Bro I believe this is the very honest and very unbiased review you have done really a very great work. You are so valuable to audiophile enthusiasts like me. Plz keep up your passionate work.
What you described is the Luxman "house-sound" more refined, sweeter and smoother. I found it is lacking in dynamic... I used to have the Class A version and this one. Sold both. Also you might wanna try the lesser known Sony TA-A1ES which sell for less than 2K new and you can find them at 1K or less used. The Sony is also a smooth player with a bit better dynamic.
Returning stuff is a hassle, but I'm glad you didn't talk yourself into thinking you loved it like so many audiophiles seem to do...(and for that kind of money it should be love) I'd probably try some other brands in the same price range before you start throwing more money at it. Good luck with the search.
Interesting review... by the way, volume knob position is totally irrelevant. Denon uses a potentiometer, Luxman uses the Lecua system, you need to test both at the same volume level and ignore knob position (that's just arbitrary)
Denon makes great phono preamps. I have the pma 1600ne and the built in phono stage is outstanding. And btw, comparing the pma 1600ne to the Luxman L-505uXII would have been a much more fair comparison. While the Denon that you have here, still sounds good it's so old that it should be gone over by a qualified service person before just to make sure that its within spec.
Tharbamar Could you be more specific about the minor problems that you have experienced. Quite honest I never com across complaints on hifi forums or groups regarding issues related to Y as-xxxx series. W.H.R
I don't know for me you spend that much money like $4,000 integrated amplifier it should sound perfect maybe it does other people's ears🤔 not yours personal preference I guess🤔 I don't know I used to have a $20,000 system and now I have a 2,500 to $3,000 system and I enjoy that just as much as I enjoyed the other one only would $17,000 more in my pocket. Again personal preference if you want to spend that much money go right ahead but to my years you're not missing out on anything!! let's just enjoy the music✌
Yes I agree with you I've done that as well at young age, now my max limit is 10k for amp and speakers, after that price point I don't see the point of spending money, thanks
You are right. I have two stereo systems, one is around 10 000 euro, the second system is around 4000 euro. I enjoying both systems and some times i ask my self, why i spent 10 000 for a system when im ok with my second system costing me 4000 euro. Music is the more inportant thing then the room acoustic!
Pretty good summation. Good job! Sorry your having to go down this bumpy road. I recently went though this and was surprised that trying to improve my system I took a step backwards. Good luck!
I do appreciate your honesty and trust your ears. The main issue is that I believe your speakers are relatively hard to drive. I suspect you need to pick an integrated amplifier that has a significant amount of watts/channel. If you had high sensitivity speakers, my hunch is you would have a more favorable opinion of this Luxman. But another issue is that you preferred the Denon’s phono stage. That might be difficult to beat unless you go up significantly in price. But I’ll be watching what you choose next!
Denon pma 2500ne is a very good amp. It had enough power to make my b&w 683 s2 sing, But in the end i picked up Hegel h190 for its impressive detail and control big on power as well
EXACTLY what i said in sound demo comparsion i have owned to much audio gear !! That Denon is a BMF ! with a simple modi 3 dac ohh my the top end will ✨ on denon ! Marantz cd player already has warmth to it Modi 3 you most likely will like it pared to Denon Thank you for the review , love the channel buddy
Denon intergrated amps are where its at for budget to midpriced audiophiles and higherend to if their audiophile snobbery pride doesent get in the way. From the older ones and the current baby 600ne on up....just the USA doesent know it i find it amazing that we dont after all the nice shit they have made over the decades i bet the 800ne would tear the 505 up....smh
@@JoJanDiezel Depends on condtion the ivr actually comes with a remote. if you like that muscular warm sound than Yes , Great thing about the Denon is it sounds great with Bright sounding speakers But yeah send me the link on my page and see if you can haggle them diwn to 800.00 cash . that amp will compete with amps from 2-3 grand New now . And i like the mosphetes in the output stage 😃
Love your videos!! I'm in the market to get a nice integrated and my picks are about the same as yours. So, here's a question: have you had a chance to hear the 505 and the 507 together? Is the difference is sound, quality etc, worth the extra $2000? And if you had a choice between the 507 and the Esoteric F-07, what would you pick? Whatever I get next will be my last amp (hopefully). I really love the Denon PMA SX-11 but we don't have that in the states.
