Luxman Suckface: An Appreciation

[vintagestereo]

Certainly one of the most bizarre designs in audio was Luxman's "Suckface". When a Suckface was turned off a plastic panel was in an extended position so that the controls could not be easily operated. Then, when it was powered on, the panel would retract so that the controls were accessible. This was supposedly to prevent toddlers from messing with the controls whilst the owner was away.

There were three Suckface Receivers, beginning with the RX-101, then the RX-102 and the TOTL RX-103. There were three matching Suckface Cassette Decks, beginning with the RX-100 and topping out with the RX-102. All the Suckface series used the same Suckface mechanism and motor. And all had the huge blue and red tinted Lucite buttons.

Shown here is the RX-103 Receiver:

http://www.ckopfell.com/Suckface.htm

 

[rickon66]

All this time, I thought they were called suckface's just because they were ugly!!

 

[tentoze]

Passed on one this wk-end. Ugly as a home-made bar of soap.

 

[Wigwam Jones]

I was overseas in the service when that style was released. I liked Luxman a lot, but I really thought that the suckface style was too gimmicky and most likely would be prone to breakage - like hideaway headlights on my '69 Dodge Charger. So I bought a Luxman L-580 integrated amp instead - and through the years, I've been quite happy.

 

[SoCal Sam]

The suckface motor is tiny and the face spring is large.

 

[Wigwam Jones]

Passed on one this wk-end. Ugly as a home-made bar of soap.

The various lucite buttons reminded me of 'Space 2001' and that was kind of cool. But when you pressed them, they were all wobbly and didn't seem to have a firm mechanical feel. Like when Aiwa and others experimented with the pressure-sensitive switches instead of actual mechanical switches and knobs - yucko.

 

[Urizen]

Ah, beauty is only skin deep.

A nudie of the RX-101:

 

[vintagestereo]

Ah, beauty is only skin deep.

A nudie of the RX-101:

Now, that SUCKS!!!! :yes:

 

[willyrover]

Reminds me of a computer case...everything all crammed in there in every direction. Although most computers have more impressive heatsinks.

 

[Bigerik]

The suck part kinda refers to the sound too. I always wanted one. Tried a few different ones over the years, and not a one of them sounded great. To say they sucked would be overstating, but they were certainly one of my bigger audio disappointments...

 

[Arkay]

Aah, but how does it sound? I haven't recapped or otherwise worked on my "Suckface" (102 model) yet, but from the sound it makes as-is I would say that it should sound pretty good when done, perhaps even approaching the sweet sound of the 1050. [The latter I would put up against my 2285B or 9090 any day, and it would be a close decision.] And if you ever have younger people over to see and hear your gear, show them the "Suckface" with the lit-up sci-fi knobs and the retracting face and you'll have a greater chance of "hooking" them into this hobby. [:scratch2: Hhmmm, is there a word like "audio-pusher"? ]

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder... and beauty may be in his/her ears at the same time.

 

[Rex Everything]

I was overseas in the service when that style was released. I liked Luxman a lot, but I really thought that the suckface style was too gimmicky and most likely would be prone to breakage - like hideaway headlights on my '69 Dodge Charger. So I bought a Luxman L-580 integrated amp instead - and through the years, I've been quite happy.

But what happened to the Charger?

 

[Urizen]

Aah, but how does it sound?

Actually, not bad to my ears. That's the oddity.

 

[Wigwam Jones]

But what happened to the Charger?

It has gone the way of all metal.

I bought it out of a junkyard in National City, CA in 1981. $500 and it was made out of parts, still had a chunk of cylinder head embedded in what was left of the passenger seat, no carpet, no interior wiring, the gas tank leaked if filled more than 1/2 tank, and it had no exhaust beyond the headers. Title and about 16 bills of sale, could not be licensed for all the missing smog equipment (no air cleaner at all). Had a 440 and a 727 Torqueflite in it. Drove it until the wheels nearly fell off. Sold it for what I paid for it, and the guy took the Dana 60 rear end and trashed the rest. Sad. It was scary fast, though. Very fast. I could tell more stories, but I don't know if the statute of limitations is up yet.

 

[Bigears]

Actually, not bad to my ears. That's the oddity.

The Suckface is one of my favorites. I would have no interest in this receiver if it didn't have the retractable face. After having gone through the Suckface, I know where Luxman spent the design and manufacturing money.

Slot car motor, planetary gearset, diecast gearcase, belt, cam, flywheel and some fairly complex stampings. All the knobs are on flexible nylon shafts so they don't bind on the face as it moves. I think the ice cube source buttons are also bizarre and cool in a sorta early '80's way.

I only bought my RX 101 because I read on AK that they sound nice. I would agree, very rich tube sounding and pretty darn impressive for 40 watts. Tuner pulls in weak stations good. Yeah there are no big caps or transformers, but it's got the Suckface, known to amuse adults and children alike.

What event transpired at Luxman where it made sense to spend some much on something so worthless?

 

[vintagestereo]

What event transpired at Luxman where it made sense to spend some much on something so worthless?

That's the $64,000 question alright! :scratch2:

 

[Bigears]

That's the $64,000 question alright! :scratch2:

I would love to see advertising copy from back in the day proclaiming the fantastic engineering that Luxman has now brought to the "audio forefront"

I can just see it..."Soon our competitors will all have similar retractable faceplate protection mechanisims, proving again that Luxman is ahead of the times".

BTW, most of my vintage audio nerd friends are looking for their own Luxman Suckface after seeing/hearing mine.

 

[Holst]

Keeping up with the Olufson's

My impression at the time was that Luxman (or just as likely, their distributer) was trying to spread their appeal to the non-audio crowd.

OK, that sounds like sacrilege, but anyone who has ever tried to sell audio gear can tell you what a jungle it is out there. Face it. If you go to your neighbors house and tell your buddy there that you just bought a new bass boat, he will be happy for you. Tell him you bought a reel to reel, he will think your odd.

At the time Luxman still had a number of units that "audiophiles" would put on their wish list. But we all know the crap we get from family and friends for our so called hobbie. We're wierd, remember.

It seemed like they looked at the example Bang and Olufson. High wife appeal, friend's who don't know audio won't give you crap for buying it, oooh factor, and something that says this belongs in an upscale home.

At the same time, B & O maintained enough stature, that serious audio guys wouldn't dump on you (unless they are that kind) for buying one of their linear tracking turntables.

And Luxman is a small Japanese company, too small to have clout in the US, and they had to work with whoever was selling their gear here.

It seemed to end the way everything ends for Luxman. They can't seem to hold on to a US distributor long enough to be relied on as a mainstream company.