Newbie with a Luxman F-105 question

turtle

New Member
Howdy all,

I posted this on a Luxman Yahoo Group, but something tells me AudioKarma gets a little more traffic.

First the background info:

A few years ago in Minneapolis I picked up an F-105 surround preamp at a moving sale for $35. I'm not actually using it for surround right now, I keep it in "Bypass" mode, but I have recently started experimenting with amp/preamp combinations. I think it's a little bright, but I'm running it through a B&K ST-140 and I've fallen in love with the high-end clarity I've noticed, especially on metallic percussion, saxophone, complex electric guitar tones, etc. I recently picked up an NAD 1020 preamp specifically for the phono stage. I thought it would replace the Luxman F-105, but it turns out that while the turntable sounds great, CDs (and pretty much everything else)
sound much better through the Luxman. Pristine clarity, highly-detailed, not as rich and warm (or dull, if you prefer) as the NAD, but sweet jesus, that high end...

So now I'm determined to make the Luxman work for me.


The problem:

Every input on the F-105 (except the A/V for some reason) is distorted. Seems to be overmodulated. If I run audio through an EQ (or any limiting device) and drop it down a bit before I put it into the Luxman, the distortion disappears. (To my ears.) But I'd obviously rather run signal straight into the F-105.


So the question is:

Does this problem ring any bells for anybody? Is there some kind of setting in/on the unit I'm missing? Were audio levels just that much lower back then? I actually suspect that something inside the unit is fried and I need to get it looked at professionally. Does anybody know if it's a simple problem and/or worth the price of fixing?

Thanks for any knowledge or help.
 
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