Luxman C-02 Lacking Bottom End

Guy Ornes

AK Subscriber
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I recently got a luxman c-02 pre. I like it but the low frequency is very thin. Had it recapped and still unimpressed with bottom end.
Would love to hear your thoughts since I have always heard good things.
I have a couple sansui's, an adcom, and another lux: and all have a full range of sound paired with the same amp.
Any ideas why my c-02 is so thin sounding?
 
Haven't tinkered with the C-02, un doubtably someone will be along shortly.

Basic questions, assume it's the same for LINE, TUNER, DAD inputs, ie, rule out phono stage
Any difference/improvement when running TONE in/out

The above might help to localize problem area.
I assume you don't have an oscilloscope, may be helpful to run some square wave tests
to identify where the LF is lost
 
All inputs are the same. Tone in, tone controls and low boost make a difference, but not huge and nowhere near any other pre's I have.
I have played with the settings and at max bass it is still thin.
 
If the unit sounds right without the boosted bass, then I would think it is working properly. The low boost is only 3dB at 100Hz and the bass and treble are only ±8dB at 100Hz and 10kHz with their turnover frequencies of 400 and 2k. Many units are more like ±12dB. A good bit more.
 
All of my preamps and receivers have different degrees of bass output, but the lux c-02 is way too thin to sound right.
Any opinion of issues in preamps that have little bass response?
 
It actually might not be thin bass but just accurate sound as someone mentioned. Recently I compared a restored Harman Kardon 930 receiver with Nak CA-7 pre feeding restored Sony N-330 ES and was amazed how much bass the HK delivers. Don’t know if this is a pre or power amp effect - need to test- but it could be your other preamps are not as accurate as the Lixman.

And by the way I like this HK sound!

Another explanation that comes to mind is a mismatch in output impedance of the Luxman and your power amp.
 
I recently got a luxman c-02 pre. I like it but the low frequency is very thin. Had it recapped and still unimpressed with bottom end.
Would love to hear your thoughts since I have always heard good things.
I have a couple sansui's, an adcom, and another lux: and all have a full range of sound paired with the same amp.
Any ideas why my c-02 is so thin sounding?

Hi Guy,

I worked on C-02 a while ago. What cap do you use as substitute?

Did you change the output coupling cap? There are 2 for line stage (4.7uF 50V) and 2 for phono coupling (2.2uF 50V). Original is Elna non polar.

There are another 2 decouple caps for phono section. Original is Elna non polar 2.2uF 50V. If you listen to vinyl then this is important.

~Kecap
 
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Hate to say it... I got a C-02 about 20 years ago. Gorgeous design, mint condition, I had high hopes — I was a big Luxman fan. I just didn't like this one. I loaned it to a friend, a professional reviewer; he thought the MC stage would be great. He didn't like either... just two opinions. I think Luxman quality is highly variable, from superb to meh. Maybe all the ownership changes. Vintage Knob has a whole section on the bizarre corporate history: someone should buy the movie rights.
 
Hate to say it... I got a C-02 about 20 years ago. Gorgeous design, mint condition, I had high hopes — I was a big Luxman fan. I just didn't like this one. I loaned it to a friend, a professional reviewer; he thought the MC stage would be great. He didn't like either... just two opinions. I think Luxman quality is highly variable, from superb to meh. Maybe all the ownership changes. Vintage Knob has a whole section on the bizarre corporate history: someone should buy the movie rights.

Yeah, read some mix reviews about C-02. Nice design though, neat layout, tightly regulated power, select components (plenty of teflon caps and custom polypropylene), class A Fet stage.
 
Hi, a little late but maybe someone else stumbles upon the topic trying to repair/mod their Lux.
I found out that by beefing the power supply, there is a lot of bottom end - sometimes it seems too much compared to the Yamaha A-1000.

I've put elna tonerex caps in the PSU and elna silmic2's in various filtering positions - phono/pre. Same values as the ones from factory, some with one step higher voltage. Yes, caps are caps, but if you pay attention to specs, you'll notice capacity and voltage are not the only ones. Go with LKG or UKZ if you like Nichicon.
While in there, check out the small mica (i presume) brown caps - 22/33p - some fail with age/moisture.
Also, all elcos less than 10uf -> wima.
If you have a stash of low noise spec C1845's (those that "feed" the fets) - change them. IMHO - the fets are the heart and soul of the unit, all else can be replaced.
Other findings - these things are not at the Yamaha/Sansui/Sony quality - pcb wise - very easy to destroy/lift traces. And A LOT of broken/cold joints.

Results: the magic is there - huge 3d sound stage. Deep base. An if you pair it with an M-02, you'll get even more magic.

I've got very similar results with both a C-02 and a C-120.

Mind you, the black art of mating a MC cart with a SUT and a loading that suits your ears is for you to discover. Luckily, there are a lot of articles on the matter and you can easily swap some resistors in order to get your sweet spot. For me that was 150ohm loading for a Yamaha MC-9 cart.
 
Hi, a little late but maybe someone else stumbles upon the topic trying to repair/mod their Lux.
I found out that by beefing the power supply, there is a lot of bottom end - sometimes it seems too much compared to the Yamaha A-1000.

I've put elna tonerex caps in the PSU and elna silmic2's in various filtering positions - phono/pre. Same values as the ones from factory, some with one step higher voltage. Yes, caps are caps, but if you pay attention to specs, you'll notice capacity and voltage are not the only ones. Go with LKG or UKZ if you like Nichicon.
While in there, check out the small mica (i presume) brown caps - 22/33p - some fail with age/moisture.
Also, all elcos less than 10uf -> wima.
If you have a stash of low noise spec C1845's (those that "feed" the fets) - change them. IMHO - the fets are the heart and soul of the unit, all else can be replaced.
Other findings - these things are not at the Yamaha/Sansui/Sony quality - pcb wise - very easy to destroy/lift traces. And A LOT of broken/cold joints.

Results: the magic is there - huge 3d sound stage. Deep base. An if you pair it with an M-02, you'll get even more magic.

I've got very similar results with both a C-02 and a C-120.

Mind you, the black art of mating a MC cart with a SUT and a loading that suits your ears is for you to discover. Luckily, there are a lot of articles on the matter and you can easily swap some resistors in order to get your sweet spot. For me that was 150ohm loading for a Yamaha MC-9 cart.
Excellent post.
 
Late to this thread and that's on me. I'm toying with the prospect of trying to find a shop/guy who will recap my Luxman C-02 or if I can do it with a little guidance and luck? It seems to have a flaky phono out so I'm looking for help. I've been on other boards where members can DM/PM other members but not here. (I was trying to reach out to Cohiba Joe with no way to do it...) Thanks
 
Late to this thread and that's on me. I'm toying with the prospect of trying to find a shop/guy who will recap my Luxman C-02 or if I can do it with a little guidance and luck? It seems to have a flaky phono out so I'm looking for help. I've been on other boards where members can DM/PM other members but not here. (I was trying to reach out to Cohiba Joe with no way to do it...) Thanks
You can DM on AK. Just sent you one.
 
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