Luxman 590AX II Break-In

It sounds to me like maybe the Kef is too small for your largish room. @jeffreyw  Bring your Luxman with you to the dealer to hear it paired with "your" speakers in an optimized room. @erik_squires The Reference 1 actually has a 6.5" bass driver it's the concentric mid that's 5".

Similar set up to you. I have a 30W Class A amp (DIY Hiraga Super 30 W), which is driving a pair of Seas Coax book shelf speakers. (DIY Sealed 5Ltr enclosure using the C16N001/F driver - Seas recommended enclosure and crossover) Room is 12,x18’ approx. I’m having no shortage of bass with this small box. Low watt class an amp, small coax driver. With those 3 way speakers, you should get a better bass response than what I’m seeing. 
 

Have you tried running a 50hz tone sine wave through your set up? You may want to try doing that (can be streamed from YouTube) and walking around in the room. Bass nodes will become very apparent and might help in getting the speakers properly positioned in the room.

just a thought…

@jeffreyw ,

I have the big brother to your Reference One’s and they need to be at least 2’ from the front wall and 3’-4’ from the side walls.  I’m not sure how loud you play your tunes, but mine don’t come alive until 60+ dbs.

All the best.

PROBLEM SOLVED

I visited a dealer who sells KEF and Luxman. Brought my 590AXII for comparison against the 509X, M10X, and Rotel Michi stereo amp. The room size in the showroom was 1.25X larger than mine and treated. We experienced a similar lack of bass in the showroom as in my home. The Kef Reference 1 Metas are power pigs. Moving up to the 509X was a little better in the bass response. When hooked up to the M10x, the KEFs became a different animal. The bass was crazy good! This is what my dealer expected. The Michi was also powerful in the bass region but nowhere as refined as the M10x. The best pairing was the M10x. I can't speak highly enough of what this amp (M10X) can do. As beautiful as the Class A midrange of the 590AXII is, it is easily trumped by the M10X, as it should be for the price differential. 

Thanks to all who offered advice on how to help me solve my issues! 

The m900u (and I am sure the M10X) has way more current than the 509x. I had the same observation when I heard those 2 with Harbeth (I was looking to buy KEF Reference 1). Dealer told me it is the power supply in the m900u that is the making that huge difference. I would look at buying a used m900u at $9K or less over the M10X. Your Reference 1 will sing with the m900u at a much lower cost and likely sound the same with the Reference 1.

I was discussing the Michi and Luxman M10X with someone who owned 2 Michi’s and the new Luxman integrated. His observations mirrored yours, I crossed the Michi off my list for my KEF Blade 2 Meta. I am now down to KRELL XD (3 models) and CODA #16 for the KEF. I dropped the Luxman M10X because it may not have enough current compared to the KRELL and CODA. I know it is not better sounding than the 2 under consideration. Just slight variances in sound.