McIntosh MC1.25KW vs Luxman M-10X

@chauncey what preamp will you be using? I’d go for the same brand preamp and amp unless you use dac as preamp. 

Currently I'm using a Placette Audio passive linestage. 

Never heard it. Going to make an assumption here but it’ll most likely be out of place in a system you’re putting together. Like I mentioned above, you might want to consider same brand amp and preamp. Get the best possible synergy. Or carefully mix and match. Take it one step at a time. Speakers, then amp, then preamp, considering your source is up to the task. 

audphile1 I totally agree with you matching the pre with the amp.  But Mike Lavigne used Placette in his system which was way way way more expensive than my system.  Essentially I was hoping to keep the Placette for a year or so with the new amp before trying a new preamp. 

Makes sense.