Everything is better on 507 obviously but I don’t think it is worth extra money for that personally, F07 is a bit more warm than 507 base on my experience with them in the past but every audition is not in same set up, F-07 will be my choice for overall better build and more engaging sound, thanks
Luxman has always been a premium brand. And at $5000 it had better be damn good, lol! I suspect once you get up in that territory you will not hear great differences between gear. Then again, I heard a GamuT $15K+ integrated once on a set of speakers I owned. And, yeah, it had a big bold sound. Bigger, deeper, more impactful than any other amp I've heard on these speakers. In fact, I was kind of surprised that those speakers could DO that, lol! So who knows!
Now I have Denon PMA-SX11, by the way 2500NE 80% same as 2000IV. That 505UXII was a joke, way overpriced for overseas markets and it does not even come with Luxman owns transformer.
@@Tharbamar thanks for your answer, i have since the 90s the Denon PMA2000R and i am still satisfied, the Luxman is a top amp but, yes in Europe overpriced BR Hannes
Excellent review ! I hear much of the same sound as you describe of the Luxman in many demo's on utube. I like the look of the shiny glitter of Luxman. Some people will like to listen to both sounds perhaps. I suggest living with both in the home for several months if you own both.
I sold my mint condition Denon PMA-2000ivr about a month ago. It was my backup amp for about 10 years and I always thought it was smooth but a little muddy and lacking detail compared to a lot of amps that I have owned over 25 years, including some high-end separates. I much prefer my Yamaha A-S1100 (now 2 years old) which is significantly more transparent sounding overall with tighter bass, better soundstage, and more realistic top end extension w/o being bright. But of course, these are personal preferences in synergy with other gear including speakers and source components so it is best ignore ALL of these RU-vid reviews and experience these amps with your own ears.
They work the best with B&W or KEF speakers but to be fair you have to compare AS1100/AS1200 with PMA-2500NE because significant age different like 20 years between them. Thanks
Interesting comparison, I think upper midrange is the one most difficult to get right, not just for amps, but especially for speakers, sometimes I think that reviewers spend so short time listening that they don’t experience fatigue, which really is a no go for an audiophile that usually listen for many hours at a time. Very good review, would you try out the Norma ipa 140 or the Luxman 590ii Class A ? Keep up the good work.
Thanks for suggestion, I'm going to tried some McIntosh and I would stick with brands with long history and proven quality reliability, I will stick with Class AB for now, thanks
I see a few have already mentioned this and I agree. I think you should try the Yamaha AS2100. I have the 1100 and it’s sublime. Outperforms many more expensive amps I’ve tried/owned Could be just what you’re looking for. Also, if you didn’t like this Luxman, why would you go up the line and potentially spend more money? Just curious..
I have a mint condition Denon PMA-2000IVR that I've owned for well over a decade and it's OK. If I had to summarize I would say the Denon is smooth but dark sounding overall, not quite the top end treble response that I want and a bit round in the bass lacking in detail and attack. I've owned many amps that are more transparent with better overall 'clarity' than the Denon. In comparison, my newer Yamaha A-S1100 is 'cleaner', 'clearer', and more 'open' sounding overall with better frequency extension up and down the range. It's also faster with tighter bass and transient attack. Same for the less powerful 60wpc Ayre AX-7e. It is more like the Yamaha than the Denon. The Denon has always sounded a bit dark to me. As for phono stages, I always use an outboard dedicated phono stage so I haven't compared them on these integrated amps. I'm not a huge fan of the Denon. It's my backup amp and I've used in a couple times in my office setup. YMMV. The setup: Denon, Yamaha, and Ayre integrated amps. Tannoy Definition D500 tower speakers (91dB 6 Ohm nom.), Sonore microRendu network streamer, music library on Synology NAS, 16/44.1 uncompressed lossless PCM CD rips, 24/96 and 24/192 lossless PCM downloads, some DSD files, Qobuz & Tidal streaming services, Roon software.
Denon 2000IVR Amps work the best with B&W or Dali speakers because that's what they are designed with and mostly personal taste as well, All Yamaha stereo amps below AS-2100 is bright for me but to each of own, they will outperform many amps when it pair with low sensitivity hard to drive speakers because it has better power supply than $3-4k integrated amps of today.
@@Tharbamar "All Yamaha stereo amps below AS-2100 is bright". That's hilarious because the Yamaha A-S1100 is identical to the A-S2100 except for a set of balanced inputs. When I auditioned them they were both sonically the same. I chose the A-S1100 because I couldn't see paying the premium for one set of balanced inputs. On the other hand, my Denon PMA-2000IVR is "dark" and slightly veiled sounding with any source component or speakers I've had it on.
