!
One of my other visitors has a Vitus, another old mate also, but I heard the latter's one & it failed to blow my skirts up at the time, and they're very expensive for what they are.
I once had a pair of Tannoy Chatsworths (12" MG's) paired with a Luxman L550AII and it wasn't a great pairing . The mids and highs were fabulous but the Luxman strangled the bass giving it a staccato quality , I blamed it on the Luxman's damping factor being too high . I switched to an Accuphase amp ( E203 ) of a similar vintage to my Tannoy's and it was a much better match .
you know those moments when you wish you'd kept quiet????
See post 478.
8ohms, yes, and that one's a bit far away and will possibly go higher anyway. Might be able to strike a deal with Gary too, plus the possibility of a trade-in makes new more compelling right now.... forever amp, right?30w Class A will be more than enough @93db - What Ohms are they?
PS, are you going to Elite/AE?
Heres one that might save you a chunk, http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=283987271069