Luxman

These things happen sometimes it certainly wouldn’t put me off buying one when i got my brand new 300dr i had a problem with the power button on the frist day and it had to go back to naim but it was sorted so hopefully it’s just a small fix.

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@ryder, great source you have there - Chord QBD76 DAC :+1:

I had the Chord DSX1000 providing sterling service for nearly 5 years. Absolutely loved it!

Here she is way back then:

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The Chord DSX1000 looks very solid. The DAC inside the DSX1000 appears to be the same one in the QBD76. I didn’t know Chord built this model which combined the streamer with the DAC.

I’m currently using the Luxman DA-06 but the Chord will be swapped into the system sometime. I’ve just got a Lumin U2 Mini and although there are ups and downs within 5 hours of play, things are looking very promising indeed. The sound quality is different from my previous setup, in a good way!

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The Lumin U2 Mini currently breaking in with the Luxman DA-06. The Luxman is starting to show its potential with the Lumin on board.

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Very nice.
That to me looks like a great Source. Love how the units look too :+1:

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Any updates?

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While waiting for MrDom’s update on the Luxman D-10X CD player, I’ll provide a little update on my Luxman DA-06 DAC. I’ll try to make this short.

I was initially using the Chord QBD76 with the Luxman L-590AXII but bought the Luxman DA-06 last year to match the Luxman amp due to curiosity. I was also hoping that the Luxman DAC could give the Chord DAC some competition. When I compared both DACs in the system, I figured out I like the Chord better but lived with the Luxman for a while since the presentation was still alright, not too good but not too shabby either.

When I got the Lumin U2 Mini streamer about a month ago, I was having difficulty warming up to the sound. At first I thought that the new unit requires some time to break in but after a while I got impatient as there was little to zero improvement after few weeks. Although the sound was slightly cleaner and more detailed, it’s sounding a bit dull and percussion sounded off. I then entertained the idea of spending another £2k for a power conditioner and power cord to patch things up. Just then, I made the best decision by swapping the DA-06 out for the Chord QBD76 and Acrolink mains cable (which costs more than the DAC).

I just figured out that the same gear from the same manufacturer throughout the system does not guarantee the best sound reproduction. The Chord DAC and Luxman amp sound better than both Luxman DAC and Luxman amp. There is an airy 3-dimensionality feel and space with the Chord, and the bass is more impactful and defined. The sound is more lively while with the Luxman DAC it all sounds a bit flat and 2-dimensional.

There is one drawback though, the Lumin brought a slight glare to the treble particularly piano. A familiar music piece revealed a prominent glare in few passages previously not experienced with the Luxman DAC. I’ll attempt to resolve this anomaly in due time.

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Possibly the Chord is more sensitive to common mode noise riding along the interconnect from the Lumin and getting picked up by the analogue stage. You can experiment by using a galvanically isolated (i.e. cheap with plastic Toslink connector) optical lead and see if that removes the glare. If it does, then you can figure out how to tackle that problem. I think others have also found they preferred optical on their Chord DACs.

Thanks for the tip. I’m currently using a Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB cable with the Chord DAC. I don’t have an optical cable but there’s an AES/EBU XLR cable somewhere in one of the boxes. Will try to swap the cables sometime.

I’d suggest a cheapo $5 optical first. For troubleshooting. The reason is that optical is the only real chance of a galvanically isolated connection (and even then, some expensive leads have aluminium wire knit sheath bonded to a conductive Toslink). This is just to test whether, all things being equal, the glare goes away and therefore piggyyback noise on a conductive interconnect can be ruled in or out before going on a more expensive cable buying spree.

AES cancels out signal noise after it has made it to the DAC and won’t cancel out non common mode noise (like ground plane noise) at all. Almost certainly AES presents a better connection. I’m not talking up optical as a solution so much as a troubleshooting step.

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BTW, if you’re moving that Luxman DAC on and deciding to donate it to charity, I’d happily pay the postage :grin:

I had a Linn Unidisk 1.1 which the person that I bought it from paid $15k cad for. It was marvellous and I’ve yet to near anything in any format that bettered it. I moved it on when Linn dropped all support for CDPs.

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I’m keeping it for the Naim system. :laughing:
The DA-06 may not sound as good with the L-590AXII but I like the looks and build quality of it. I haven’t had the opportunity to try the DA-06 with the Naim 282/250DR as the system is in a compromised room with limited speaker placement options. I am looking forward to try the system in a better room.

I suspect the Luxman DA-06 will work out well with forward or bright sounding amps and/or speakers.

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Yes, Chord DACs may sound a bit artificial but they provided the best balance in my system to my preference. I used to own Harbeth speakers and selected forward and bright sounding amps (282/250DR) and source (Chord qbd76) to negate the warmth and laid back sound of the speakers. In my system, the QBD76 did not sound artificial but open, airy and extended in the treble. It actually sounded a bit like analog. My previous Musical Fidelity M1 DAC sounded dull and lifeless with a mechanical quality to the presentation.

I’ve not compared a lot of DACs in my system and the Chord qbd76 is my endgame since the DAVE is too much money. I may try the Denafrips Venus II sometime in the near future.

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Their own speaker cable is very good. From a conductor perspective their JPS-100 is very close to A5 in terms of gage and strand thickness. But the construction is significantly different using a double sheath and drain wire. It’s made for them by Melco. I’m keen to give it a try on the Naim system in place of the Atlas I currently use because the new home will require longer runs than I have and the JPS-100 is more reasonable here.

As for speakers, it really depends on the amp. Certainly their <25w amps will benefit from high sensitivity speakers if used in a larger room. I pair my Luxman amp with 98db speakers but Luxman’s own speakers (they since got out of the speaker business) were actually only 84db. Not loud but actually very easy to drive.

I presume it did not live up to your expectations. I will usually buy used so can’t try before I buy.

I just checked your system and you have the L-595A SE. I read that this amp is superior to the L-590AXII which I have. Differences include a richer sound a slightly better dynamics or bass.

I am actually done with upgrades but will keep your advice on 91+dB speakers in mind.