@Tharbamar Denon PMA- 2500 NE is completely made in Japan with high quality components? and from your or your friend's experience, is it brighter sounding or smooth sounding amp? I am in confusion with Yamaha AS 2100 and PMA-2500 NE., My speakers are Tannoy XT8F.
It is Made In Japan in Denon's Shirakawa factory, my friends preferred Denon 2500NE over Yamaha A-S2100 for power, dynamic range and high quality DAC etc., Peak current is very impressive 110A, full Analog Mode by turning off DAC and display. According to my friends its leaps and bounds better than 2000 series with neutral sound with a bit of warmth on sound signature, It should work well with your speakers, by the way this amp power rating is way under rated.
There are choice 70's / early 80's units Outperforming 90's gear from the same companies That goes for integrated , pre amps and power amps . It was the Labs division gear era -
Im really thinking on pulling the trigger on the luxman but im very afraid cause everyone is telling me that I can get more for the money! But I just gave back a naim back didn't like now im going to try the moon 340i but I love the vintage luxman i have so im very confused.
Hello my name is José I will like to get your opinion on bookshelf speakers under $500.00 dollars, I see so many reviews and I’m confused, I’m looking for a pair not to bright something that won’t hurt my ears thank you.
I want to buy Denon but can't find it my area, so I stuck with Yamaha as1100, great sounding amp, detail, drum and bass drum attack is powerful, I love it. Still want to try Denon though.
Try the Yamaha A-S2100 - here in Europe/the Netherlands €2200 (is about $2400) More controlled dynamic body power in the lows and fast and refined in the high’s All pure analog and sounds like a class A-amp - also on low volume - - much cheaper - and also two VU-meters -
The PMA 2500ne would be my amp of choice if we could get it in America outside of the crazy 1x of course...since we cant get those beasts the 1600ne it is for me. Even the baby 600ne and 800ne beats up on much more expensive amplifiers, Denon the great Known Unknown of audiophile amplifiers...
Denon Integrated amps were best sellers in Japan compare to any other brands because I have the sales report of major retailers but they're not popular here, it may be a good thing.,
I think Denon after better capacitor choices / voicing , could sound less edgy in the highs , and more relaxed and tonally refined . Have fun with it....
@@angelnikolov1193 Sound like pre amp section of Denon is giving this brighter and edgy sound , it could be capacitor choices/ voicing of Denon pre amp, or it could be greatly improved by better voicing. Don't be affraid to try it knowing you can always go back to original...
When you upgrade to the 507, youre in price segments there are many good amps. When you want to stay on japan quality, dont forget Esoteric! Maybe a match for you...
In my experience, Denon is accurate but dry sounding. Yamaha amps tend to sound much more musical and easy on the ears. Give the Yamaha A-S2100 a try if you like.
Denon amps have muuuch better bass reproduction generally, actually from lowest frequencies through to mids. Yamaha has much weaker and generally inferior bass compared to Denon, and this has been true for decades. Direct testing reveals.
I think you've dismissed the Hegel H190 rather too quick ... . As an ex Hegel user I have a feeling you may just find what you are looking for in that brand. Read up about it and perhaps also get in contact with John Darko who uses and reviewed a number of the companies amps. They are superb. One of the Highlights at the yearly UK Bristol Hifi Show and used by a number of exhibitors. Powerful, refined/smooth with some of the best bass I have heard. Perceived value may not quite be as much as the Lux (to some) but SQ is what matters in the end. For what it's worth, they (Hegel) look very nice on a rack in an imposing, clean and understated way, quite unlike your two amps. The easy readable OLED display is superb.
Yes I tried H190 and I even tried Hegel H390, they are not for me in terms of sound quality and price to performance. They do not have delicacy that I like and rather equalize sound signature to my ears, also I do not want overprice Chinese amp, thanks
@Tharbamar - I was getting suspicious. There seems to be a lot of RU-vidrs, who either own stores or work in stores, that seem to be pushing the Hegel. I thought I was being paranoid, but these comments seem to align with my suspicions.
Good review... I am just getting into your channel. I think the B&W are you issue. You should audition a pair of Dynaudios with the Luxman. Just a though.
