Believe me, no one could be more surprised than me when I A/B'd my recently acquired Lafayette LR-120DB against my modded Yamaha R-2000. What prompted this comparison was yrly's suggestion that Luxman may have made the LR-120DB for Lafayette. I have always enjoyed the sonic accuracy of the R-2000 (although, as we all know, it has the overheating problems unless modded) so I was curious how the LR-120DB would stack up.
Well, in two words, VERY WELL! The more I listen to the LR-120DB the more I am inclined to believe that it is a Luxman-sourced unit, however, I'm still not about to open the NIB Luxman R-1120 I have under my bed to find out.
The Yamaha has a clean, almost "antisepetic" quality to it sound. The highs are crystal clear, the mids are full but the bass is a tad "thin", accurate but with no "meat". You are left "wanting".
The highs on the LR-120DB are, for the most part, a tad "sweeter" sounding, with little "veiling". The mids are just as convincing as the R-2000, however, the bottom end is "fuller" and "richer" than the R-2000's. This is not just my opinion, but the consistent opinion of some friends who I invited to listen to both of the units.
The LR-120DB was pretty much Lafayette's last gasp. There was one more line of Receivers after it, named "Criterion" and then......gone! Too bad, because the LR-120DB is an exceptionally nice receiver which is certainly competitive with other 125 wpc units and has some unique features, like variable FM muting, thrown in.
As for the R-2000, despite its getting beat, it is still a favorite of mine if for nothing more than it was Yammie's "most powerful" receiver, if not completed developed. The follow-up R-100 cured most of the problems, but was significantly less powerful and simply didn't have the visual present of the R-2000.
Well, in two words, VERY WELL! The more I listen to the LR-120DB the more I am inclined to believe that it is a Luxman-sourced unit, however, I'm still not about to open the NIB Luxman R-1120 I have under my bed to find out.
The Yamaha has a clean, almost "antisepetic" quality to it sound. The highs are crystal clear, the mids are full but the bass is a tad "thin", accurate but with no "meat". You are left "wanting".
The highs on the LR-120DB are, for the most part, a tad "sweeter" sounding, with little "veiling". The mids are just as convincing as the R-2000, however, the bottom end is "fuller" and "richer" than the R-2000's. This is not just my opinion, but the consistent opinion of some friends who I invited to listen to both of the units.
The LR-120DB was pretty much Lafayette's last gasp. There was one more line of Receivers after it, named "Criterion" and then......gone! Too bad, because the LR-120DB is an exceptionally nice receiver which is certainly competitive with other 125 wpc units and has some unique features, like variable FM muting, thrown in.
As for the R-2000, despite its getting beat, it is still a favorite of mine if for nothing more than it was Yammie's "most powerful" receiver, if not completed developed. The follow-up R-100 cured most of the problems, but was significantly less powerful and simply didn't have the visual present of the R-2000.
