Vintage McIntosh receivers may have their due credits for its wonderful sound but the Luxman you see here, in our opinion, shares that same accolades. If we were to put a veil over a vintage McIntosh receiver and this Luxman, you would be hard press to identify which is which. If you listen hard enough, you might be able to point out the Luxman having a bit more detail and a bit more transparent sounding. It is very well built and in terms of design, the more “futuristic” looking (arguably) of the two. The 40W in 8 ohm that it offers is musically satisfying. The Luxman may not be up to task driving current hungry speakers like Magnepans but with a fairly sensitive pair of speakers with an easy impedance load, the Luxman is a champ. You just have to remember, when the Luxman first came out, speakers of that generation were easy drivers and receivers from that era rarely crosses over the 50W mark. So when you take this to mind when pairing with a suitable pair of speakers, you won’t go wrong. The MM phono stage is pretty good and the FM/AM reception was strong even without an outdoor antenna.
Cosmetically, the Luxman is in great shape for its age. Minor scuff marks here and there but nothing major. To begin with, it is one of the more attractive receivers from that era and with the orange backlit display, adds a certain level of charm you can admire it from your listening chair. As a collector piece now, some of this units have fetch as much as $1,000 or more for it. The unit has been fully run over by the service center in NYC (we spent nearly $500 for it) where worn parts have been replaced and the receiver bias back to original specs. Pots are cleaned and lubricated and one pair of the rear speaker posts were replaced as the original plastic caps had broken off. The Luxman will now provide many more years of wonderful music to its new owner. Unit will be securely packed for safe shipping but local pickup from our store can be arranged.
