klipsch on luxman vs klipsch on sansui ?

[quadklipsh]

Guys . i will tell you about the playback sound of the two amps that i own with my Klipsch RF 3s :
these are :

1) sansui 907 imos limited (completely genuine )

2) vintage Luxman L550 (not so genuine , infact repaired twice and not fully restored ).

heres my take on the two after a 30 min audition of both .

First ,i let the luxman warm up for about five to ten minutes . once the top shows signs of warmth i sit with my friends finishing tea, and play a set of pre selected songs , mostly karunesh, pink floyd, madonna, and micheal buble.in flac and played through my HP laptop .(i know that sucks but my cd player victor k2 ,crashed a week ago ).

The volume knob on the Luxman was soon set at around 11 oclock position . it was not very loud but a very fulfilling sound to me. the mid band is raised and i feel all the tiny detail and instruments sparkling up and down as the music goes. The sound is detailed . the bass is soft and typically as they say the burnt bass of the luxmans !!! .

i can go louder and louder and it wont hurt us at all . such is the magic of the mighty luxman . we loved this sound . The horns never get harsh and never require loweing of the higher frequencies when played through the L550. it satisfied our souls .

Ok now it was time for the sui.

http://www.hifido.co.jp/merumaga/osu/120803/photo/3imos.jpg

i disconnect the speaker wires and the interconnects and connect them to the 907 mosfet mammoth . Since its a class AB design, i dont go for the warming up part and simply hit the music.
boom !!!
what is this !!!
More clear, more powerfull and harder bass, flatter through the entire bandwith , and much more tight in imaging. id say its about 30 % tighter and 30% more accurate than the luxman.

please consider that sansui 907 is as mint in condition both inside and out as one could imagine and mathematically perfect as my tech once checked it before i bought it.

now as i sit back with friends , they both pointed out the sansui was more accurate and flatter . tiny details were highlighted nicely, and brought to attention . the volume knob stayed at 9 oclock or so , and it got very loud as i just turned it up to half volume for a few secs ( volume design ??). bass soon got thumping character and began pounding our room .

verdict :

this particular Sansui and klipsch make a nice combo ,which is fast and accurate and can blow the glass panes with a slight twist of the knob . but i started wanting to reconnect the luxman , which i soon did , and i again started loving it even more . The thumping bass kick was gone , the highs were softer and dispersed more so through the room . id say the sansui was shy in the highs but they were very tight and accurate . the luxman is silkier sounding. its got that lush and richness that always gets me back to it . . and the accuracy was also very good. i could turn the volume ful,without threatening the windows at all. this was my same klipsch which gets so tamed with the luxman as if leased or choke chained and still be pleasant and immensely musical .

i left the luxman playing . i took the sansui to the other room . id perhaps go hunting a jbl L112, for the sansui .

i hope to get the luxman serviced and bring it back to original specs !!! GOSH what an amp would it be then !!!
Well this was just my ears !

Your reviews and comments are welcome .

 

[Dukiedook]

Yeah, until you get the Luxman up to spec it is kind of unfair to compare the two.

 

[CohibaJoe]

Yeah, until you get the Luxman up to spec it is kind of unfair to compare the two.

I agree.....Need to Recap that Luxman.

 

[pete_mac]

Personally I've never been particularly impressed with any of the Luxmans that I've heard. They seem two lack refinement and resolution, sounding a bit warm 'n wooly overall. I guess personal sonic tastes come into play here. That said, they have all been original (I've never restored one).

This Luxman isn't much older than the Sansui (1981 vs 1987) so I think it is a relatively even playing field regarding age. We're not comparing a 90's amp vs an early 70's amp. Is there something about the Luxman which indicates it is in need of restoration? If so, I think you'd really need to restore both for an equal comparison. Unfortunately the Sansui is chock-full of nice Elna Silmics and replacing those filter caps would get very expensive very quickly!

 

[quadklipsh]

luxman caught a fire in 2002 . was restored and was heavily charged for the repairs . the previous owner took it to a good tech back then and he must hv done a nice job . the amp again had some issue about 3 months ago so i took it to my tech who opened it and found the most absurd output transistors inside .they were cheap components . the proper restoration would have cost me some 150 dollars , so he suggested that i get a minimal restoration which was , to only get the original transistors placed in on both channels and leave the rest of the issues (like old caps for a later day . )he also suggested this because i was in mood of selling this amp, after knowing that it had been repaired badly in the past .

but once i brought it home after getting the original bipolar transistors and played it through klipsch , this amp never disappointed me . always won my heart !
i will definitely take it back to him for service .

