Luxman L590AX any experiences with this amp?

Anybody had this amp-think of pairing with a pair of Proac D40R's.

 

Well, since no one else has, I'll comment. I've never heard either but from http://www.proac-loudspeakers.com/html_files/Speakers.php?Range=Response&Speaker=ResponseD40R (specs) seems like the L-590AX http://www.luxman.com/product.php?pid=4 should have enough power ... but I guess a $25,000 combo is best listened to in one's home for an extended period before purchase if that's possible.

 

Thanks I was hoping before buying the Osiris to try either tubes or Class A with the Proacs but never really got the opportunity.-I had a Luxman L505U before the Osiris and that just couldn't really make them sing or drive them properly. The Osiris is a clear notch up and delivers everything you would want/expect but the matching is potent the Osiris power rating is right at the top end of what the Proac's require.

I think I may have a chance to audition this amp but it will depend on the dealer who is in the other end of the UK but I think he owes me a favour from our last transaction-there are some good reviews of the amp online but I was interested in any experience people had with the amp. Thanks again for replying.

 

Hi Ben,
Heard the L-590Ax(which had only had about 70-80hrs of running-in), the older L-590AII & Pass Labs INT-30A on separate occasions . Partnered with Luxman D-06 CD/SACD player, Avalon Indra & Verity Parsifal Ovation speakers.
If memory serves me well, you'll find both a little bit polite, fairly open & their treble performance relatively smooth, silky & non-fatiguing. Although it was difficult to discern a large difference between them, there seemed to be better articulation & coherency with the newer L-590Ax's lower-mid-to-bass frequency performance.
Enough to give me the impression that with adequate running-in(Luxman advise a minimum of 4-500 hours before one would hear perceptible gains) the improvements would probably have been even more marked.
Although the Pass Lab's performance was a little warmer, more expansive & forward in presentation. More 'real'.
Hope that's a help.

 

Thanks as much as the Osiris is powerful I would say that it was transparent so there's no real sonic character (polite/forward/whatever)...the bass in my system is interesting because sometimes you would think there isn't much there but you can end up pinned to the wall when it comes in on recordings that go that way.

This is a wee bit of a flight of fancy this type of amp doesn't appear too often and I will only be wanting a dem as a starting point then we'll take it from there. I'm not unhappy I'd just really like to hear a realistic alternative of a noticeably different type.

 

Don't know if you're someone who likes playing with tone controls(not that much of an advocate of them myself)but, use of the balance control definitely helped to improve image focus & holography. And open out the soundstage.
If you've heard Luxman's Class A/B amps. you'll find them somewhat more full-bodied & a little warmer(not at all thick & wooly though).

 

They sport a capable MM/MC phono-stage too.

 

If you missed it my amp previous to my current one was a Luxman L505U that had the same features as the L590. I never did mess about with the tone controls that much and left the amp at direct-that was a good amp it bettered the Ayre AX-7 it replaced-had excellent mid-range capabilities and really brought drums to life unfortunately when the D40's arrived you just knew it wasn't enough for them.

I liked the Luxman sound-I know Proac often match with Class A amps (Sugden) so I'm hopeful this might bring something extra to the table.

 

I used to use the Luxman L550aii (20Wpc class A) with Proac D28s, that was a fab match; you're right - Proac use class A amps and I reckon the L590ax will be a great match.

 

The Luxman arrived today, I gave it about an hour to warm up.

Straight away you can hear its strengths versus the Osiris-it's more musical, the midrange is superior and the detail-I'm hearing little inflections in well know songs I've never heard before-with acoustic music and jazz it is superb. Obviously I'm working through discs but I've left all the previous settings the same to keep things the same as I assess.

Of course as you might expect with such different amps there is some trade off-the Osiris has more slam, in powerful bass laden tracks the Osiris really hits you like a freight train and as you might expect with a massive power advantage you do miss a bit of the slam the Osiris delivers. Will update a few days down the line.

 

BSC do you still have the Luxman L-590AX and any more impressions of the sound? I've got a L-505U 100W Push Pull driving some Harbeths 7ES3 but am wondering about the 30W Class A 590AX....

