Newbie: advice? Luxman L-350AII

[Lschultz260]

Hello All,

I am looking for advice for jumping into my audio journey for real. I saw a Luxman L-350AII listed for sale for $1900 online and was interested Luxman from what I can gather is a reputable amp maker, although pricy and putting more emphasis on aesthetic than other companies. However they always grabbed my attention.

Luxman L-350AII Pure Class A Integrated Amp | On a Higher Note

It would seem that this amp is the same amp as the 550AX except it was put together in China to reduce costs.

What I am looking for right now is something that is higher end and newer so it will last without worry or repair for a long time. I plan to use an amp for listening to records, piping my TV sound through, and Bluetooth audio via a dongle maybe. I know that this forum seems to skew towards vintage and I do love and appreciate that, however I am ready to dip my feet into some more modern things. I am unsure whether this is the right decision to go with though.

Let's get to the fun stuff.
Here is what I have so far in my limited and vintage audio journey so far...
Receiver/amps:

Sansui 4000
Kenwood from the 70s ( unsure of model and I'm not home)
Generic Yamaha entry level receiver

Speakers:
Boston acoustics a150
Boston acoustics a400
Bose bookshelf speakers 201
An old pair of Polk bookshelf speakers

Not too impressive but that is what I could find locally for cheap. I am young still and don't have much money, but I want to take the plunge, any advice or conversation would be appreciated! Thanks!

P.s.
Anyone that knows whether that site is legit would help too haha

 

[7whales7]

Hello All,

I am looking for advice for jumping into my audio journey for real. I saw a Luxman L-350AII listed for sale for $1900 online and was interested Luxman from what I can gather is a reputable amp maker, although pricy and putting more emphasis on aesthetic than other companies. However they always grabbed my attention.

Luxman L-350AII Pure Class A Integrated Amp | On a Higher Note

It would seem that this amp is the same amp as the 550AX except it was put together in China to reduce costs.

What I am looking for right now is something that is higher end and newer so it will last without worry or repair for a long time. I plan to use an amp for listening to records, piping my TV sound through, and Bluetooth audio via a dongle maybe. I know that this forum seems to skew towards vintage and I do love and appreciate that, however I am ready to dip my feet into some more modern things. I am unsure whether this is the right decision to go with though.

Let's get to the fun stuff.
Here is what I have so far in my limited and vintage audio journey so far...
Receiver/amps:

Sansui 4000
Kenwood from the 70s ( unsure of model and I'm not home)
Generic Yamaha entry level receiver

Speakers:
Boston acoustics a150
Boston acoustics a400
Bose bookshelf speakers 201
An old pair of Polk bookshelf speakers

Not too impressive but that is what I could find locally for cheap. I am young still and don't have much money, but I want to take the plunge, any advice or conversation would be appreciated! Thanks!

P.s.
Anyone that knows whether that site is legit would help too haha

Those Boston A 150's are nice speakers, as for Luxman they make Quality gear, not sure about the newer stuff mid 80's onward the Alpine years , the R117 has a cult following. I have a R1070 , when they were still Luxman, I love it. The folks here are into new and old....everything in between. Don't know the site you mentioned.

 

[Nightwisher]

I'm a Luxman fanatic. Can't afford the new stuff currently, but I want to get some eventually. For now, I'm rocking a bunch from the mid-80's. Their new gear, including the model you're looking at, are well-reviewed across the board. The only thing that may cause hesitation is the power rating on this model (20 w/ch 8 ohms, 40 w/ch 4 ohms) - depending on your needs/wants.

On A Higher Note is/was an official Luxman dealer. You should be able to buy from them with confidence.

In short, I would personally go for it if the funds are available.

I also love Boston Acoustics and it will take something really nice to beat those A400s.

 

[sqlsavior]

AFAIK, On A Higher Note was Luxman's U.S. distributor for the last several years, but have lost that distributorship to a new organization. They are definitely NOT a fly-by-night operation. I assume their 'old stock' would be covered by Luxman's warranty, but you should ask to make sure.

P.S. - that amp should sound EXCELLENT!!

P.P.S. - their site says open-box demo units have a one-year warranty, while new-in-box units have the normal Luxman warranty.

P.P.P.S. - LUXMAN SALE!!!

https://onahighernote.com/luxman/

 

[Lschultz260]

Man, that's a beauty. Thanks for the input, I always thought Luxmans were gorgeous

 

[Lschultz260]

I'm a Luxman fanatic. Can't afford the new stuff currently, but I want to get some eventually. For now, I'm rocking a bunch from the mid-80's. Their new gear, including the model you're looking at, are well-reviewed across the board. The only thing that may cause hesitation is the power rating on this model (20 w/ch 8 ohms, 40 w/ch 4 ohms) - depending on your needs/wants.

