Help with XLR between Luxman L-509X & Hegel HD30 DAC

Luxman L-509x

Balanced input terminals(1, 2)
(NO.1 GROUND,NO.2 COLD,NO.3 HOT)

Phase inverter switch(1, 2)

jsqt I have the CL 38U SE which Luxman just made 100 for their 90th Anniversary. I compared it to the $10k VAC and to me it was no contest. Plus the phono which has 4 step up transformers/the same 3 tube design as the CL 40. I would give it a shot w/the CL-40. If you have a TT I'm sure it'll sound fantastic. Luxman makes excellent tube gear but their solid state get's top billing. Both are great IMHO.

To be clear, the American standard is pin 1 ground, pin 2 **noninverting**, pin 3 **inverting**.
There is no 'cold' and 'hot'; both signal pins carry equal importance.
The Euro standard reverses the phase- the assignments of pins 2 and 3 are reversed.

So if you just hook up, the worst that can happen is the absolute polarity of your system might be inverted, assuming that the amp does not invert otherwise. However, exactly 50% of all recordings are inverted polarity, so this is really a non-issue. The only time you can really hear this sort of thing is when the recording is done with 2 or 3 mics in a true stereo pattern. Even then you need to compare to see which way is right (an inversion switch is handy for this as inverting the speaker connections of both channels is a bit of a pain in the rear).

Bottom line: don't worry about it!

@atmasphere  thanks for setting my mind at ease... wasn't sure if it would blow up my new amp or what, ha... good to hear that it's not that big of a deal.

@luxmancl38, very cool to hear you have the CL 38U SE. I am really curious how it would sound compared to my 35 year old CL-40, which underwent a total restoration at Luxman Japan in 2013.

The CL-40 is a real find - just shimmering sound and holographic imaging, plus the inset volume knob is an absolute joy to spin. There's no remote but I have no qualms about walking across the room to get my hands on it.