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Nightwisher's New Luxman's Room and Beyond

I bought this Luxman R-115 off of my friend (same guy I got the L430/PD264 from). Not sure where I'm going to use it, but my first Luxman receiver, even after all this time.

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Switched out the Kenwood KA-7100 for the Marantz SR 6000 in the living room. Also tried out the Heresys down there. Good combo. The Marantz sounds great on the Dahlquists too.

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And everyone needs to experience square woofers at least once.

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Great stuff, Nightwisher.
That Grado cartridge would be my go to analog source for turntables. I admit, I'm just a bit biased on that.
Good luck with the lights on that amp.
 
Scores:

Pioneer SX-750. Fired up and works great. Only issue is the fairly typical veneer peel.

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Luxman DZ-121
Marantz CD5400 (In disguise)

First thrift Luxman score! Does need a new belt.

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Velodyne ULD-15 Sub

Huge and heavy, especially for not having an amp inside. Beautiful cabinet. Will refoam, but sounded promising with a JVC amp I had. I know they technically require a special servo amp, but finding one may take a while.

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New speakers:

I bought a pair of NEAR (New England Audio Resource) 10MII speakers off of a friend in town. He got them from the original owner, who was going to build a system for them and never did so they sat around for 20+ years. My friend never played them either, so I'm the first person to break them in.

These speakers are special to me, because my grandfather had a large pair of NEARs, 80s I believe. He also lived in Maine, not far from where these were made in Lewiston. He passed away over the summer. His system is at my aunt's house waiting, but he downsized the speakers to PSBs. Going to my grandparent's house was a fun and great experience, and listening to my grandfather's system was part of it.

Beyond the sentimentality, these speakers sound incredible. Excellent imaging, depth, and detail. Very similar design philosophy to the top part of my Lynnfields - all metal drivers and very similar driver size. The bass goes deep, 48 Hz! I prefer these over the LS50s I had for sure (which lacked some depth). Versus the Lynnfields is close and TBD, but the Lynnfields have been taking a break since Wednesday now. These speakers were a bargain then and now! Next step may be some 15Ms if I can find some.

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Last edited:
Nightwisher said:
New speakers:

I bought a pair of NEAR (New England Audio Resource) 10MII speakers off of a friend in town. He got them from the original owner, who was going to build a system for them and never did so they sat around for 20+ years. My friend never played them either, so I'm the first person to break them in.

These speakers are special to me, because my grandfather had a large pair of NEARs, 80s I believe. He also lived in Maine, not far from where these were made in Lewiston. He passed away over the summer. His system is at my aunt's house waiting, but he downsized the speakers to PSBs. Going to my grandparent's house was a fun and great experience, and listening to my grandfather's system was part of it.

Beyond the sentimentality, these speakers sound incredible. Excellent imaging, depth, and detail. Very similar design philosophy to the top part of my Lynnfields - all metal drivers and very similar driver size. The bass goes deep, 48 Hz! I prefer these over the LS50s I had for sure (which lacked some depth). Versus the Lynnfields is close and TBD, but the Lynnfields have been taking a break since Wednesday now. These speakers were a bargain then and now! Next step may be some 15Ms if I can find some.

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Great scores. With some patience the veneer on the Pioneer is easily replaced if you decide to keep it. I agree with you about the NEAR speakers. They were exceptional in their day and I am certain they are a great bargain today.
 
I love my SX750, had it fully restored, brings my KEF 104ab's and AR94's alive like no other amp. It may not be the 'best' amplifier in terms of cost or pedigree, but it is my favourite for its distinctive sonic signature. I would never sell mine.

Rob :)
 
Audioraven said:
Is that Protege a modified Marantz CD player or just a cheesy relabel?
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For the patent number slapped on it, it may have been part of an interactive telephone hold system (for playing messages to people on hold and such). Interesting stuff. I'm not sure if they modified it or not for this, but it definitely started life out as a factory Marantz CD5400.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130336468
 
New pickups:

Boston Acoustics VR950
Definitive Technology BP6

Lucked out this week and got these at thrift prices. The Bostons work and sound great. The Definitives will need new tweeters (on order) - someone replaced them with some cheap ones.

