Toshiba SA-7150 vs. Luxman R-117

[ChefE]

I'm thinking about getting a vintage'ish new stereo for my main rig. These two have caught my eye but I have no experience with either. How well are they built, sound, prone to issues, got parts available and are there technicians who know how to fix them, etc? However I have owned a Toshiba SA-520 and was impressed by its sonics and how little there is under the hood despite the 'real' heat sink, small dog size power supply, and the lone (dual) capacitor.
Never had anything Luxman or know anyone who has.
Currently my rig is a Dual 3 head cassette deck, Panasonic 8-track player, Technics SL-1200mk2 (also on the lookout for a mid/high end playback only cartridge, no DJ carts), Sony 400 disc cd changer, Sherwood AM-8500G power amp (zone2 from the hdtv rig or main rig), AR 8-speaker selector switch box, and these speakers to use: Altec Lansing Model 14, GNP Valkyries and Model 20 & 10, some Velodyne subs, and a full 7.2 Triad InRoom Silver set up. Also various bookshelf speakers from Infinlty, DCM, Yamaha, JBL, C-V!, etc.
I mostly listen to heavy metal/ death metal, jazz, bluegrass, techno, drum n' bass, and classic rock.
Toshiba or Luxman?

 

[ChefE]

Wow! The Luxman just might be the right choice. In comparison to other components of that time period, I was under the impression the big silver "monster" receivers had...shall I say "better sound" ...than the all black case receivers that have dominated for the last 35 years.

 

[Lesterbest]

Go Lux!

 

[N8Nagel]

Wow! The Luxman just might be the right choice. In comparison to other components of that time period, I was under the impression the big silver "monster" receivers had...shall I say "better sound" ...than the all black case receivers that have dominated for the last 35 years.

In general that is a true statement. However Luxman appears to be an exception to that rule, at least at the time period that the R-117 was made. I've never heard one, but I do sort of keep an eye out for one as it'd be nice to replace my R-1120 with something that could be remote controlled.

 

[Wingtip]

I've heard the Toshiba SA-7150 and owned the Luxman R-1120 and R-117. The SA-7150 and R-1120 are both very attractive units, but the performance of the R-117 is superior to both, and the remote control is a nice touch. The R-117 is simply excellent.

 

[superdog]

The Luxman R117 can be a very nice unit but they suffer from age related issues.Not questioning the power of these units but they are not as sharp as they could probably be.I feel my newer Yamahas sound better than the R117.

 

[Gary D Olson]

The Luxman R117 can be a very nice unit but they suffer from age related issues.Not questioning the power of these units but they are not as sharp as they could probably be.I feel my newer Yamahas sound better than the R117.

Greetings super d. I've been considering a new or newer Yamaha integrated over my R-117 for some time now, and for precisely the reason you stated. What Yamaha model/s would you suggest????

 

[superdog]

The Luxman R117 can be a very nice unit but they suffer from age related issues.Not questioning the power of these units but they are not as sharp as they could probably be.I feel my newer Yamahas sound better than the R117.

Greetings super d. I've been considering a new or newer Yamaha integrated over my R-117 for some time now, and for precisely the reason you stated. What Yamaha model/s would you suggest????

My Yamahas are ten years old.New integrateds from the A series range from 6k down to $500.They all have good reviews.Just depends on which one and how deep your pockets.

 

[srinath]

This friend of mine compared his R117, my RX-Z9, and his dsp a1 on a B&W 801 matrix S3 series and found the R117 beat the DSP A1 which beat the RX-Z9. However the RX-Z9 IMHO is very accurate to the point of being cold and analytical. And he's more sensitive to that. I heard them too, and I thought they were close but his order is pretty accurate. However I should say Horn based speakers work a lot better on the DSP-A1 and its ilk. I've run my DSP-3090 on old EV's are come away with a feeling that I've just been in a live concert especially for jazz and other acoustic music.
Cool.
Srinath.

 

[bimasta]

I've run my DSP-3090 on old EV's are come away with a feeling that I've just been in a live concert especially for jazz and other acoustic music.

Srinath, may I ask which EV speakers you use? I have a mint pair, 12TRXB coax, nagging me to build them a cabinet — I've never heard them properly housed, only in free space...

 

[srinath]

I have those 12TRX's in a cabinet, I actually have 2 pairs of those, I also have the TRX15's. They all sound awesome and so efficient. However the speakers I was referring to is a 12" whizzer cone and a 16" wide metal EV mid horn (don't recall the number cos its at my old house still) with a m1832 and the t350 tweeter with those potted X8 and X36 crossovers in a big cabinet. I think they are home made from a kit or plans - maybe the same as SP12B. Have those attenuators too.
The horns are vertical in this setup.
They are very efficient and sound awesome. Almost begging for tubes.
Cool.
Srinath.

 

[bimasta]

Thanks Srinath, for so thorough a reply. I need to do some checking, and I may ask more questions... if that's cool with you....?

 

[srinath]

Thanks Srinath, for so thorough a reply. I need to do some checking, and I may ask more questions... if that's cool with you....?

No worries. I love EV, in fact I have a house full of EV. Including a Centurion (which is a Khorn with a down firing woofer). I have all the parts except the X336 or the extra set of X8+x36 it came with. Ev stuff was spec-ed one way but often put together a different way by the people that sold kits or put em together. I have a Khorn too but the ev based stuff I'll have to say sounds better.

