This is Luxman’s newest flagship preamp. It departs in looks from the other two preamps in the range with a throw back “vintage” C-1000 look from the 70’s. Look and soundwise, the CL-1000 is a beauty. It was very evident within the first five minutes of listening that the CL-1000 is a very special tube preamp. Using six E88CC tubes inside, the preamp was anything but an overly “tubey” sound. The level of clarity, detail and warmth is among the best tube preamps out there. Every note was precisely cut and delivered. Soundstage was wide and deep with vocals especially holographic. The phono input is pretty impressive and could easily command the full MSRP on its own but since it is packaged together in this preamp, it makes the CL-1000 an amazing bargain as a reference preamp. Features and functions are aplenty but the more unique one is its articulator function which kicks in each time you turn on the unit where it spends a couple of seconds demagnetizing the transformers inside the unit. If your listening spans several hours each time, you can manually activate the articulator too. Built and finish is first class as always with Luxman and the reddish tint to the walnut wrap gives it an eye catching look. The preamp was designed without remote control capability.
Cosmetically, the preamp looks excellent with minor signs of use. We have the original box and manual for it. Box size is huge so that adds on dimensional weight which will up the cost of shipping a bit. Local pickup from our store can be arranged.
