Luxman D-08 Stereo SACD / CD Music Player

Luxman is proud to release the D-08, their first stereo only, SACD/CD compatible digital music player, in 10 years(*1). This was demonstrated for the first time at CES 2009 in Las Vegas to great success. First units are expected to arrive in North America at the beginning of June.

The D-08 is a music source reproduction system that has been developed by integrating various new techniques and a large amount of know-how for the purpose of sound quality improvement, and greater music enjoyment. Relying on technology & musical sensibilities acquired over 80 years since Luxman’s founding. We have gone back to our fundamental objectives, namely, “Mechanism, Digital Circuitry, Analog Output Stage Circuitry,” that constitutes a remarkable digital music player.

Digital Inputs are selectable from the front panel to improve the performance of a music server or other digital music sources. There are two Toslink and one SPDIF inputs.

For the output amplifier, we have incorporated, for the first time, our proprietary ODNF(*2) circuit, a fully discrete configuration, which is the essence of our technology for high sound quality playback in a digital player. Balanced drive has been thoroughly implemented in the DA converter output, and accordingly a large amount of sound data contained in the SACD will be reproduced to the full.

The drawer can be opened from the remote control. There is a very useful function in the lower LHS of the remote called ZOOM – this magnifies the size of the text used for track number and elapsed time, so that one can see the text from across the room.

We have blended some of our technology and heritage first introduced in 2005 with the introduction of the 80th Anniversary commemoration models into a Luxman digital player, and consequently our self-proclaimed ideal sound reproduction is now fully realized in a complete Luxman reference level audio system. The D-08 is the first in a new line of digital audio players.

*1 Luxman main-stream CD players : D-10 in 1997 and D-7 in 1998.

*2 ODNF is an abbreviation for “Only Distortion Negative Feedback”

Luxman hold many patents for audio engineering, amongst them is the application of Global Negative Feedback to the output stage, which while widely used throughout the audio industry, they no longer use themselves.

ODNF

Luxman nowadays use a distortion reduction circuit called Only Distortion Negative Feedback (ODNF). This system works by isolating noise & distortion at the output from the music signal and sparingly applying negative feedback to suppress them. Conventional negative feedback systems can have an adverse effect on the music, introducing phase distortion. “The circuit features such an ultra-wide range, ultra- high slew rate and ultra low distortion that it does not use phase compensation for the music signal amplifying circuits.” This new technology also ensures that need for a DC servo circuit is alleviated, again improving sound quality.

Gold Plated, Peel Coat Circuit Boards

Printed Circuit Boards normally have a green coat (dye) that can be printed upon, so the manufacturer knows where to place the copper traces and where to insert the resistors & capacitors. Luxman’s designers don’t like the sound of the green dye, in their extensive research they found that it smears the sound, so instead they print onto a plastic peel coat and remove it once the traces and mounting holes are in place. Then the copper traces are gold-plated to reduce resistance across the circuit, as well as eliminate copper’s corrosion over time..

In the photo above you will notice that Peel Coat circuit boards are an off-white color, and that the traces are gold-plated. It’s this fanatical attention to detail that delivers such superior sound quality.

Line Phase Sensor

Here is a clever device found on the back of every Luxman powered product. You press the button and it will check the phase of the electricity it is receiving. If the AC outlet in the wall is incorrectly wired, meaning the live and neutral are swapped, a red LED will turn on to warn you. You only need to press it once, when you are installing a product to check that everything is in order. It’s a simple mistake, that occurs often, and one that can undermine your listening enjoyment. It is this fanatical attention to detail that delivers such superior sound quality.

AC Inlet

In order for the power supply to rectify the signal cleanly, it first needs to receive clean electrical power. Luxman views the AC input with great concern, just as serious listening tests are applied to the power cables, so too is the AC inlet built to rigorous standards. With the D-08, the AC inlet starts with high purity brass which subsequently receives a non-magnetic nickel plating and finally gold-plating is administered in order to lower resistance.

Luxman Disk Transport Mechanism – LxDTM

• Integration of Luxman’s newly developed, proprietary, highly rigid disk drive mechanism is superbly accurate in reading digital data.
• This mechanism has introduced an asymmetrical left-sided mechanism layout after careful consideration of sufficient space for a voluminous analog circuit, ideal flow for all kinds of signals, oscillatory path, and weight balance without the use of a general type centered mechanism structure.
• A Stabilized Support Block (SSB) is introduced, i.e. extremely thick square pillars are used to solidly enclose the whole mechanism to rigidly exclude external vibration.
• Dust Proof Shutter (DPS) mechanism is integrated into the disk tray section of the front panel to enhance dust prevention and reduce noise pollution – Quiet Linear Loader (QLL). This is a joy to watch in operation, as the shutter comes down to allow the tray to be released . Once you have loaded a new disk on the tray and press OPEN (Close), then the tray is returned and the shutter slides back up into place, eliminating both noise & dust from entering the mechanism. Ingenious.

Digital Converter & Analogue Output Stage

• Dual-configured (monaural mode) PCM1792A manufactured by Texas Instruments are used for the Digital Analogue Converter (DAC), which has achieved an ultra-high signal-noise ratio/dynamic range (theoretical value: 132dB).
• The jitter reduction function is provided to decrease the jitter from the system clock (70 x 10–12 sec. or less, approx. 1/100 ps compared with conventional counterparts).
• For the analogue output section, the ODNF circuitry originally found in our high-end amplifiers has been introduced into a digital music player for the first time. Luxman have inserted the knife into the error detection amplifier section that is the keystone of the circuit, and Introduced 3-parallel differential input FET, which has achieved 1/10,000 level of distortion rate resulting in the major ODNF version upgrade to 3.0.
• The differential output of the DAC is fed to the ODNF circuit that has a fully differential balanced configuration (identically configured amplifier x 4 units) integrated in a discrete manner after I-V conversion, and drives the output amplifier in the next stage vigorously with low impedance.
• In the analog circuit, there is no independent output filter block, but band processing is gradually (primary filter x 3 pieces) implemented in the ODNF circuit. Therefore, higher resolution, natural analog waveforms can be reproduced.
• Stable and high inertia power is supplied from the audio-specific power transformer to each circuit through the regulator and block capacitor with a large capacity allocated to each circuit.

Structure

• This system has a complex structure consisting of a loopless chassis to eliminate increased ground impedance and the effect of generated magnetic field caused by chassis current and a shielded chassis to block digital noise.
• The RCA terminals are made of a copper alloy that combines copper’s conductivity and brass’s hardness. High-grade Neutrik XLR terminals are used for the balanced outputs.
• The gradation cast-iron legs are provided to protect tiny delicate sound signals from unwanted vibration.