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70's Luxman amps

GP Hill

GP Hill

Super Member
I know Luxman has a reputation as being some of the finest audio gear made now. Has it always been so? Was their stuff made in the 70's and 80's really good too? How did it compare to Mcintosh or other high end companies back in those times?
 
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GP Hill said:
I know Luxman has a reputation as being some of the finest audio gear made now. Has it always been so? Was their stuff made in the 70's and 80's really good too? How did it compare to Mcintosh or other high end companies back in those times?
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To each his own, but Luxman, started in 1925, made gorgeous equipment in the 60s, 70s, & 80s, with the occasional mediocre piece that (virtually) all manufactures create from time to time.

From the original tube gear to the contemporary looking SS gear, to the tube and SS gear ($$) of today, Luxman has made nice components.
 
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I would agree but very few mediocre pieces. I sold Luxman for a few years. Even the over the top suckface receivers sound good, especially the RX102 and RX103. I had a little 220 integrated for few years that amazed me how good it sounded and it was the entry level integrated that year.
 
There are some pieces that are world class from the 60s-80s. Then there are the other units they built that are just very, very good. I consider myself very lucky to have been selling Luxman in the late 70s-early 80s. I grab what I can of their vintage gear.

The ones that are special are the CL-35 III tube preamp, the MB3045 50 watt mono tube amplifiers and their LRS gear.

Most manufacturers made something close to crap in the mid-late 80s and on. The idea that folks wanted a one brand system in a vinyl-clad and glass cabinet with speakers the same size was part of the downfall.

This was when Luxman was sold to Alpine and their gear suffered but they got things straight with the R-117 receiver, considered by many to be the best receiver ever made. More ownership changes and finally they are back doing what they did, making great audio gear.
 
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Blue Shadow said:
There are some pieces that are world class from the 60s-80s. Then there are the other units they built that are just very, very good. I consider myself very lucky to have been selling Luxman in the late 70s-early 80s. I grab what I can of their vintage gear.

The ones that are special are the CL-35 III tube preamp, the MB3045 50 mono tube amplifiers and their LRS gear.

Most manufacturers made something close to crap in the mid-late 80s and on. The idea that folks wanted a one brand system in a vinyl-clad and glass cabinet with speakers the same size was part of the downfall.

This was when Luxman was sold to Alpine and their gear suffered but they got things straight with the R-117 receiver, considered by many to be the best receiver ever made. More ownership changes and finally they are back doing what they did, making great audio gear.
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I have a few pieces....just picked up a 2nd R-117..:D

Been listening to a LV-105U most of the day....With the Recap and Upgraded Tubes(1958 6CG7 RCA Triple Black Plate's)....does sound Sweet!!!!
 
I've read that Luxman was considered the Japanese equivalent of McIntosh or something like that.

Luxman gear Sux!!!!!!, :thmbsp:
 
Been looking at some of their new gear -pricey for sure - but very asthetically pleasing. Love the 505uX, seems to have been designed with maybe the "older" audio head in mind and McIntosh lovers. Check it out online, real eye candy to me.
 
I've never seen a Luxman amp that was lackluster. Tuners, yes, but the amps always seem to be first class. L100 is the one to have IMO.
 
Luxman never made a tuner in their lifetime. They were all made by other companies. Same with their tape decks and CD players. At least in part.
 
Baron K Rool said:
Luxman never made a tuner in their lifetime. They were all made by other companies. Same with their tape decks and CD players. At least in part.
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I think I'd have to doubt that. Lux Corp. started as a company making art frames (!) and right after that they built radio sets when the Nippon Radio Corp. (or something like that anyway) first started to broadcast in Japan. The TIC claims that these past decades they did not build exceptional tuners though, but my T-110 is one of the few really good models they made. And it's waiting for an affordable L-100 amp to accompany it... someday.
 
Some of the new Lux gear in my Musicdirect catalogue looks incredible. Price tag is steep however.
I had a Luxman rcvr, the R-1070 which was a very great piece of gear.
 
I caught up with Luxman in 79 when my uncle purchased a complete stereo system including an L85V integrated and PD131 turntable. Sound came through Wharfedales E70s.

They sounded better than great (compared to a ceramic cart tt with integrated amp and cover mounted speaker that was our reference).

The looks were great and the amp looked and was hefty and heavy. The turntable elegant (with a Stax tonearm and V15III mounted on it).

I later realized the stax mid-hi mass wasn't the best armature for the Shure though.

Back then Lux things were considered top and luxury. Well they weren't bad for the most part but the L-2 integrated I could afford and got new in 1981 was a budget amplifier of modest minus power and mediocre sound. It improved greatly when I beefed up the psu caps.

I'd say they made everything from budget (laboratory standard series) to high quality (laboratory reference series) as they were called back then. And when they excelled they did it in a great way.
 
:ntwrthy:
have a Luxman r1070 that blows the doors off of my yamaha new receiver, brother had some ss luxman amps that were very-very clean sounding. and a tube one too i think!
love luxman vintage!
 
L530

i salvaged two L530 amps that needed work. they are very heavy and I think are rated 100 watts. I just located a local electronic repair guy, claims to fix anything with a plug. I'm going to look him up to see if these units are worth putting any money into. anyone here have a L530? how do they sound? tia
 
pioneer54 said:
i salvaged two L530 amps that needed work. they are very heavy and I think are rated 100 watts. I just located a local electronic repair guy, claims to fix anything with a plug. I'm going to look him up to see if these units are worth putting any money into. anyone here have a L530? how do they sound? tia
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TWO NO LESS!!! Not only are they nice amps, I think (OK, we all have opinions) the amp is downright gorgeous! I mean LOOK at this thing!


https://www.google.com/search?q=lux...v&sa=X&ei=bYsnU6PzO47OyAH-74C4AQ&ved=0CCcQsAQ
 
Valveglow said:
TWO NO LESS!!! Not only are they nice amps, I think (OK, we all have opinions) the amp is downright gorgeous! I mean LOOK at this thing!


https://www.google.com/search?q=lux...v&sa=X&ei=bYsnU6PzO47OyAH-74C4AQ&ved=0CCcQsAQ
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LOL. If only today stereo companies put as much effort in the cosmetics as they did 30 years ago, I believe the stereo market today could be 5 times the size it is now. I love wood paneling and shiny silver and switches as suppose to push buttons. It's all relative of course. I am also a sucker for black push button systems.
 
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