The previous owner is a friend of mine , and he also owns a mint Luxman L 550 X. Its as good as brand new ...... i believe that if i could afford THAT amp , THAT would be the end of the amplifier journey for me for a few years to come ......lolz . and 907 would need a new home

 

[moray james]

http://audio-database.com/LUXMANALPINE-LUXMAN/amp/l-58a-e.html
great amp great circuit pretty much sota mosfet design
Best regards Moray James.

 

[quadklipsh]

moray , id pounce if i found one here somewhere. for sure.

 

[norelco]

Luxman LX33 Integrated Amp driving my Forte II
Output tubes - EL34
Line Stage - 12AU7 x2 6AQ8 / ECC85 x1
Phono - 12AX7 x 4
30 Watts









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[quadaptor]

Well that'll just make you drool!

 

[LAB3]

I have gone from Yamaha Class A,AB Integrated amps to Hafler MOSFET amps and I noticed a difference too I also have a Hafler pre/amp as I suspect my vintage Yamaha gear is in need of a re-cap. Have that Luxman serviced and post up again.

 

[dloc13]

i have a sansui 5000x (updated boards) and wonder if it would be a good pair with Chorus II or Cornwall II?

 

[quadklipsh]

back for good

Hey guys, its been a year or so and my OLD luxman 550 is gone . i sold it about 8 months ago .
So what am i here for ?
well i bought a mint Luxman 550X a few months ago .It is in pristine condition . i dont know of its past usage but from a look inside one can tell it was well kept and not abused at all.It sounds fabulous !!!
i also purchased a pair of monitor JBL 4410s about 8 months ago and with these speakers i compared the Sansui and the Luxman .

THE SOUND:
The Sansui 907 imos limited ,drives the 4410 better . i can go much louder and punchier with this combo. it sounds quite neat and clear . the bass is tighter and punchier . the highs are beautiful .
The Luxman sounds more wooly and spacious . the soundstage is wider than sansui . the bass is gentle, less punchy and less aggressive .Theres a beautiful array of instruments playing in front of me and the vocals are also well placed . the overall sound is laid back and more relaxed than the sansui .

guys i returned to this thread because now the luxman and sansui are comparable in terms of condition and age .

a week ago i sold the 907. i found luxman better suited to my tastes because i have to keep my klipsches too.

 

[quadklipsh]

ooops.... i may have infuriated the sansui fans

 

[DigitalDad]

ooops.... i may have infuriated the sansui fans

Traitor!



Just kidding. Glad you found something you enjoy.

Bob.

 

[quadklipsh]

yo

thanks bob .

 

[quadklipsh]

luxman is now recapped .but sadly sansui 907 is gone

 

[twiiii]

we never sold both at the same time. But I sort of favored Luxman, too. We use to have sales meetings every Wed morning, or in the evenings when reps would bring in pieces for a demo. I always enjoyed the Luxman sound especially driving Klipsch. That said, when it came to driving Bozak with 200z tweeters I preferred Sansui. After the late 90's I couldn't get enthused about anything we sold. B&K sounded great but had life issues. Yamahas were nasty, B&O was on a design trip and not caring about sound. M&K was great but I don't like subwoofers. Klipsch was edgy. The list goes on and on. Sound was so much more satisfying in the 70's and 80's. Oh! Quad was a joke; though Sansui seemed to do it rather well.

Multi channel in any derivation seems more like a gimmick unless strict rules are followed. So Stereo is my favorite format. KISS/ Keep it simp;e stupid. Some times I listen to mono with the right speaker and can be perfectly happy. But it has to be an original mono recording, not a mixed down multi channel recording, They suck!

 

[quadklipsh]

haha .......Quad must be under powered for most of those speakers . I love my 303. It has a beautiful midrange . and my klipsch loved it. but i sold klipsch and found new love in audax .

 

[RS Steve]

My ultimate tube system includes Luxman MA-88's, CL-38, and Klipsch Cornwalls. Cleanest, most detailed tube system I have ever had the pleasure to listen to.

 

[coots]

I recently had a Sansui AU-11000 fully reconditioned by Jim Showker. It sounds great through my Cornwall IIs; not as great as some of my tube gear, however really enjoyable to listen to and easy on the ears. I had intended the Sansui for a bedroom system, but after spending several months with it and the CWs as my only system going while we remodeled our house, I grew so fond of it that I kept in with the main load of gear. I prefer it over everything else for listening to digital files.