On A Higher Note is/was an official Luxman dealer. You should be able to buy from them with confidence.

In short, I would personally go for it if the funds are available.

I also love Boston Acoustics and it will take something really nice to beat those A400s.

Thanks for the info. By the way I misspoke, I have the a200s not the a400s, I always get them mixed up in my head somehow.

I think I have the confidence to take this into consideration seriously now. It's a bit much than I should be spending, but I want to not have to buy another amp again in my life without it having be for purely pleasure and not replacing things that are falling apart.

The watts per channel concerns me though, I don't really understand what this means still after looking it up, but I have seen that speakers tend to blow out much more often the lower the watt per channel is, if my reading is correct. I intend to run my current speaker set up with it which is Boston acoustics a150 and a200 at the same time. I believe one is 4 ohm and one is 8 ohm, I'm not sure if that would be a bad idea. As far as how loud I will be playing my music, the loudest I've ever had to put my cheap Yamaha is -18 decibels I think, if that means anything real. As you can tell I am very much an amateur, I feel like I should move on that sale though, because normally I truly couldn't justice spending that much money on a regular priced decently modern amp for many years given my degree pans out to a decent job .

 

[Lschultz260]

AFAIK, On A Higher Note was Luxman's U.S. distributor for the last several years, but have lost that distributorship to a new organization. They are definitely NOT a fly-by-night operation. I assume their 'old stock' would be covered by Luxman's warranty, but you should ask to make sure.

P.S. - that amp should sound EXCELLENT!!

P.P.S. - their site says open-box demo units have a one-year warranty, while new-in-box units have the normal Luxman warranty.

P.P.P.S. - LUXMAN SALE!!!

https://onahighernote.com/luxman/

A sale indeed! That's the only reason I'm considering it

 

[Nightwisher]

Thanks for the info. By the way I misspoke, I have the a200s not the a400s, I always get them mixed up in my head somehow.

I think I have the confidence to take this into consideration seriously now. It's a bit much than I should be spending, but I want to not have to buy another amp again in my life without it having be for purely pleasure and not replacing things that are falling apart.

The watts per channel concerns me though, I don't really understand what this means still after looking it up, but I have seen that speakers tend to blow out much more often the lower the watt per channel is, if my reading is correct. I intend to run my current speaker set up with it which is Boston acoustics a150 and a200 at the same time. I believe one is 4 ohm and one is 8 ohm, I'm not sure if that would be a bad idea. As far as how loud I will be playing my music, the loudest I've ever had to put my cheap Yamaha is -18 decibels I think, if that means anything real. As you can tell I am very much an amateur, I feel like I should move on that sale though, because normally I truly couldn't justice spending that much money on a regular priced decently modern amp for many years given my degree pans out to a decent job .

Running one pair of speakers will give you the highest fidelity - the speakers and the Luxman deserve it. Running both would probably be okay, but can strain amps (that Luxman should handle the load fine) and will take away some of the high end sound you just put money into. It is true it is usually easier to blow speakers and amps with less power rather than more (both more power and less power can give equally bad results when something is clipping).

The A 200s are 90 db/W/m (based on what I could find on Google), which means they're pretty efficient (i.e. less wattage needed to get loud). All those A series speakers are great. In a small to medium-sized room, 20 watts should work.

 

[Silentnet]

Luxman is good gear, sure, but that's 200wpc Threshold money for 20wpc. Going to be extremely limiting in terms of speaker choices.

This is of course figuring that once one spends $2000 on an amp (or even much less) they're probably going to be looking at speaker upgrades in the future.

 

[Lschultz260]

Running one pair of speakers will give you the highest fidelity - the speakers and the Luxman deserve it. Running both would probably be okay, but can strain amps (that Luxman should handle the load fine) and will take away some of the high end sound you just put money into. It is true it is usually easier to blow speakers and amps with less power rather than more (both more power and less power can give equally bad results when something is clipping).

The A 200s are 90 db/W/m (based on what I could find on Google), which means they're pretty efficient (i.e. less wattage needed to get loud). All those A series speakers are great. In a small to medium-sized room, 20 watts should work.

Perhaps this isn't the right choice for me right now, I need a well rounded machine that will allow me to not worry about my speaker choices. It won't be an issue now, but may be in the future. I appreciate the knowledge though.

Right now Im thinking of a cheaper alternative with the hope one day I will own a Luxman. There is no fun in going straight to the top anyway, the journey is the fun part.

