Luxman Turns 100

Luxman, Japan’s venerable high-end electronics company, is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Quite an achievement for any electronics manufacturer, let alone a true hi-fi company. Glenn Poor’s Audio Video’s association with Luxman began in 1976 when we were introduced to the products by Brian Tucker. Brian was our first independent “rep.” who had already brought us Bang & Olufsen, along with Revox, and had earned my respect as a straight shooter. Brian arranged to have Jerry Kaplan (Luxman’s original US boss) ship us a C-1000 solid-state pre-amp, and M-4000 (180 watts/channel) solid-state power amp, both with beautiful rosewood cabinets. To say we were impressed is a huge understatement. We went on to bring in their M-6000 dual mono solid-state power amp (300 watts/channel) and their CL-35 III all-tube pre-amp, along with a pair of MB-3045 all-tube mono power amps. It was quite an investment, but genuinely worth the money as Luxman went on to become our “go to” electronics for anyone looking for the best sound we could supply.

Unfortunately, things changed in the 80’s (1984) when Luxman was sold to Alps/Alpine, and the emphasis of the company changed towards more “affordable,” mainstream products - competing with Yamaha, Pioneer, Denon, etc… This change took some of the life out of what had made Luxman so desirable for me. Frankly, we didn’t need another Yamaha or Denon. Thus, we cooled on Luxman. We still sold their products, but eventually dropped the brand from our product mix around 1990.

The year 1994 saw the company restored to its original profile when Alps relinquished its interest in the company, with design and production returning to Japan. Around this time, I was working as the Director of Sales and Marketing of Dunlavy Audio Labs, and had begun to take notice of Luxman at various shows around the world. It warmed my heart to see the original essence of the brand return, and I began making plans to re-introduce Luxman to Glenn Poor’s Audio Video. I’m glad I did as Luxman has continued to be a very important product for us ever since. In fact, we’ve shown Luxman at our last four AXPONA exhibits, employing Luxman amplification, SACD/CD players and turntable/cartridges with either Harbeth, Magneplanar, or YG Acoustics loudspeakers.

This year’s Glenn Poor’s system at AXPONA featured Luxman’s very special L-100 CENTENNIAL Pure Class-A Integrated Amplifier, being fed by a Luxman D-10X SACD/DAC, and the gorgeous PD-191A turntable and LMC-5 moving coil cartridge. Our speakers were YG Acoustics TOR monitors. This system was simply incredible. It allowed us to show why I’ve always claimed “All watts are not created equal” as the L-100 amplifier is rated at 20 watts per channel @ 8 ohms and 40 watts per channel @ 4 ohms! But it is a pure Class-A design, and, as my Dad would say, “A whole different kettle of fish.”

Simply put, virtually any system featuring Luxman always seems to sound like real music, not electronics. I urge anyone to come to our store in Champaign, and audition any of the five Luxman systems we feature. You’ll go away with a real understanding as to why I’ve always said, “All you have to do is listen.”

Sincerely,

Geoff

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