This SP12B is an awesome speaker. Mine has those dovetail corners in what looks like a handmade cabinet. The TRX12's are also in excellent cabs and the TRX15 is in a huge cabinet with another 15" woofer. These are the size of dresser drawers. Like 15" deep, 4' tall and 5' wide. And that's just 1. I have a mirror imaged pair. Yikes.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[winters860]

I've had both. I couldn't move the Luxman along quickly enough, and I still pine after the SA-7150.

'Nuff said.

Or, if that's not enough said, I could point to the better build quality of the SA-7150. Subjectively (and with years in the middle) the Toshiba had the better build quality, and sticks out in my mind for sound quality out of the dozen or so monster receivers I've been fortunate enough to own. The Luxman wasn't bad, by any means, but sounded noticeably 2D compared to the separates I was running and made me deeply paranoid about the control panel dying in an irreparable way if it became a "keeper". The R117's looks didn't do anything for me, either.

 

[superdog]

This friend of mine compared his R117, my RX-Z9, and his dsp a1 on a B&W 801 matrix S3 series and found the R117 beat the DSP A1 which beat the RX-Z9. However the RX-Z9 IMHO is very accurate to the point of being cold and analytical. And he's more sensitive to that. I heard them too, and I thought they were close but his order is pretty accurate. However I should say Horn based speakers work a lot better on the DSP-A1 and its ilk. I've run my DSP-3090 on old EV's are come away with a feeling that I've just been in a live concert especially for jazz and other acoustic music.
Cool.
Srinath.

I'll tell you one of the reasons why I like the Yamahas.Way more control in the volume which is a control feature that I like more than turn a quarter of a turn and its blasting like the Luxman and most vintage monsters.I can't put my finger on it but I knew the R-117 was powerful and sounded good but for whatever reason I didn't use it much.Once I experienced these Yamahas the Luxman was out the door.One likes what they like for reasons that everyone may not understand.

 

[Gary D Olson]

I'll tell you one of the reasons why I like the Yamahas.Way more control in the volume which is a control feature that I like more than turn a quarter of a turn and its blasting like the Luxman and most vintage monsters.I can't put my finger on it but I knew the R-117 was powerful and sounded good but for whatever reason I didn't use it much.Once I experienced these Yamahas the Luxman was out the door.One likes what they like for reasons that everyone may not understand.

I just want trouble free enjoyment of music, and I want it to sound as close to the way it did in the recording studio as possible. Yamaha tends to excell at both. Btw, I understand this is a widely acceptable notion that an audio component can be so accurate as to sound cold, otoh, I don't get that and imho totally disagree. I submit that, by definition, accuracy has no sonic signature. A truly accurate sounding rig never sounds "cold" unless the musicians and recording engineers intended it to sound cold, which is something very few musicians and engineers care to create in the studio.

 

[srinath]

I'll tell you one of the reasons why I like the Yamahas.Way more control in the volume which is a control feature that I like more than turn a quarter of a turn and its blasting like the Luxman and most vintage monsters.I can't put my finger on it but I knew the R-117 was powerful and sounded good but for whatever reason I didn't use it much.Once I experienced these Yamahas the Luxman was out the door.One likes what they like for reasons that everyone may not understand.

The DSP-A1 and DSP-A3090 are that way. The Z9 isn't. You need to run it 1/2 way open and its barely loud. Those dB scaled volume control are a bit of PITA. The Z9 is very very accurate to the point of being cold and analytical unless you pair it with something like soft domes. Ribbons and hard domes are pretty harsh. Horns are OK, but soft dome .... yea.
I dunno why they went to those progressive volume controls. I liked the old style.
Cool.
Srinath.

 

[gizzyman47]

I have a Toshiba SA-7150 and think its a great receiver in performance and in looks!

 

[ChefE]

Good points on the different brands. I haven't owned anything Luxman. I do have a Toshiba SA-520 receiver and a Toshiba PC-X10M cassette deck hooked up in this room with Yamaha NS-10t's. The Toshiba receiver I find myself liking it the more I listen to it versus many other vintage receivers in rotation. I figure the 520 sounds good, 7150 might sound great. I agree, the build quality is superb.

As for Yamaha, the A RX-V1400 for the HDTV THX sound since I'm a Star Wars guy. A RX-V995 bedroom rig with NS-200Ma speakers. This system gets rotating gear, such as a Rx-1130 receiver. A week ago I got a RX-V495 since it was only nine bucks and fifty cents, perfect condition too. A while back I picked up a CX-1 preamp and used it for a while. Then it began to emit random loud 'pops' even when no source was playing, so I ceased using it until new transistor, etc time.
I will say they all have a particular sounding characteristic in common. A Yamaha sound. The rx-v995 is my first choice, then 1130 for playing music. However to my ears and mind, something about the way they sound is amiss. I almost want to say they sound boring, not to other brands or by socioinfluence, but in their own right with each other. Or an analogy... As if running a marathon, Yamaha falls, just inches short of crossing the finish line. Toshiba crosses. On the other shoe, they are silver, not black.

 

[SoCal Sam]

I just want trouble free enjoyment of music, and I want it to sound as close to the way it did in the recording studio as possible. Yamaha tends to excell at both. Btw, I understand this is a widely acceptable notion that an audio component can be so accurate as to sound cold, otoh, I don't get that and imho totally disagree. I submit that, by definition, accuracy has no sonic signature. A truly accurate sounding rig never sounds "cold" unless the musicians and recording engineers intended it to sound cold, which is something very few musicians and engineers care to create in the studio.

Sound engineers. Mixers. If you can hear the compensation change from track to track on a single album, those goofs do not know what they are doing. Their only job should be to make sure the levels are correct, to ensure the recording room is properly dampened, AND to get out of the way of the artists.