Luxman EQ-500

[Kuoppis]

Any experiences with this phone stage?


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[byrdparis]

Yes.. i had it for a couple of months.
the Local Luxman dealer is a good friend of mine and when those eq500 were out he brings one for his demo floor
we were using it a lot, and study it back and forth. its a very very versatile unit with balance capability, and three inputs! (something i was liking a lot for myself). the mc section is a SUT based so can be a bit tricky for some carts on the market although alot of them will fit it ok. its builds and looks great! we also tried tube rolling in mass proportion and figured that there no subtle changes with some of them (they came with JJ on stock).
i was replacing it with a PASS XP25 shortly after i bought my unit, just because i felt its to much tube like with my other tube bass system at that time. but - its a wonderful and very very good phono stage! this is NOT a resolution machine and dry like some of the big names...
it is very natural and open sounding with Luxman house sound. a bit warm and charming.

hope it help a bit.
A.

 

[Kuoppis]

Yes.. i had it for a couple of months.
the Local Luxman dealer is a good friend of mine and when those eq500 were out he brings one for his demo floor
we were using it a lot, and study it back and forth. its a very very versatile unit with balance capability, and three inputs! (something i was liking a lot for myself). the mc section is a SUT based so can be a bit tricky for some carts on the market although alot of them will fit it ok. its builds and looks great! we also tried tube rolling in mass proportion and figured that there no subtle changes with some of them (they came with JJ on stock).
i was replacing it with a PASS XP25 shortly after i bought my unit, just because i felt its to much tube like with my other tube bass system at that time. but - its a wonderful and very very good phono stage! this is NOT a resolution machine and dry like some of the big names...
it is very natural and open sounding with Luxman house sound. a bit warm and charming.

hope it help a bit.
A.

Thank you for your kind response and sharing your insights. This is very helpful.

I read great reviews about the EQ-500 and thought I'd check for experiences with the Luxman. I think you will want some warmth in your system and the question is how to bring it in. That said, I understand the desire for detail definition as well and choosing the Pass as your phono pre.


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[byrdparis]

The lux didn't lose any detail in a way. although the pass have a lot more on that side and resolution with their silk movement.
I was playing with a full tube system back then and it became too much for me in my small room!
now I playing thru the S3mk2 with a full lux system. now I curios how the 500 will preform vs the pass

 

[aKnyght]

have been considering the luxman eq-500... thought i would revive this thread to see if there are others with experience or thoughts.

thanks!!

 

[nickif]

I’ve been using it for 8 months or so, it is a good phono for sure, elegant and no hard edges whatsoever, I thought it was very capable. However when I listened to another high-end phono in my system for the first time, the lux got smoked literally in one second. There’s just no comparison at all...density, dynamic, energy, timbre...got crushed on every single parameter, it was like a child fighting an adult.

Therefore it really comes down to what’s it up against, if you are serious about vinyl I would suggest go for the best phono you can afford as it’s a night and day difference.

 

[Mike]

I’ve been using it for 8 months or so, it is a good phono for sure, elegant and no hard edges whatsoever, I thought it was very capable. However when I listened to another high-end phono in my system for the first time, the lux got smoked literally in one second. There’s just no comparison at all...density, dynamic, energy, timbre...got crushed on every single parameter, it was like a child fighting an adult.

Therefore it really comes down to what’s it up against, if you are serious about vinyl I would suggest go for the best phono you can afford as it’s a night and day difference.

And which Phonostage was that?

 

[nickif]

And which Phonostage was that?

Hi Mike, it was a Robert Koda MC1

 

[aKnyght]

the specs on the eq-500 list a gain of 63 dB with the low-output MC cartridge setting... just wondering if this is enough for very low output carts?

anyone have experience (or an opinion) using this phono-pre with MC carts having output voltages as low as 0.2 mV ?

thanks !

 

[Mike]

the specs on the eq-500 list a gain of 63 dB with the low-output MC cartridge setting... just wondering if this is enough for very low output carts?

anyone have experience (or an opinion) using this phono-pre with MC carts having output voltages as low as 0.2 mV ?

thanks !

A .2 is absolutely fine. No problem.


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[Jack]

From the chart on KAB USA's website.

Chart of Typical Gain Values
Output Gain
3 - 6 mV 36dB
1 - 3 mV 43dB
0.3 - 1.0 mV 53dB
0.15 - 0.3 mV 60DB

For my Denon which is .4 mv I find that between 56-58 db is optimum. With the sensitivity of your speakers 63 db should be enough as long as your not trying to match the volume level of your digital rig. Another option if you want tubes in your phono stage is the Modwright PH 9.0.

 

[aKnyght]

two quick question on the luxman eq-500:

> anyone know how long an interconnect cable the eq-500 can drive ...assuming, shielded cables with conductor wire capacitance of 100 pF/meter or better ?


>also in terms of gain, the specs state:

Gain(1kHz, When the gain is set to 36dB) MM: 36dB | MC: high 55dB | MC: low 63dB

however, i see there are three possible "gain" settings: 36 dB, 38 dB and 40 dB. anyone know what effect selecting either 38 dB or 40 dB has on the MC-high and MC-low gain? would it simply be additive?

thanks!!

 

[Mike]

It’s additive and 2M is ok.


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[aKnyght]

It’s additive and 2M is ok.

thanks mike!

dang! ...to add an analog source, i need to run about 6 meters in order to keep the system in the same room, which is the goal.

 

[Mike]

thanks mike!

dang! ...to add an analog source, i need to run about 6 meters in order to keep the system in the same room, which is the goal.

6 meters from phonostage to pre is ok, but not from table to Phonostage.


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[aKnyght]

6 meters from phonostage to pre is ok, but not from table to Phonostage.

ahhh... thanks -- i should have been more clear when asking the question.

 

[RPM-123]

i bought a Luxman EQ 500 and it is outstanding! Coming from a Tavish Design Adagio (with upgraded transformers) which is no slouch, the Lux plays at another level, and it should since it is quite a bit more expensive. It is very powerful and dynamic sounding. It is also very quiet and may be the only phono stage I have ever owned over the years where I do not hear the least bit of hum! Sound staging is very expansive and images are solid. Vocals and instruments are more expressive. The overall sound feels like everything is firmly grounded. Also, it is easier to discern the recording venues, whether studio or live concerts, in large or small venues. I get much more of a sense of actually being there. Although the Tavish was good at that, using NOS tubes, the Lux (using stock tubes) is simply better. This is my end game phono stage. While there are undoubtedly even better ones out there, they will likely cost much, much more than I care to spend. Luxman is one of the few companies that has the 2 pin as negative instead of positive for balanced mode. Therefore, if you have one and are using the balanced outputs, you should use the phase reversal switch. Most if not all US and Euro companies use 2 pin positive for inputs and outputs.

Note: It appears that there are no longer any new units remaining in the US. Factory production in Japan has slowed or shut down again due to COVID and the distributor does not anticipate any new stock in the US for at least another 4-5 months.

 

[No Regrets]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts of the EQ-500 in comparison with the Tavish Adagio. I'm curious if there are others here that may have been able to compare it with other phono stages that would be willing to share their thoughts as well.

Any thoughts on how this would compare with the various Pass phono stages?

Thanks much,
Don