 

No for two reasons the Luxman was returned-I could not agree a price with the dealer and I would get the odd pop or crackle-not sure why.

If you look at my system now I ended up with an Esoteric A-100 which is on another level.

There was no comparison between the L590 AX and the L505U-I had one for about 18 months.......I traded that for the Rega but the 590 will do everything better by a distance than the the 505U will.........and I really liked the 505U with Proac 2.5's.....my only worry is that your speakers might not reveal the full capability of the 590AX but I would be surprised if the 590 is not a big step up........my serious advice is to dem......matching speakers and amps I learned last year really has to be done by demoing at home and over a fair bit of time if you can........

 

Just to be clear I really like the Luxman amps I've heard I would have no qualms in recommending them......

 

Thanks BSC. I've got a local friend that hopefully can bring his 590AX by to A/B against my 505u. From listening to them at his house the amp is kinda "liquid" in the mids, very natural and musical...reminds me of a tube amp with SS bass. It's just a matter of convincing someone to hull and amp that's over 65lbs

 

Just on a side note, we had the US dist. of Luxman demo the 590AX at the July LVAC meeting.

The amp sounded great with the Vivid speakers. However, looking back, I feel a bit more power was needed overall.

Here are the results with photos...

http://lasvegasaudioclub.blogspot.com/2014/07/our-twelfth-meeting.html

 

Going to audition the Luxman 590AX vs 505u paired with Luxman 7es3 this weekend (at my home listening room). will write back the findings

 

Are you still using your Harbeth speakers? Having had both amps at home driving a pair of Proac D40R's I found the L590AX performed way above the L505U and I had the L505U for about 18 months (with Proac 2.5's) and really liked it. There is a big price difference though so the difference shouldn't be a shock-I just found the L505U struggled with the speaker upgrade.

Let us know how you go.

 

yes, sorry, meant to say Harbeth 7es3. The 505u is a powerful but neutral sounding amp. It really grabs the speakers and is a fun listen. What is missing is just a touch of that mid range magic. I heard it with tubes (Quicksilver 70s / Vandersteen2ce Sig II) but was curious as to see if the 590AX has it too (class A) when driving the Harbeths....

 

I think you will find what you are looking for-I found the 590AX to be very musical and I would have settled for it if circumstances had been different. I'll be surprised if it doesn't surpass the 505U on every level. Now I've said that your expectations will have changed.

 

I have heard the harbeth 7es3/lux 590ax in a very large room and was not impressed at all. Very weak sounding and obviously the room volume had a lot to do with it. In my smaller/medium (estimate 64 m^3) audio room the harbeths seem to be just right (/REL sub) as i listen to a good bit of heavier alt/rock along w/ a lot of blue note jazz too. This will be the first time auditioning the 590ax/harbeth combo in that small/medium room which is acoustically treated too....

 

That's why I asked you if you were using the Harbeths as the Proac's are obviously reasonably big floor standers-I'm not sure how the difference I heard would equate to your system. My room is about 84M 3 so it is quite big.

 

Ill report back....thanks for your insight! The only thing that has me worried is the 30W rating on the 590...

 

When I got the D40R's I felt the L505U was struggling to drive them and at 4 ohms the L505 should have been pushing 150W. The 590AX in comparison really gripped the D40R's-no comparison at all-it's Class A output was much more powerful in real terms.

 

When I got the D40R's I felt the L505U was struggling to drive them and at 4 ohms the L505 should have been pushing 150W. The 590AX in comparison really gripped the D40R's-no comparison at all-it's Class A output was much more powerful in real terms.

 

Well i had a chance to compare the lux 590ax against 505u in my room w/harbeth 7es3 tonight. I thought it was going to be a no brainer. The 590ax is beautiful, much better selector knob, volume much smoother. Now for the sound...its very romantic sounding but IMO not a good match with the already slighty warm harbeths. Too much a good thing. After a while it got to be too much and the mids seem to lack focus and tightness of the 100w 505u. Almost syrupy sounding....I wanted to like it, but always kept going back to the 505u. Something to be said for synergy...