Visit to Excel Audio


Hi Everyone,

I wrote elsewhere that I picked up a new Luxman from Excel audio in Newport Beach, California this afternoon. I wanted to say I had an excellent experience there, and list a few things I heard that I liked as well:

Dagostino amps with some large but not the largest Wilsons.


Klipsch Forte + Rogue Audio integrated ( I liked this a great deal, surprised me in how smooth those horns were)


He also carries Mytek, which I am a fan of but did not audition.

As of this writing, Excel has a number of Luxman 505 (v. 1) he’s selling for like $2,500 if you are interested. I did not know this, but Mike mentioned he’s probably the largest Luxman dealer, also has a lot of KEF and Harbeth’s on display. This explains how he got so many 507ux’s in for sale.
erik_squires
Erik,
I haven't been in a brick and mortar for many years. Sounds like fun, I remember those days.
Larry
@erik_squires

Glad you took the drive down to Newport. Mike is a great guy. He is all things in the audio universe! He has excellent ability to assemble a system and get that synergy that we all desire. I've watched him do it many times and can attest to the time and patience he displayed as he helped me to assemble a system that has beautiful synergy. 

I am a very happy customer and can highly recommend Mike: he has excellent product, service, and a show room that showcases a number of amazing sounding systems. Out of the many many dealers I've visited, Mike is really exemplary. I am beyond blessed to have him so close to home. As you probably know, it is not about assembling well-reviewed gear, it is all about finding that magic synergy between components. Again, Mike has that talent in spades.

FYI - there are two D'Agostino setups at Excel; the new Progression Mono's with matching preamp playing Wilson Sasha DAWs with a Aurender N10/Luxman D 08u CD/DAC, Nordost wire and IsoTek conditioning. The other is the Momentum Mono's with matching Preamp, Wilson Alexia's, Odin 2 loom, and various TTs and an Aurender W20 server with TAD DAC and IsoTek conditioning. I can tell you that D'Agostino works very very well with Wilson. Too bad you didn't get to hear it.
erik_squires
Much Thanks! for giving a shout-out for Excel Audio. It is imperative  to post negative and positive experiences with these Audio dealers/retailers.
Happy Listening!