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In Reply to: RE: Luxman M-200 [not the M-2000] posted by cawson@onetel.com on April 04, 2016 at 14:28:10
I highly doubt that it is biased for Class A operation given the relatively small size of it's power supply transformer. Looks like it is rated at 25wpc into 8 Ohms but doesn't have enough oomph to double that into a 4 Ohm load.A little pricey IMHO for what appears to be a pretty basic tiny amp but if your speakers are ok with the low power, it might sound nice.
Edits: 04/06/16Follow Ups:
Yes, I've now read they are AB rather than A. The 25 watts is fine with my 102 dB Avantgarde speakers and these amps can be switched to mono offering 70 watts into 8 ohms.
Price-wise, I'm surprised you think them costly. The list price is certainly high - as is all Luxman gear - but at the price being asked for the M-200 amp and the matching DA-200 DAC/pre (£1995 about $2825) it seems reasonable. But only if the sound quality is great.
With such a well known and respected brand, I'm really surprised that no one here seems to own one and no one has even mentioned this amp in postings.
With such a well known and respected brand, I'm really surprised that no one here seems to own one and no one has even mentioned this amp in postings.That's because most Yanks want a larger, back breaking heavy, and more powerful amp. ;-) I also suspect that many of us do not own high efficiency speakers. In the lower power range others might prefer vacuum tubes. Is the Luxman M-200 fairly new or has it been around for a while?
I owned the Pass Labs Aleph 3 (and the newer Aleph 30) many years ago and at 30wpc of pure Class A power they had the potential to sound wonderful. Unfortunately, they were a little dynamically challenged in my setup even though my speakers were somewhat easy to drive. While not high efficiency, my Tannoy Definition D500's are not difficult (91db 6 Ohm nom.), but they sound better with larger amps. I had to give up on the Aleph 3 and 30.
Pass Labs Aleph 3 Pure Class A room heater
Since it couldn't drive my speakers I figured I would put it to better use
The Tannoys. I'm using them now in my home office setup
Notice the hockey puck tweek tilting the speakers back ever so slightly
Edits: 04/07/16
> most Yanks want a larger, back breaking heavy, and more powerful amp. ;-) I also suspect that many of us do not own high efficiency speakers.
Well there seem to be plenty in the Hi-Eff forum - and SET. Many seem to be using amps based on 300B, PX-24, 10, 2A3 tubes offering outputs of less than 10 watts.
I've been using tube amps for several years, using the wonderful PX-25 but later the beefy (28 watts!) 845. I've been trying to find an alternative SS amp that won't disappoint sound-wise compared with the tube amps. I've tried several, mainly Class A and currently use an Accuphase A-36 30 watt power amp. I can't cook eggs on it as it remains relatively cool! The Accuphase is plenty powerful enough - in fact I switch the Gain to -12dB to allow better control over volume.
The Luxman M-200 is relatively new and is still in their current range. It's just strange that virtually every amplifier ever designed can be found through a search on AA - except this one. Not encouraging.
Peter
Do you find the A-36 better than the Benchmark AHB2?
> Do you find the A-36 better than the Benchmark AHB2?Yes by a huge factor.
I was expecting the Benchmark to be an excellent match with my Avantgarde speakers (based on rave comments by a Trio owner on another forum) but I found the Benchmark dull and lifeless compared with my SET monoblocs. I wrote about it - see below.
Since then, I've tried Sugden Class A, Quad, Red Wine 30.2 and of these the Sugden FPA-1 was the most tube-line and the most appealing sound-wise with my speakers.
The Accuphase is appreciably the best of the lot. I'm not convinced the sound is better than the 845 monos, but the complete lack of noise and the better controlled bass make it a winner. Like the 845 amps (and in total contrast to the Benchmark), this is amp to get one excited about what one's listening to and to want to turn up rather than down the volume
I'm not saying this is the best amp for my speakers, but it's getting close. I'd really like to try the French Lavardin A80 Reference as I hear such good things about their integrated IS Ref. By coincidence I received a phone call today from someone enquiring about my used Mark Levinson 390S CD player and he has a Lavardin IS that he couldn't praise high enough. I'd love to compare Lavardin with Accuphase!
Other Accuphase good points - it has a gain switch offering -3, -6, and -12 from its full level of 28 dB (very useful with very sensitive speakers), big meters, switchable balanced and SE inputs, a S/N ratio of 112 dB and it doesn't get as hot as one would expect of a Class A amp. It looks rather 1980s in design but it sounds wonderful.
In support of the Benchmark, most reviews have been generally very good, but nearly all have qualified their praise by stating that it's a particularly speaker-dependent amp. I'd expect it to be a very good match for other speakers - but not Avantgarde!
Edits: 04/09/16
Have you thought of also trying a Job 225? It has a rather high gain though.
> Have you thought of also trying a Job 225? It has a rather high gain though.
Not seriously. Spec far short of Accuphase - no UK dealers, probably nil used value in UK, consumes 450 watts - far more than my Class A Accuphase. Not a Goldmund despite the rather vague company connections. I'd certainly try it if a local dealer could arrange, but otherwise no.
I think Luxman is in the process of making a come back. Didn't they practically disappear a few years ago? That along with the M-200 being fairly new might account for not being able to find much information on it.
I would love to try low power SET someday, and do it right. That's one area I have not explored.
I had a pair of 45 tube based monoblocks that were on loan to me many years ago. Unfortunately I didn't have the right speakers for them. The 45 monoblocks were 'rich' sounding but also very 'flabby' around the bass. I guess that's to be expected with the wrong speakers (my Tannoy Definition D500s').
P.S. That egg frying Aleph 3 photo was staged. I fried the eggs on the stove top prior to placing the pan the on amp for the photo. ;-)
I rather guessed the eggs were pre-fried!
Certainly SETs do sound very good with high efficiency speakers, particularly horns. My various owned or borrowed SET amps have generally sounded so involving and exciting that the generally-accepted feature of less than perfect bass can be overlooked. With the 845 tube in particularly, there's plenty of bass though perhaps not quite as well controlled as a good SS amp. If you get the chance to try an SET, I's suggest you go for an 845, particularly with your speakers. I'm not entirely convinced that Class A amps are as good for bass as some other SS designs.
Luxman is a name I remember from my early interest in hi-fi but I rather passed them by as they were "Japanese" - an undesirable manufacturing location rather as China is today. Also there was plenty of very good British equipment then available. Accuphase is another Japanese company, but I get the impression they enjoy an even better reputation than Luxman.
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