Also on the floor are RCA/RadioShack speakers with Linaeum tweeters.

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Nightwisher said:
Drove across town to grab these this morning:

Hsu Research HRSW10 Subwoofers

I've been wanting to go to dual subs for a while, and this deal presented itself. Powered by my Nikko NA-2000 integrated amp (100 watts/ch). The bass is awesome!

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My dad has a Hsu Research sub, but I cannot remember which model (it is a more traditional big box shape). I have their bookshelf speakers (first version, not the newer one) that I enjoy quite a bit. Congrats on the new subs.
 
New acquistions:

Polk RT1000P

Thrift priced. I was surprised at the amount of bass out of the small internal powered subs. Sounded pretty good, but not good enough to crack the keeper line up. Fun to play around with though.

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Luxman LV-112 Integrated Amp
Luxman T-100 Tuner
Luxman DZ-112 CD Player

All thrift priced as a set. Not the best Luxman, but I was shocked to find them. All work, except for the CD player which at least needs a new belt. Now I have 2 T-100s lol.

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Traded the Pioneer SX-750 for these Boston Acoustics VR-30s. I don't need any more speakers, but these completed my original VR series tower lineup, as I now have the VR20s, 30s, and 40s.

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NEAR (New England Audio Resource) 20M

Snagged these since I loved the 10Ms so much and I'm trying to get the biggest NEARs possible to replicate my grandfather's stereo. These sound better with a more expansive sound stage. Not mint like the 10s, but the sound is there.

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I need to move to your location. Your thrifts always seem to show up some good stuff. Mine either the workers pull the goods out before they hit the floor or the stereos are
Nightwisher said:
New acquistions:

Polk RT1000P

Thrift priced. I was surprised at the amount of bass out of the small internal powered subs. Sounded pretty good, but not good enough to crack the keeper line up. Fun to play around with though.

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Luxman LV-112 Integrated Amp
Luxman T-100 Tuner
Luxman DZ-112 CD Player

All thrift priced as a set. Not the best Luxman, but I was shocked to find them. All work, except for the CD player which at least needs a new belt. Now I have 2 T-100s lol.

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Traded the Pioneer SX-750 for these Boston Acoustics VR-30s. I don't need any more speakers, but these completed my original VR series tower lineup, as I now have the VR20s, 30s, and 40s.

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NEAR (New England Audio Resource) 20M

Snagged these since I loved the 10Ms so much and I'm trying to get the biggest NEARs possible to replicate my grandfather's stereo. These sound better with a more expansive sound stage. Not mint like the 10s, but the sound is there.

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broken in some way.
 
luxmaster said:
I need to move to your location. Your thrifts always seem to show up some good stuff. Mine either the workers pull the goods out before they hit the floor or the stereos are

broken in some way.
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judsonw said:
I agree with @luxmaster, that is an impressive bit of kit from the thrift.
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Yeah, this place has kind of become a "honey hole" this year. So far what I've gotten from there: Onkyo TX-2500, EPI Microtower Bookshelf II, Yamaha CR-440, NAD 7155, Velodyne ULD-15, Definitive BP-6, and the 3 aforementioned Luxman pieces.
 
Updates:

Sold an Akai quad receiver to a guy who told me he had his sergeant's old system in boxes. Ended up trading him a couple pairs of speakers for the whole thing. dbx DAV 600G, 2 Technics tuners, KLH/Burwen Research DNF 1201A and TNE 7000A, JVC KD-A7, JVC SEA-80, Kenwood KR-A5030, and a couple disc players. Nothing earth-shattering, but cool stuff.

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I got a new, rare clock for the music room.

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I also finally found a rug I like that "really ties the room together, man".

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