Higher-End Class A/B vs. Class A Integrateds
I’ve been thinking about downsizing from separates to an integrated amp. I’ve noticed that some companies have both class A and class A/B amps that are both pretty expensive such as Luxman for example. Hegel seems to be well received and they’re not true class A as far as I know.
I was kind of under the impression that class A was better than class A/B due to lower distortion yet again, there are some well reviewed class A/B amps that are as pricey as some class A amps.
To be clear, it’s really not the price I’m concerned about. It’s the fact that some integrated amps $5000 and up are still only Class AB.
How do these higher priced class AB amps sound in comparison to true class A amps?
@dman777 - A lot of what you describe is what I hear with my 507ux. I wonder how much of the character of our integrateds is in the preamp and not the amp section instead? Also, speaking of bass extension, I highly recommend the Mogami quad speaker cables with the Luxmans. |
@erik_squires for the Yamahas, the 2000 greatly influences the as 3200. With the AS-3200 by itself I do not like it. It has to be with the 2000. They go really good together.
I have not messed with any preamps for the Luxman. I figure for the price, if it's not good enough standalone then I don't want it. I am on the fence on selling my Luxman 595. I will eventually buy the MacIntosh 12000. I might sell it down the road if I find I do not use the Luxman enough. It's hard to give it up... it does sound better than other amps for Jazz music. |
@dman777 Sorry, I was not at all clear. I meant, when listening to say a Luxman 509 or 590 or 507, I wonder how much of the tonal character is actually the preamp section, as opposed to the A or A/B output stages? |
