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Luxman L590AXii vs Accuphase E-650 for a Shindo lover

I have loved tubes all my audiophile life, but looking to pare down to a SS integrated.
These two are the only ones under consideration (not looking for other recos).

I love the Shindo sound (in an ideal world I would own a full Shindo system), rich, full, lush yet transparent with ample details and good thumping bass.

In that case which of these two amps would work best. Where I live Accuphase is 50% more expensive than the Luxman, so that is also worth considering while buying.

My speakers are Devore O/96s. Source AMR DP777
essrand
ryder
1,689 posts
 
I’m with you on the Luxman/Harbeth thing.  I never really cared for it.  Perhaps too much warmth? Almost too polite in terms of presentation.

I bought the Luxman L-590AXII last year and i agree with this. I own the Harbeth SHL5+ and find the Luxman/Harbeth match to be too polite and warm for my taste. I find the Naim to be a better match to the Harbeth.

The Luxman L-590AXII is a wonderful amp. It's currently matched with Marten Duke 2 and the sound quality is excellent. I didn't manage to compare the Accuphase E650 with the Luxman though but based on looks the Luxman is far ahead in my book. I don't quite dig the gold finish of the Accuphase.
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,450 posts
 
“I don’t quite dig the gold finish of the Accuphase.”

Judging the book by its cover...lol!

Thanks to @t_ramey for hooking me up with E-650. It ended my pursuit and opened the gateway to heavenly sound. A perfect match for my Tannoy Canterbury’s and rest of the upstream components.
t_ramey
632 posts
 
@lalitk 

Wow, so glad you are still enjoying the E-650! I’m happy it all worked out.
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,450 posts
 
@t_ramey 

I owe you a big one! Whenever you’re in Houston, let me know. 
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
I bought the Luxman L-590AXII last year and i agree with this. I own the Harbeth SHL5+ and find the Luxman/Harbeth match to be too polite and warm for my taste. I find the Naim to be a better match to the Harbeth.

i would agree with the above

harbeths like an amp to grab them by the you-know-what’s and make them sing

more efficient devores may not want/need this quality in an amp sound their best

as usual, system synergies prevail in a specific application

in general though, if someone is used to a wavac/shindo/air tight/audio note tube sound, moving to top tier solid state amplification will sense something is missing from the beauty of the music

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