For various reasons I decided the top contenders were the Hegel H360 and the Luxman L-507uXII. Both had superlative reviews.
The Hegel had Magico’s Alon Wolf’s recommendation for use with the Magico A3. It was rated at 400 watts into 4 ohms, a hundred watts over the Magico’s recommended top wattage of 300. That was substantially more powerful than the 210 watts into 4 ohms Luxman L-507uXII’s rating. The Hegel was Chinese in manufacture, Luxman had a preferable Japanese point of origin, and an exceptionally well made and solid build by all reports. The Luxmans wiring and internal components configuration looked well organized and orderly compared to the Hegels. As an indicator of the care taken in each products manufacturing, that helped tip the balance over to the Luxman in my eye.
The Hegel had a DAC I did not need, and lacked a integral phono-stage that I did, and would have had to purchase as a separate in addition.. The Hegel was more geared toward accommodating various electronic, downloaded music sources, the Luxman more the traditional analog turntable. The Luxman had a well reviewed mm/mc phono stage built in and no DAC. I hope lacking the DAC enabled Luxman to put more resources into the rest of the amp.
I ordered the Luxman for a hundred off list just a few minutes ago. Thanks for everyone’s help in making this decision and learning about integrated amps. Thanks Inna for bringing the Luxman to my attention. I did think about starting another thread asking about what others were using to power their Magicos. But I decided to skip it because I like Luxman’s longetivity and reputation, and their L-507uXII ’s design too much to pass it by. The Luxman looked built like a tank in addition to it’s superlative listener reviews. I like that. I don’t want to be dealing with breakdowns in the near or far future. My Japanese Toyotas certainly have that quality. Must be something cultural in Japan.
Next up, studying cables and power supply products. But that’s another thread.
Mike
The Hegel had Magico’s Alon Wolf’s recommendation for use with the Magico A3. It was rated at 400 watts into 4 ohms, a hundred watts over the Magico’s recommended top wattage of 300. That was substantially more powerful than the 210 watts into 4 ohms Luxman L-507uXII’s rating. The Hegel was Chinese in manufacture, Luxman had a preferable Japanese point of origin, and an exceptionally well made and solid build by all reports. The Luxmans wiring and internal components configuration looked well organized and orderly compared to the Hegels. As an indicator of the care taken in each products manufacturing, that helped tip the balance over to the Luxman in my eye.
The Hegel had a DAC I did not need, and lacked a integral phono-stage that I did, and would have had to purchase as a separate in addition.. The Hegel was more geared toward accommodating various electronic, downloaded music sources, the Luxman more the traditional analog turntable. The Luxman had a well reviewed mm/mc phono stage built in and no DAC. I hope lacking the DAC enabled Luxman to put more resources into the rest of the amp.
I ordered the Luxman for a hundred off list just a few minutes ago. Thanks for everyone’s help in making this decision and learning about integrated amps. Thanks Inna for bringing the Luxman to my attention. I did think about starting another thread asking about what others were using to power their Magicos. But I decided to skip it because I like Luxman’s longetivity and reputation, and their L-507uXII ’s design too much to pass it by. The Luxman looked built like a tank in addition to it’s superlative listener reviews. I like that. I don’t want to be dealing with breakdowns in the near or far future. My Japanese Toyotas certainly have that quality. Must be something cultural in Japan.
Next up, studying cables and power supply products. But that’s another thread.
Mike