The Outlaw RR2160 Looks pretty appealing...and will save me a lot of money

I do love my Boston acoustics. I didn't even think of that, luckily I have been using only one set the past 2 years and just recently brought out the a150s again

 

[Lschultz260]

Luxman is good gear, sure, but that's 200wpc Threshold money for 20wpc. Going to be extremely limiting in terms of speaker choices.

This is of course figuring that once one spends $2000 on an amp (or even much less) they're probably going to be looking at speaker upgrades in the future.

This is true. I will be looking into speaker upgrades as well. I think it's a little financially irresponsible for me right now anyway, like I said outlaw might be the one I get instead, let's me have a better amp and a modern one I don't have to tear open and tinker with in order to work

 

[Silentnet]

This is true. I will be looking into speaker upgrades as well. I think it's a little financially irresponsible for me right now anyway, like I said outlaw might be the one I get instead, let's me have a better amp and a modern one I don't have to tear open and tinker with in order to work

Totally understand about not wanting to have to worry if an amp will fail or having to repair it, but remember that a lot of really good stuff was made in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s that you can probably find already serviced and ready for another 20 years of trouble-free use. Something like an Aragon 4004mk2 can regularly be found in excellent condition for $700-1000.

 

[Nightwisher]

Perhaps this isn't the right choice for me right now, I need a well rounded machine that will allow me to not worry about my speaker choices. It won't be an issue now, but may be in the future. I appreciate the knowledge though.

Right now Im thinking of a cheaper alternative with the hope one day I will own a Luxman. There is no fun in going straight to the top anyway, the journey is the fun part.

The Outlaw RR2160 Looks pretty appealing...and will save me a lot of money

I do love my Boston acoustics. I didn't even think of that, luckily I have been using only one set the past 2 years and just recently brought out the a150s again

If you want to start down the Luxman journey, there are lots of good deals to be had on their older gear. I run a C-02/M-02 separates combo and that cost me around $1k. I also recently acquired a LV-105 hybrid (tube and solid state) integrated amplifier. Lots of other great models out there too to start (or end) the journey.

And as Silentnet noted, lots of other good deals serviced (or not) to be had.

Lots of other options new as well, such as Outlaw as you noted.

I agree, the journey is part of the fun.

 

[Dazaa]

1900 on a 20wpc Chinese made Luxman doesn't make sense to me. That kind of money can get you an Accuphase E212, made in Japan and 90wpc.

 

[Lschultz260]

1900 on a 20wpc Chinese made Luxman doesn't make sense to me. That kind of money can get you an Accuphase E212, made in Japan and 90wpc.

I see your point haha. A lot of it is sadly the aesthetic for me as well, even though I know it is wring. Accuphase stuff always looked gaudy to me

 

[Lschultz260]

If you want to start down the Luxman journey, there are lots of good deals to be had on their older gear. I run a C-02/M-02 separates combo and that cost me around $1k. I also recently acquired a LV-105 hybrid (tube and solid state) integrated amplifier. Lots of other great models out there too to start (or end) the journey.

And as Silentnet noted, lots of other good deals serviced (or not) to be had.

Lots of other options new as well, such as Outlaw as you noted.

I agree, the journey is part of the fun.

I have realized how awesome audio junk is again after awhile of being off the wagon. Also how depressing it is because there is so much you want to have and never will, all of that sounds fun to try out. I know it is even more important to have an ol reliable to start with now, probably the outlaw for me. I have had a bad taste in my mouth for a long time with used stuff after being charged for a turntable I never received and receiving a receiver that was broken upon arrival that was sold as just refurbished. I'm a little hesitant, I know I'll get to it again with older stuff though

 

[Lschultz260]

Totally understand about not wanting to have to worry if an amp will fail or having to repair it, but remember that a lot of really good stuff was made in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s that you can probably find already serviced and ready for another 20 years of trouble-free use. Something like an Aragon 4004mk2 can regularly be found in excellent condition for $700-1000.

Damn. That thing looks funky

 

[Nightwisher]

I see your point haha. A lot of it is sadly the aesthetic for me as well, even though I know it is wring. Accuphase stuff always looked gaudy to me

If you're going to spend a lot of money on something, it should preferably look good and sound good (IMO). Accuphase and Luxman have been battling it out for a long time.

 

[Lschultz260]

If you're going to spend a lot of money on something, it should preferably look good and sound good (IMO). Accuphase and Luxman have been battling it out for a long time.

That's my school of thought as well, but it seems like the vast majority of modern equipment is no longer aesthetically pleasing whatsoever

 

[7whales7]

Man, that's a beauty. Thanks for the input, I always thought Luxmans were gorgeous

Keep those Boston 200's and 150's, and go up from there.I thought I put the 400's in that reply I guess I didn't. You will not be disappointed with Luxman, I Love thier vintage gear....but it's pricey, they have some very very nice 70's gear.