Luxman L-509x

For this kind of money that can buy you a car, not a micron should be less than perfect. Normal? Ha-ha.

 

pretty much but glad its finally settled because its probably an amazing intergrated.

 

I tried to look at the grill on mine but it’s in a rack at the moment and I can only see the front section of the top, but it doesn’t appear to have any of that patchy looking finish. I think I would have noticed and it would have gone back as it’s silly money and you have a right to expect it to be perfect!

 

Looking for feedback on the Luxman P509X. I have a pair of Spendor D9.2 speakers. Currently running a Marantz PM14S1, which has a great warm sound, and is a great match with my speakers. The Luxman is roughly double the price of the Marantz. I’m concerned about reports on this forum about the Luxman having a ‘thin sound’. Any feedback is appreciated .

 

I can't help with feedback on the 509.

If, after feedback the thin sound is a concern consider the 590AXII. The speaker seems to be an easy load (although I can not find an impedance curve) so the 590 should have no issues and be "warmer". Although that might be too warm for you.

 

Glad you finally got the cosmetic issue resolved. Now that it’s had some burn in time, is it sounding different?

 

I agree, Douglas. The pics of the acceptable grille show even more clearly the defects in yours. As for sharing across forums and Facebook, I’m glad you did. Luxman are permanently off my wanted list after their poor show in handling this. Having poor QC in the first place is bad enough. Compounding it with denial on such an expensive item is unforgivable.

 

I just did a search on this forum for the L-509x
Search Results for Query: L-509 | Steve Hoffman Music Forums

None of them describe the L-590x as "thin". Neutral, yes.

As an L-509x owner I would confirm this. It is a wonderful sounding unit.

Also, the L-509x amplifier section is designed to deliver the first 6 watts as "pure" Class A, then switches to A/B for the rest of its rated output.

I confirmed this via a question to Luxman USA and got the following reply

With efficient speakers, normal listening for me is practically all in Class A. So any perceived sonic differences between the L-509x and L-590axii would have to be attributed to something else in the design or the system being demoed.

As for the 'issue' with the top grill holes. I don't see any defects in mine. I do see the choice of design implementation for how the holes were manufactured. Maybe that's a 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' thing. Meh.

 

I agree that the L-509X is not “thin” by any means. It’s super power is making absolute neutral sound very good. Many manufacturers can’t pull this off, so they go the slightly warm route.

 

I have the l-550 and it has never seemed 'thin sounding'. It's not warm sounding like a 300b set, it's more of what I'd call a balanced accurate sound. I've only had it for a few months and I've determined that it's never leaving my hands.

 

I'm gonna say the same as well, I have a 505ux and it's not thin sounding at all - when the volume goes up so does the wall of sound and I don't even have a sub, it puts out quite a punch for it's conservative paper specs. It's probably just not the bloaty bass or overly saturated mids that some folks prefer. I would say luxmans amps/int amps are neutral sounding and their phono stage as well.

 

That is not normal I have a L509X and if it looked like that I would ship it back immediately

 

I have the L590AX2 and cannot fault it in any way - sonically or in terms of fit & finish. The L-509 is likely a soupçon better, but is about 20% more expensive (and was over my budget) so I purchased and am delighted with the class A 590. Though with 93db 8ohm speakers I would likely be in class A all the time with the L509 also. I prefer the look of my amp but they’re both stunners.

About those defects. It looks anomalous, and there may be more to the story than we’re being told. I find it difficult to believe that any company would think that acceptable, but perhaps some QA process short-circuited on this occasion, which should be a major concern and priority for the company to investigate. Assuming that the amp left the factory in that condition, that is.

 

Happy to hear you got it resolved morning. As for the naysayers and the L509X sounding thin, oh please

 

You have no idea how lucky consumers are in NA.... Most of the countries in Asia, it is more like "if you are not happy with the purchase..oh well, you can suck your thumb.." This is one of the main reasons why you see a lot of factory refurbished sales in NA but not much in Asian countries.

 

Thanks. Yes, really enjoying the sound from it.

I would say that the L509X sounds very clean and neutral sounding, so some will feel it's "thin". It's best to pair it with speakers that is a touch to the warm side. I listen to mine in "line straight" mode (bypassing all the tone controls) and just let my ProAcs play their natural tone.

 

Your problem with your L-509x really scared me away from buying one, but I'm really glad I eventually did. My top grille didn't have any of the problems yours did, and I haven't seen this issue elsewhere, so maybe you were just really unfortunate. I've had similar misfortune with other high end brands so I'm aware that it can certainly happen. I'm glad I ended up with an L-509x though. I'm frankly baffled how anyone could think it sounds thin — I am always stunned by the fullness, presence, and musical realism the L-509x produces.

 

Holy sht????!!!!!! That bothered you?!?!?!??! Am outta here man.....You boys either need Jesus, Lucifer or a Shrink (whichever comes first)...

 

Does it bypass the balance too?

 

What do owners make of the MM/MC section of the Lux integrateds? From what I understand, the circuit is more or less the same in the amps, but better quality parts as you go up the line...

 

I have a 590AXII so I think it is the same phono section as the 509.

Prior to purchasing the Luxman I was using a Dynavector P75MkIII with a Dynavector XX2 cart in PE mode. This is not a top end phono stage but it is not a cheapie either. It had the advantage of brand synergy and many people had commented positively on the PE mode operation. The Luxman internal phono stage sound better.

A key disadvantage of the internal phono stage is the inability to change the settings for impedance and gain. Hence you must have a cart which likes to see 100 Ohm and you lose the ability to "tune" your sound by playing with loading. Luckily for me the Dynavector XX2 likes 100 Ohm, in fact that is the loading I used on the P75 prior to moving to PE mode. I have recently changed my cart and as a part of that process I made sure I stayed with one that likes 100 Ohm loading. I now have a Hana ML which also pairs nicely with the internal stage.

With both carts it would be nice to have more gain as the phono listening uses a fair bit more on the volume knob than streaming/CD. However there is no noise or other problems - just knob position matching that is the issue.

I still aspire to a better external phono stage and in the future when I upgrade my turntable I will explore this - but it is a very good internal stage - if you match your cart to it.

 

Lol, sorry about that. But yes, defects do happen. That's why there's warranties and aftersales services.

After this incident, I recommend anyone who has a L-509x should try to open up the top plate at least once and admire the materials that they put into this thing. You will really feel that you've gotten your money's worth. Lol.

Glad you bought one. Enjoy!

 

Yes.

 

Lol. Don't bother Jesus unnecessarily. He's a busy dude. I just need the dealer to step up since this was clearly a defect.

 

Cold fact: You dont really know what is the meaning of normal until there is a comparison in standard. To some people, sending in a brand new car for very minor repairs once or twice a year is considered normal, unfortuntely, they have no idea a lot of Japanese made cars or Japanese branded cars, made in NA, have zero repair in the first few years. Not even a change of bulb. This is what I called normal. If one would to understand the Japanese perfectionist culture, one would understand that what Douglas has encountered is definitely NOT normal. This is absolutely NOT acceptable in Japan.