Denon is less agressive and bright than Luxman, although a little bit “bass” heavy, but that was also a mark of Denon’s amps since decades ago. I don’t replace my Denon for any competitor from the same “league”, let it be Marantz, Nad, Luxman, Onkyo, Yamaha, etc. Its sound never bothers me. If you want a better sounding integrated amp than any of these, try Rotel, Audiolab or Naim. Even if their power ratings are normally not very high, they excel over this Luxman, in terms of overall sound quality. By the way, I’ve recently heard this B&W’s on a decent budget system, and I found them too “bright” on the treble range....
Because I dont like Hegel too, I suggest Naim Supernait 2 or 3. I tested yesterday and in my opinion better than Musical Fidelity M6si, Hegel H360. Can by better than Luxman 505 too..Good to find music even for 1 year, because we always try to find Perfection! 😊
Can you imagine him yelling/ arguing at his wife, kids or anyone for that matter?🤔🤔🤔 Me neither!🤪🤪😇🤗 I sure wish I was this chill!😬🥶😬😬🤗😇 A complement in the highest order by the way!😉😝 Great review comparison as always!🤓😎 It also appears the Denon is a much better value considering one can find one used for pennies on the dollar vs Luxman $$$$ PRICE TAG.🤔🤔🤫🤫😬
Theres alot of praise for the Yamaha amps and i owned an AS3000 model for some time before going all valve. If the 3000 represented the peak of their amps at the time (theres a 3200 now) then the lesser models cant be great. The AS3000 is dull and lifeless to me with a thick sound signature, poor transient response and a very closed in soundstage. I didnt realise how poor it was before i put a considerably cheaper 25 watt unison research valve amp in place of it. Ive also tried a Luxman LX550 mk2 and it was better than the AS3000 in some respects but in my system sounded too lean. It baffles me that people flock en masse to solid state and simply miss out on the soundstaging and flow of a good tube amp despite the flaws they may have (tube fails/noise).
Never tired tube preamp before. I have an NAD M22 two-channel amp that is great. I’m wanting to replace the Parasound P5 preamp with something else. What tube preamps do you like in your experience?
@@cpg8000 Ive had great results with Unison Research for tube integrateds. Cayin make well built budget tube integrateds. A good inexpensive tube pre amp would be an Icon Audio LA3... i had one about 7yrs ago and it is astonishingly open and spacious sounding for the money... as ever try and get a listen of things and most of all dont let anyone else tell you what sounds best to your ears 👍
It's interesting to note that for the $, the specs are nothing special at all. Hard convince myself that I can get a lot of gear for that $ with far better specs all around. I'm skeptical honestly.
You should try really the NAD C275BEE amp/NAD C165BEE preamp combo for $2,500 total for both units. I think Michael Fremer of Stereophile said if you are looking for an amp at $10,000 or less you should definitely put the NAD on your shortlist. They are that good! When people talk about bass control really is a case for current not watts. These NAD amps have more current than that Luxman, about twice or three times the amount of amperes. They have more amperes even than Mark Levinson at $20,000...
@@Tharbamar I agree with you. I do not trust reviewers and I like to listen for myself. That is why I am telling you should give them a listening session to see if you like them, otherwise you will never know if they are good sounding or not... Have a great day. If you haven't listening them you cannot say you do not like them. It is impossible to not like or dislike, or like something you haven't heard.
I have heard many different amps including NAD but not the model you mentioned above, to me they are good but not the best for me, my current integrated amp peak current is 20A and I’m looking to get a integrated amp with 60A peak with 240A high current capability, thanks
For Yamaha 5000 separates, I’ve heard very good things about them from Japanese friends but they’re way overpriced here in North America and I’m not ready for another separates, thanks
What is fast 0.01sec? What is slow 0.03 sec? What is tight 30cm? What is controlled 20rpm? How do you even interpret from what you hear into such specific details that no one can attest to?
If you like listening to "sounds", spend $5000...but if you love listening to "music"...Yamaha AS 1100 $2500 is more than enuff! Hell, a $200 receiver works for me. I don't sit there staring at VU meters and molest the metal material.
Actually I like the way it sound only with a few down sides, Denon and Accuphase amps were voiced with B&W top of the line speakers, which is very well known publicly in Japan.
french company Devialet makes some great sounding amps and have a program called SAM wich matches the amp to your speakers!, really did wonders with my Audiophysic speakers when i demoed it
I live in Russia . We have a price for Denon PMA-2500NE 229 990 rubles, and for Luxman L505uxII 338 000 rubles. And the Yamaha A-S2100 is only 129,990 rubles.
Came from separates, started with the separates, always been separates, after all most of them are way overrated, except big dollar items, all marketing.