Tube preamp design

Pycroft
Pycroft Posts: 1,960
edited May 2010 in Electronics
Hi there...

Man this looks nice, and I think it's a great design. I can't buy it now because I'm trying to sell some items to make some cash, but I wish I could bid on it. Is there anything negative to the design? Having the tubes on the outside? It just seems so convenient and smart.

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/auc.pl?preatube&1274147230&auc&3&4&

James
2 Channel/HT:
Sony SS-M9 P's (ES version)
Sony SS-M1CN Center Channel
Polk RT800 Surround Speakers
Odyssey Stratos Dual Mono Amplifiers
TAD 150 Signature Tube Preamp
Harman Kardon HK354
Sony SACD Player
Post edited by Pycroft on
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Comments

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 34,180
    edited May 2010
    The layout of this Luxman is evocative of the classic Marantz 7. Nothing wrong with having the tubes like that.

    Too bad the internal construction is PCB and not point to point, but the Luxman vacuum tube equipment was (and still is) very, very good.

    Probably safe to assume that you cannot afford it :-)

    (EDIT: It probably goes without saying that the gorgeous Marantz 7C in the attached photos isn't mine!)
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,249
    edited May 2010
    Only downside I see is all the controls the signal has to pass through. I know because of the era this was built in those were common controls of the day. This is one of the reasons vintage gear really has never done much for me. Too many signal degrading paths. :).

    Very nice vintage piece of gear that probably sounded damn good in its day. But not the ultimate in absolute purity of sound because of all the "crap" the signal has to pass through before it gets to your ears. :)

    But, if you like that "vintage" sound then it's probably among the top as far as that kind of gear goes.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • vc69
    vc69 Posts: 2,500
    edited May 2010
    I agree with heiney, not a clean signal path but that old Luxman stuff is really sexy to me. I bet it'll fetch a fairly hefty price.
    -Kevin
    HT: Philips 52PFL7432D 52" LCD 1080p / Onkyo TX-SR 606 / Oppo BDP-83 SE / Comcast cable. (all HDMI)B&W 801 - Front, Polk CS350 LS - Center, Polk LS90 - Rear
    2 Channel:
    Oppo BDP-83 SE
    Squeezebox Touch
    Muscial Fidelity M1 DAC
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    McIntosh 2205 (refurbed)
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