2. amps-preamps
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thinking to buy Luxman M900u mono , what other similar amps should i look?

amp for Focal Maestro


https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/focal_maestro_utopia_iii_loudspeaker/index.html

"The magnitude lies below 4 ohms in this region, with a plunge to just 1.7 ohms at 111Hz rather than the specified minimum of 3 ohms."

"which will also demand very high currents from the amplifier. As all music has considerable energy in this region, the Focal's owner will have to use an amplifier that can genuinely deliver high powers into 2 ohms if the speaker is to be allowed to sing as it should"

"This makes the Maestro Utopia III a distinctly schizophrenic load for the partnering amplifier: very difficult for any amp to drive in the upper bass, but very amplifier-friendly in the upper midrange and treble. It is a good thing, therefore, that the Focal is very sensitive, playing very loud with only a few watts of power."

"It wasn't until the 600W Classé amplifiers took up residence in the system that I felt the Maestro Utopias were really giving me the dynamics they had promised all along."

what are my options?

thanks a lot
pelo911gt3
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,450 posts
 
I would recommend going with true mono amps instead of Luxman stereo amp. Read up on amps that doubles up as mono in bridge mode....the results are not always superlative.

Look at Pass Labs, Accuphase or newer Classe Delta mono’s. I’ve listened to Classe mono’s driving Magico’s at RMAF and they were quite sublime.

https://www.classeaudio.com/products/delta-mono/


gestalt's avatar
gestalt
190 posts
 
For a similar price to two Luxman M-900u's, you may want to consider Lamm Industries M2.2 monoblocks. Ultimately, this is something you'll want to hear in your system to determine what sounds the best to you.  Find a dealer that will help make that happen.

- Colin

Lamm Industries & Luxman dealer
https://gestalt.audio
erik_squires
16,058 posts
 
Ayre man, Ayre! :)

Love my Luxman 509, but if ever there was an amp I might afford to trade to it would be Ayre or D’Agostino, the latter sounding much more like the Luxman that it is hard for me to pull the coin out for.

Ayre, like Pass, in my mind are counter points. That is, they are significantly different enough that I think if you audition Luxman, Ayre and Pass you'll come away with a strong preference.
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