Received some information abuot the Luxman turntable that was on Ebay A while ago someone posted about.http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3090762578&category=3283
Hi,
As nobody else has replied, I've got some info on this turntable,
although the auction finished on the day you asked about it. I have
several copies of Australian Hi-Fi Magazine's Stereo Buyer's Guide
for turntables from the mid 1980's where this t/t was reviewed. They
tested a prototype flown out from Japan in 1984, when it was called
the PD-522. It was Luxman's go at producing a high-end belt drive
t/t, and used a glass platter similar to the Rega Planar 2 & 3 of the
day, which were very good performers (still are, upgraded as the Rega
P2/P3). The wow and flutter performance of the Luxman PD-522 was
particularly good, at 0.075% peak weighted and 0.045% RMS unweighted,
which was virtually the same as the Rega Planar 3. However, the
rumble they suggested was affected due to rough treatment of that
prototype and its bearing, as it was quite poor.
They tested a production version, then known as the A522, in 1985,
and wow and flutter was very similar to the Rega Planar 3 at 0.06%
peak weighted or 0.07% RMS unweighted, which they described as very
good results. The rumble of that one was much better at -44.5dB
unweighted, which was slightly better than the Rega (-42dB), and was
an excellent result. It was better than the majority of
Technics/JVC/Pioneer top-end direct drives, and was similar to Lux's
own top-end direct drive turntables. For instance, a Technics SL1200
Mk2 was tested as -36dB, Technics SP-10Mk2 -46dB, the Lux PD-277 -
35dB, Lux PD-131 -45.5dB, Denon DP-57L -48dB, Denon DP-1700 -39.5dB,
and the Linn Sondek LP12, which was miles better than virtually
everything (and probably still is), was -58dB unweighted (the limit
of their test record). That's why the Linn is so well regarded - it's
not just British hype! It's just a pity that they are now so
expensive, as well as being so hard to set up. The magazine decided
that the Lux A522 had a very good sound, imparting little of its own
character on the sound, and allowing the cartridge and tonearm (both
Grace items) to work well. The electrical isolation of the cartridge
from the motor and electronics was excellent (no hum).
The Lux A522 had a glass, belt-drive platter with driven by a short
one-piece neoprene belt, with two speeds (33 & 45 rpm) changed by
moving the belt on a two-stage pulley. They mentioned that wow and
flutter were both impressively low for a belt drive t/t, due to the
excellent motor design and short belt. The chassis was a two layer
design of chipboard covered in vinyl, which had a vivid colour scheme
of light grey and mid-blue! The chassis was mounted on four rubber
feet for extra isolation. The motor was a synchronous unit sprung
from the main chassis by resilient rubber mountings, similar to the
Rega's, to reduce motor noise transmitted to the tonearm. The
magazine suggested that Luxman had decided if they couldn't beat
Rega, they might as well join them!
The advantage of the glass platter was that it resonated when excited
at a much higher frequency than metal platters and the ringing was
much less, so affecting the sound less. A felt mat was used to
isolate the tonearm and cartridge from the platter bearing. The
platter rested on a small hub made of inert plastic. The stainless
steel platter spindle and brass housing were machined to close
tolerances, and the spindle ran in an oil bath. The hemispherical,
concave bottom end on the spindle was seated on a single ball bearing
which ran in the brass spindle housing. The turntable was usually
supplied without tonearm or cartridge, allowing buyers to select
their own. In Australia, they were often supplied with Grace tonearms
and cartridges, as the distributor supplied both Grace and Luxman
items around Australia. As they came without arms, the operation was
fully manual. I'd suggest buying one of the little units to raise the
arm at the end of the record, to save wear and tear if you doze off
or are out of the room. They are often advertised on Ebay in America,
and work well.
I've seen two advertised on Ebay in Australia since the year 2000,
but it may have been the same one sold twice. They are much rarer
than the Lux direct drive turntables from the same era. Hope that
helps.
Regards,
Don
--- In luxman@yahoogroups.com, "jnhvac" wrote:
> Anyone heard of this turntable, Cant find it in any of the Links.
