How would you compare Luxman to Accuphase house sound?

CPP said:
Sure, right now on the used market they are going for $2400 -3000, not bad for a piece of gear that only cost $3,000 new. But the LUX is sure nice if one can find one on the used market.
Click to expand...

And this is taken from your personal experience of selling Marantz Reference gear? I really enjoy the price experts who creep ads and think that because something is posted that it sold for anywhere near asking or that it even exists. Never mind condition, age, useage, problems, etc etc etc
 
Arcman said:
I know the J2 is killer. I may even keep the J2 to switch in and out of the system or as a backup. The BHK is a world class unit, however, it's really a hybrid tube preamp. Basically, a tube buffer built in. Even with different tubes, it sounds solid state...which is not a bad thing at all. The tube does smooth out some harshness on some harsh records...but not tubey in a McIntosh sense.
Click to expand...
There are much better preamps out there for not that much more money. Obviously you are not satisfied with the sound you are getting otherwise this conversation wouldn't be happening. We know it's not the J2. We know it's not the Zu's IF they are fed a signal that is not "transistor" like. Cheers.
 
Who cares if the resale of Marantz gear is low. I buy what sounds good to me, not what the resale value is if I decide to sell it in a few years. The KI Ruby integrated is not like their cheaper gear and the KI gear usually holds its value from what I have seen. Certainly if NAD is in the picture, Marantz deserves a look if you like their house sound with a tonally rich midrange.
 
Mechnutt said:
Who cares if the resale of Marantz gear is low. I buy what sounds good to me, not what the resale value is if I decide to sell it in a few years. The KI Ruby integrated is not like their cheaper gear and the KI gear usually holds its value from what I have seen. Certainly if NAD is in the picture, Marantz deserves a look if you like their house sound with a tonally rich midrange.
Click to expand...
I agree 100%, who cares about resale value, these are not investment properties were are talking about. I was kind of dancing around it earlier but the Zu's benefit from a rich midrange like the Marantz or the J2/tubed preamp setup. The metal horned tweeter is not very forgiving and could use some richer equipment upstream. BTW, as much as I like my Pass XA25 I would never recommend it in this regard, especially over the J2. Many folks recommend equipment that they are using without regard to system matching and what YOUR needs are. Cheers.
 
Arcman said:
Actually, resale value is important if I end up buying new.
Click to expand...

I agree - very pertinent for high cost purchases. I don't know where you are from but I had difficulty both buying my Accuphase (used) and re-selling a year or so later. But this was solely because I live in the UK where the brand is poorly represented and consequently there are very few about and the don't enjoy a popular recognition here. I enentually found one (that I imported from a European dealer) but selling it took a while but I eventually found a UK buyer who paid a fair price.

The same would apply to Luxman here I believe. Well-respected brands that have good local representation do sell easily though, and for fair prices. My Avantgarde speakers and my earlier QUADs sold easily, as did a NAD Master Series amp. The GamuT took a while, eventually sold to a French buyer.
 
dznutz said:
And this is taken from your personal experience of selling Marantz Reference gear? I really enjoy the price experts who creep ads and think that because something is posted that it sold for anywhere near asking or that it even exists. Never mind condition, age, useage, problems, etc etc etc
Click to expand...

Just know a guy in our area that sold his used for $2475. I guess you are a price verification expert who creeps people for the actual sells price. But people buy a lot of gear based on it sounds.
 
I agree. The higher the price, the longer it will take to sell. Over here McIntosh has a good resale value based on the fact that even non-audiophiles know the name and reputation. Much like Harley Davidson.
 
I guess I should have asked this question before. Are you wanting to go integrated for the looks or are you trying to improve the sound quality? Or both?
 
