Luxman monoblocks – thumbs up from long time fan, owner of many Luxman components over the years

Roman has owned many Luxman components and components from other reputable high end manufacturers throughout the years. He has two systems where Luxman monoblocks are bridged, with both Luxman source components and preamps.  The video above showcases one of his existing systems (details of equipment list below).  He also did some A/B testings across brands and models and shared his insights.

System 1: Westlake Audio HR-1VF speakers, Luxman Amplifiers C-800F + 4 X M-800A, sources – VPI HR-X, Wadia 861se, Esoteric K-01, cables DH Labs

System 2: JBL DD66000 Speakers, Luxman Amplifiers C-1000F + 4 X B-1000F or Mark Levinson No. 326S + 2 X No. 532. Sources – Transrotor Appolon, Luxman D-08 & Esoteric K-01

Comparison 1: C-1000F + B-1000F vs C-800F + M-800A – mode monoblock

“The 1000’s are better and have a more dynamic bass control than the 800’s. In this case, the 800’s are warmer and round. It seems perfect for each speaker to have 2 x 1000 and 2 x 800 power amplifiers.”

Comparison 2: C-1000F + 4 x B-1000F vs Mark Levinson No. 326S + 2 x No. 532H

“The Luxman’s are infinitely powerful, when compared to the Mark Levinson. The Luxman combination is better and certainly has a much better speaker control than the Mark Levinson. Briefly as follows: The Luxman’s have a live & natural sound. The Mark Levinson are excellent, but expensive, and it’s hi-fi, rather than live sound.”

“Personally, I see no alternative to Luxman, when we’re talking about the top products…”

Comparison 3: Luxman D-08 CD/SACD Player vs. Esoteric K-01 CD/SACD Player

“… in my Luxman D-08 listening, the sound was better than the Esoteric K-01. And it was easy to prove – in nine out of ten cases I turned and listened to the Luxman…”

Music Genres:

American vinyl – ’50s, ’60s, ’70s
American pop and jazz classics of those years
Rock & electronic music
’70s, ’80s, partially ’90s
Estrada, orchestras, blues & instrumental music

Listening levels: “I try to listen at levels subjectively similar to what we have in the concert halls.”

Roman Vorobiev, Russia