Kclone - I believe the MQ-88 first came out in 2007. If you go to the following site - onahighernote.com, you will find a good review article. For me, the MQ-88 is one of those rare tube amps that combines the best of both tubes and SS. My experience with other Luxman gear is limited to their class A integrateds and their PD-441 and PD-444 turntables. As good as the Luxman class A integrateds are, I do not believe it is fair to compare them sonically to a class A Luxman amp. IME, separates are generally better than integrateds.