For the size..reduce the number of boxes. However, I want it to look nice...not a plain silver box. I've been chatting with an Accuphase dealer, I'm really interested in the e-380 (or 480). A 650 looks nice but way up there on the price chain. Of course, I'm still looking for a Luxman, however, (as with any brand) Accuphase may be a better alternative. Whatever.....I'm patient....and I will find the right componant. The problem with Accuphase is the prices and there are so many Japan versions which I will avoid. I'm trying to stay under 10K
 
With Accuphase you have to know the right people before you buy. Very few Dealers have had enough product in their own hands to offer any short of informed advice. Then theres pricing…
 
correct. However, like I said, I'm a patient man. I'm also looking to upgrade my deck amp (currently some old audio source that came with the house. I may purchase a bridge unit (class d, NAD or something with streaming) and use that until the right one comes along......then place it in place of the audiosource.
 
Arcman said:
correct. However, like I said, I'm a patient man. I'm also looking to upgrade my deck amp (currently some old audio source that came with the house. I may purchase a bridge unit (class d, NAD or something with streaming) and use that until the right one comes along......then place it in place of the audiosource.
Click to expand...

Just remember, the one thing you cant get back in life is time.
 
LOL...true....however..between running my business, re doing our entire back yard patio, trex deck, landscaping, plus trying to budget for an integrated, I am pretty occupied and can wait for the "one". Plus, the longer I wait...I can add more money to the pile. The "one" always pops up somewhere ...I've learned that in my 54 years.
 
Arcman said:
For the size..reduce the number of boxes. However, I want it to look nice...not a plain silver box. I've been chatting with an Accuphase dealer, I'm really interested in the e-380 (or 480). A 650 looks nice but way up there on the price chain. Of course, I'm still looking for a Luxman, however, (as with any brand) Accuphase may be a better alternative. Whatever.....I'm patient....and I will find the right componant. The problem with Accuphase is the prices and there are so many Japan versions which I will avoid. I'm trying to stay under 10K
Click to expand...

If you are going primarily for looks you should just get a Mac and get it over with. I thought you were going for simplicity and a performance upgrade. I'm out of this discussion. Good luck.
 
stereogeek said:
If you are going primarily for looks you should just get a Mac and get it over with. I thought you were going for simplicity and a performance upgrade. I'm out of this discussion. Good luck.
Click to expand...

If resale value is unimportant to good for you. one takes a hit regardless...just like cars, some audio gear takes less of a hit. My ZU Omen Defs will sing with high wattage amps, low wattage, tube, class D, Class A/B or whatever. I have had everything plugged in at one time or another and the ZU's maintain what I like in a speaker. Sure, some amps will play better than others. The ZU Omen Defs are a "plug it in and forget it" design that happens to be high efficiency. The ZU Souls are a different bird altogether and favor lower wattage tubes. I have personally chatted with Sean Casey thru the years. Sean sold me my zu's, back in 2012, based on the fact I was hoping to have large wattage Macs or ARC amps someday. If I wanted to just go with Marantz, which is fine, I would be going to Music Direct, ordering a N40 or Yamaha, with a good return policy. I would not need to come to audiophile boards and ask for recommendations since Best Buy is around the corner. I have narrowed my choices down to Luxman, Accuphase and McIntosh....all three look great, all three have models I am looking for.


One more thing, everyone knows advertisers are a big influence a magazine reviewer's coverage of a product. The same can be said for dealers. Deealers have to make a living. Mike is an exception to most dealers when it comes to recommending components. Mike says many good things about audio gear he does not sell . I've written to Mike a couple of times and have only received professional feedback. I actually called two dealers (one mac and one accuphase) who did not have any inventory of the models I am looking at and did a hard sell on MICHI integrated amps. I'm thinking there must be a manufacturer incentive or the units are not selling. One actually telling me I am crazy for not considering. I'm sure the Rotels/Michi's are nice....a great amp for the money, etc. However...they are not what I am looking for.
 
My personal experience having owned 3 Accuphase integrated amps (E-470, E-600 and E-800) compared to my Luxman L-590AX, L-590 AXII, L-509 and L-595A SE. I very much wanted to like Accuphase but kept coming home to Luxman.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top