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

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!

  I am not a tube guy so I cannot offer much assistance other than referring you to the article below where the reviewer indicates a synergy between your DeVores and the LTA you are looking at …and to offer that in my experience the environment impacts tonal balance as much as the electronics. I would also experiment with environmental treatments and speaker placement.  

 

I think your cables may be part of the problem as well. I found Luxman gear to be quite sensitive to cable choice, but also easily satisfied with the right choice. In the affordable range, I found that the lowest tier of LUNA cables really brought the Luxmans to full glory. They add density and palpability and increase the analogue-y-ness factor.  As you go up the range, you get improvements, but the base power and interconnects work really well.

Try contacting some DeVore dealers and ask their input on what they like with the Super Nines. The Leben is typically a good match. Also, you may want to consider the CODA integrated amp if you don’t want tubes or the Pass Labs as others have mentioned. I believe Audio Archon carries both the DeVore and CODA.

As a Super Nine owner, I found that using a Puritan Audio "Ultimate" power cord to my Puritan PLC added more fullness to the sound. Perhaps the biggest improvement though came when I switched my speaker cables (from Analysis Plus Silver Apex) to ArgentPur 13AWG. Quite the "whoa" moment!. I also use their interconnects which are also quite good. However, it looks like the only speaker cables available now are the AP16’s. The cables are pure silver, without the harsh sound typically associated with lower quality silver cables.

The DeVores now sound quite "full" even at lower volumes and satisfying.

 

Good luck.

 

 

I’m not a fan of trying to shape the tonality of an amp/speaker combo using DSP/EQ. If there’s a specific room anomaly you’re trying to correct then maybe, but if an amp is lean sounding by nature, then trying to change its characteristics digitally doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. (Disclaimer- I’m old).

I’ll throw in another vote for Synthesis amps. I bought a Titan A100 before the holidays and it’s a fantastic amp. Big, bold, dynamic, full bodied, extremely easy to listen to. I can’t see myself thinking about another amp change for days… weeks even;)