ghaubrich
New Member
About 20 years ago my daughter and some of her teen friends blew out my system at a party I wasn't invited to ... . I can't imagine what they were doing to it, but it had to be awesome cuz it was two NAD strapped amps and some pretty nice B&Ws ... . And then divorce hell and it has been a long time to once again have a system that I just love to effin' listen to (and jam with, I play trumpet and keys) ... . But here it is --
Luxman M-117 power amp (200 to 8, 400 to 4, 750 bridged mono)
Luxman TP-117 tuner preamp (outboard iFi phono preamp)
Luxman PD-272 table with Micro-Sekei TA-1 original tonearm
Grado Gold 3
Sony UBP-XS1100ES disc player (SACD)
Auris BluMe bluetooth DAC
B&W 803 Matrix (bi-wired)
Velodyne 10" powered sub
this, is music. It is engrossing and sublime. Listening for a second time to Grieg Violin Sonata 3 ... Duo Gazzana on bluetooth off of youtube music ... there's an artifact in the piano that makes it click on a certain type of upper register attack ... at first I thought it was a defect in the recording, and I guess it is but it's clearly in the piano and the stereo is just tellin' the truth ...
Decades ago (late 70s early 80s) I worked in some pretty nice stereo/video shops in California (Daly City), Missouri (Springfield), and here in Oklahoma City. However, I'm not sure I learned much other than the most important thing, which is to listen with my own ears. This amp was the piece that really makes this system I've been working to build for a couple of years fulfilling. It replaces a nice amp (Sony 330 ES, 110 wpc), but 803s of any version require more than a "nice" amp. They need stable current to drive low impedance and highly-variable impedance loads. I bought them from a guy who had them hooked up to a Marantz 45 wpc receiver and they sounded like tinny wood. crazy. he claimed to be an electrical contractor and musician. huh.
Right now I'm listening to LSO Nutcracker and those 803s with Luxman power sound like the London Symphony Orchestra is here in my studio/study including a very deep, broad, and resonant bass section in a huge symphony hall.
My own opinion, and I've done a lot of research the last couple of years including listening to many of the voices, questions, and answers here on audiogon, is that it makes a lot of sense to match components by brand IF they are high quality companies, simply because they are more likely to have been engineered to work well together. I have zero doubt there are "better" pre-amps and amps, but then this amp and pre only cost me a bit over $1000.00, purchased separately ... and I got a great tuner and the ability to run a second system off of it if I want to ... . and when I say great tuner, this is a GREAT tuner.
This amp is fast, powerful, clean, wide, tall, deep, smooth. Soundstage, clarity, accuracy, beauty of music in all its glory, Luxman. Yah I know it's Alpine era. It's an American market version of the silver front M-03 Luxman, which was sold in Europe and maybe Japan.
Anybody got another one they just can't stand, make sure to find someone who can appreciate it because this is one beautiful powerful musical outstanding killer diller amplifier and those 803s ain't bad neither. LIke I said this sounds like music. here. present. It's stupid, I know, but it's also brilliant, I'm sitting here just happy cuz it sounds so freakin' good.
Luxman M-117 power amp (200 to 8, 400 to 4, 750 bridged mono)
Luxman TP-117 tuner preamp (outboard iFi phono preamp)
Luxman PD-272 table with Micro-Sekei TA-1 original tonearm
Grado Gold 3
Sony UBP-XS1100ES disc player (SACD)
Auris BluMe bluetooth DAC
B&W 803 Matrix (bi-wired)
Velodyne 10" powered sub
this, is music. It is engrossing and sublime. Listening for a second time to Grieg Violin Sonata 3 ... Duo Gazzana on bluetooth off of youtube music ... there's an artifact in the piano that makes it click on a certain type of upper register attack ... at first I thought it was a defect in the recording, and I guess it is but it's clearly in the piano and the stereo is just tellin' the truth ...
Decades ago (late 70s early 80s) I worked in some pretty nice stereo/video shops in California (Daly City), Missouri (Springfield), and here in Oklahoma City. However, I'm not sure I learned much other than the most important thing, which is to listen with my own ears. This amp was the piece that really makes this system I've been working to build for a couple of years fulfilling. It replaces a nice amp (Sony 330 ES, 110 wpc), but 803s of any version require more than a "nice" amp. They need stable current to drive low impedance and highly-variable impedance loads. I bought them from a guy who had them hooked up to a Marantz 45 wpc receiver and they sounded like tinny wood. crazy. he claimed to be an electrical contractor and musician. huh.
Right now I'm listening to LSO Nutcracker and those 803s with Luxman power sound like the London Symphony Orchestra is here in my studio/study including a very deep, broad, and resonant bass section in a huge symphony hall.
My own opinion, and I've done a lot of research the last couple of years including listening to many of the voices, questions, and answers here on audiogon, is that it makes a lot of sense to match components by brand IF they are high quality companies, simply because they are more likely to have been engineered to work well together. I have zero doubt there are "better" pre-amps and amps, but then this amp and pre only cost me a bit over $1000.00, purchased separately ... and I got a great tuner and the ability to run a second system off of it if I want to ... . and when I say great tuner, this is a GREAT tuner.
This amp is fast, powerful, clean, wide, tall, deep, smooth. Soundstage, clarity, accuracy, beauty of music in all its glory, Luxman. Yah I know it's Alpine era. It's an American market version of the silver front M-03 Luxman, which was sold in Europe and maybe Japan.
Anybody got another one they just can't stand, make sure to find someone who can appreciate it because this is one beautiful powerful musical outstanding killer diller amplifier and those 803s ain't bad neither. LIke I said this sounds like music. here. present. It's stupid, I know, but it's also brilliant, I'm sitting here just happy cuz it sounds so freakin' good.
