Luxman K-5A vs K-8

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oldtek2003

New Member
Hi all,
Another newbie here. I recently bought a Luxman R-3030 receiver and Boston CR6 speakers to which I'm looking suitable tape deck. I have a line on a Luxman K-5A and a K-8, both cheap (<$20) as it looks like they both need belt replacements to work properly. Both are in very good cosmetic condition, although the K-8 is a slightly better looking piece.

My question is which is the better deck, both in terms of sound quality and repairability (DIY, of course)?

By the way, the R-3030 was one of the best $25 I've ever spent. I bought as non-working, but a little De-Oxit fixed that. Sound quality easily beats my 50wpc Kenwood KR-830 receiver that I bought new over 25 years ago.

Thanks!
 
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Hello oltek2003,

Welcome to AK. As far as those two Luxman go, both are two head decks manufactured around the 79-80 time frame. Both had the same MSRP, so I would assume both would perform equally and repairs should be about the same. If you like to looks of the K-8, I would go with it.

I don't know what your planned budget is but if you could find a K-15, which is the only 3-head deck from that era or a K-12 TOTL 2-head they both would perform better over the K-5/8.

Regards,
TB
 
The K-8 has fine bias adjustment and touch controls. The K-5a has mechanical controls and lacks the bias fine adjustment.

I'd go with the K-8 as it does look better.

The K-12 is one fine deck, but not quite top of the line. There was the 5K50 in the LRS line that was about a grand more money (twice the price of the K-12).
 
I steered clear of the LR Series deck as I did not know what the members budget was and it would be a pretty tough find.

I would love either one of the 5K50 or 5K50M decks for myself!

Regards,
TB
 
Thanks for the input folks. I wasn't looking to spend more than $100 on a tape deck. I have notice that the LR series are very hard to come by. I'm also staying away from the black-faced decks too...much prefer silverfaced components
 
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