Matching amp for a Luxman 900 preamp

iaxel · Oct 25, 2016

My first post/thread here

I currently drive my Magico S3 with a Luxman M800a controlled by a Luxman C900u preamp.
I'm looking for more power, and maybe a bit more weight.
I'm aware of the bridge option with a second M800a. But I may be looking for a different sound.
Budget is around $30-35K, only SS (or hybrid) no tubes (as I don't want to mess with a lot of power tubes).
Dealers around here carry: Constellation, Gryphon, Karan, Lamm, MBL, Pass Labs. But feel free to suggest any other option and I'll see if it is easily attainable.

Thanks!

bonzo75 · Oct 25, 2016

HI iaxel, the 800 is 60w class A, but bridged is 240w, and doubles down. You might want to try that before selling off because more power on magico will change things.

You will find some amp reviews here comparing Luxman. http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...11-mk3-Plinius&p=417625&viewfull=1#post417625

Best amp I heard with Magicos (which city are you in) was Vitus SM 102 at Rhapsody in NY, you can compare directly to his Kondo kagura.

Joel on this forum, who also writes for 6 moons, has reviewed both Luxman M800 bridged and Karan 2000, so you can ask him for opinions.

LL21 · Oct 25, 2016

Look forward to hearing more about this. Big fan of Gryphon. Have heard Constellation and MBL over the years. With that kind of budget, you should be able to get something quite sensational, and even more so if you are ok with demo equipment or trade-ins at the dealers.

iaxel · Oct 26, 2016

bonzo75 said:
HI iaxel, the 800 is 60w class A, but bridged is 240w, and doubles down. You might want to try that before selling off because more power on magico will change things.

You will find some amp reviews here comparing Luxman. http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...11-mk3-Plinius&p=417625&viewfull=1#post417625

Best amp I heard with Magicos (which city are you in) was Vitus SM 102 at Rhapsody in NY, you can compare directly to his Kondo kagura.

Joel on this forum, who also writes for 6 moons, has reviewed both Luxman M800 bridged and Karan 2000, so you can ask him for opinions.

Getting hold of another M800a is not a simple task (I do not live in the US).
I think the Vitus does not fit my budget.

I've browsed the thread (before I've posted), very informative - thanks!
Also read Joel's review of the Karan (and other amps), and had a short email conversation with him regarding matching a preamp for my M800a a while back.

Actually, I've heard very positive reviews of the Karan amps. Someone here replaced a set of Luxman 900 pre/power with a Karan pre/power (not the 2000 monoblocks but the stereo 600) - and he said it is miles ahead.

bonzo75 · Oct 26, 2016

iaxel said:
Getting hold of another M800a is not a simple task (I do not live in the US).
I think the Vitus does not fit my budget.

I've browsed the thread (before I've posted), very informative - thanks!
Also read Joel's review of the Karan (and other amps), and had a short email conversation with him regarding matching a preamp for my M800a a while back.

Actually, I've heard very positive reviews of the Karan amps. Someone here replaced a set of Luxman 900 pre/power with a Karan pre/power (not the 2000 monoblocks but the stereo 600) - and he said it is miles ahead.

Thanks. I haven't heard the Karan, can you point out who, and on what speakers? Joel thought the m800 bridged was much better on the vivid and Maggie 20.7

bonzo75 · Oct 26, 2016

I think you also have to decide which category of amps you need - the clean sounding ones, with lots of speed and dynamics?

Liquid, flowing, class A sound?

Listen to rock or classical?

Which can you demo, those you need not investigate via the forum

iaxel · Oct 26, 2016

bonzo75 said:
I think you also have to decide which category of amps you need - the clean sounding ones, with lots of speed and dynamics?

Liquid, flowing, class A sound?

Listen to rock or classical?

Which can you demo, those you need not investigate via the forum

Dynamic and liquid.
Mostly classical.
I may be able to demo the Karan and the Pass.

Believe High Fidelity · Nov 14, 2016

NO TUBES!!!!!! WHY!!!

What about a Hybrid design? Tubes are still the more linear then the most advanced transistor...

iaxel · Dec 5, 2016

An update:
So far I have auditioned the Karan KAS600. The Karan did have more grip and lower end, handled better complex music passages, however, I still preferred the Luxman to it. The Luxman sounded more resolving and fluid.
I may wait for an additional M800a and bridge it to mine.

iaxel · Dec 5, 2016

Believe High Fidelity said:
NO TUBES!!!!!! WHY!!!

What about a Hybrid design? Tubes are still the more linear then the most advanced transistor...

Hi!

The reason I've decided to go SS is that in order to get a lot of power and grip from a tube amp, especially at low impedance, you need a lot of power tubes. Which makes it a bit more messy to manage/maintain.

Sablon Audio · Dec 5, 2016

Have you considered trying a tube preamp to drive your existing Luxman amp? That should give you the fluidity and possibly also the power if it has a dynamic & weightly presentation.

iaxel · Dec 5, 2016

Sablon Audio said:
Have you considered trying a tube preamp to drive your existing Luxman amp? That should give you the fluidity and possibly also the power if it has a dynamic & weightly presentation.

I had thought about going in that direction.
What would you recommend to replace the Luxman preamp with?

bonzo75 · Dec 5, 2016

iaxel said:
I had thought about going in that direction.
What would you recommend to replace the Luxman preamp with?

Joel drives it with Coincident, I have heard the 900 driven beautifully with Nagra Jazz (that dealer used Ypsilon before). NAT will drive it too. Joel preferred the Coincident to the Nagra http://www.audiophile-magazine.com/...s-coincident-technology-statement-line-stage/

Sablon Audio · Dec 5, 2016

Hmmm, I'm probably one of the worst people to ask that question as I have mostly just run single source systems using inbuilt volume controls! You alluded to living in a location where there weren't many brands available, so I would initially try borrow a couple of pieces from local friends / dealers to evaluate. Good luck!

iaxel · Dec 5, 2016

bonzo75 said:
Joel drives it with Coincident, I have heard the 900 driven beautifully with Nagra Jazz (that dealer used Ypsilon before). NAT will drive it too. Joel preferred the Coincident to the Nagra http://www.audiophile-magazine.com/...s-coincident-technology-statement-line-stage/

Yes, I'm familiar with Joel's reviews and impressions of the Coincident linestage. However, the fact that it does not have a remote, even for simple volume control, makes it a bit unpractical to me.

iaxel · Dec 5, 2016

Sablon Audio said:
Hmmm, I'm probably one of the worst people to ask that question as I have mostly just run single source systems using inbuilt volume controls! You alluded to living in a location where there weren't many brands available, so I would initially try borrow a couple of pieces from local friends / dealers to evaluate. Good luck!

Thanks. I see you represent Lampizator. Did you try out Lukasz's preamps?

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Matching amp for a Luxman 900 preamp

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