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Luxman leaves me wanting

My current system is a Luxman L590-AXII driving DeVore Gibbon Super Nines. My source is Lumin U1-Mini (w/Sboosterj and Denafrips Venus II. Also a Rega P3. Speaker and interconnect cables are circa late 90s Cardis Cross There is a lot that is right about the sound of my set up, but I feel it’s lacking fullness in the midrange. When I turn on the loudness on the Luxman, I get the meaty weight in the mids I’m missing, but at anything but low volume, it alters the sound in a negative way. 
I had considered a tube Integrated before I got the Luxman, but liked the L590 when I heard it. Now I’m wondering if I should have gone with tubes. (At one point I had a BAT Pre w/ a Classe amp and loved the bloom in the mids and vocals).               I’m attracted to the LTA 40+ from the good reviews and long tube life. I’d be interested in hearing one with my speakers, but there are no dealers, so I could buy and return if I’m not thrilled, but wanted to know anyone has heard the 40+ with Super 9s. Also interested in other options to get a richer sound. Budget is around 8k.

128x128steverrino
jeffreyw's avatar
jeffreyw
238 posts
 

@steverrino 

I had the same problem! I tried to power a pair of KEF Reference 1 Metas with a 590AXII. I had absolutely no bass and a terrible midrange. It was so bad, I thought the integrated was broken. I brought it to the nearest dealer, and we confirmed that the amp did not have the power to drive the baby KEFs. I upgraded to McIntosh MC611s, and the bass/midrange is jaw-dropping. 

Your Super Nines are not as difficult of a load to drive as my KEFs, but I think you need far more power. Even the Luxman 509x did not have enough juice for the KEFs. The M10x was a different story, though (glorious sound).

r1g450
6 posts
 

If you know someone that can lend you a decent pair of subs, I would try that first. With a budget of 8k its easy to make an expensive mistake. But if you just want some ideas that might work for you, here's a few. BAT, Sugden, Pass, Sim, YBA. Even though they are all very good, I still wouldn't buy anything without trying it in my system first.  

steverrino's avatar
steverrino OP
17 posts
 

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I’m pretty familiar with a lot of gear talked about on this forum, but haven’t heard of Sinthesis. I will look into them.

i do use Roon, but have not tried the EQ filters or room correction - but that’s a great idea. I’ll start there. I have thought of adding a tube pre to my L590AX-II, and am glad to hear that hsounds had good results doing so.

 

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,162 posts
 

Two years ago I wanted to down size a little by going from separates to an integrated amp. After a couple of months of research, it was down to Luxman and Hegel.  I ended up buying the Hegel H390 to power my KEF Reference 5’s. The Hegel is quiet. The Hegel images well and gave me good separation. The bass is full, the midrange is clean and the high end is actually very pleasant as well. 
Hegel just replaced their flagship H590 with the H600, so they are discounting the H590’s to about the same price as the H390, until inventory is gone.

joey54
431 posts
 

You should look at the Aesthetix Mimas Integrated amp, which is a hybrid amp. Based on your post it just might fit the bill. Good Luck!

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