A little vintage luvin

billbillw
billbillw Posts: 6,772
edited May 2010 in 2 Channel Audio
Picked up a Luxman R-1050 the other day. I'm in love, electronically speaking. Classic good looks. Beautifully designed, inside and out, great tuner, nice warm Lux sound, plenty of power for most speakers. I think this would fall into one of the all time classics, if I were voting.


30+ years old, never worked on, and everything is still fully functional, except for a couple of pilot lights (dial light and center tuning light). Inside, I couldn't believe how clean everything was. The circuits look newer than many of the pieces that I've seen that are less than 15 years old. The attention to detail is amazing. My brother told me once that Luxman was the Japanese equivalent to McIntosh and now I see why. Some pics. Haven't changed the bulbs yet.

All of these photos were taken without any internal cleaning except for a quick blow with my air compressor, but that really didn't do much. This is by far the cleanest vintage piece I've ever encountered.

Front (this actually needed a little cleaning, knobs were grungy, face had some build up, stains, etc. Nothing a little car polish wouldn't fix ;)

LuxmanR1050_25941024x681.jpg

Tuning meters (one light out)

LuxmanR1050_25981024x681.jpg

Bottom (nekid). Notice how neat the wiring is?

LuxmanR1050_26161024x681-1.jpg

Main power supply, looks like something out of a modern unit, quad diodes with poly bypass caps.

LuxmanR1050_26141024x681.jpg

Tranny and main caps

LuxmanR1050_26011024x681.jpg

Fuse board (nicest I've seen in a vintage unit)

LuxmanR1050_26051024x681.jpg

Main amp board, notice how most of the resistor and transistor leads have insulation that was put on before soldering. That is nice touch that I rarely see in any piece.

LuxmanR1050_26091024x681.jpg

Tuner board, nice 4-gang FM tuner, 3-gang AM, built in ferrite rod, mix of LC and ceramic filters. One of the nicest tuners found in a receiver, of any era.

LuxmanR1050_26101024x681.jpg

Definitely a keeper, just not sure where to put her...
For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
Post edited by billbillw on
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Comments

  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited May 2010
    wtf man. That looks brand new! Congrats on our find. Glad you're diggin the sound..
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  • apc
    apc Posts: 779
    edited May 2010
    Outstanding piece of gear, congrats! I will pick on one thing; however, your use of 'nekid'. To quote a great man, Lewis Grizzard, if you don't have any clothes on you are naked. If you don't have any clothes on, but are up to something, then you are nekid ;). Carry on.
    Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Friend.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,969
    edited May 2010
    apc wrote: »
    Outstanding piece of gear, congrats! I will pick on one thing; however, your use of 'nekid'. To quote a great man, Lewis Grizzard, if you don't have any clothes on you are naked. If you don't have any clothes on, but are up to something, then you are nekid ;). Carry on.

    I loved Lewis Grizzard's books,had just about every one and he always brought a smile to my face. Thats all,sorry for the de-rail,carry on again.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
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    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
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    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
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  • polkatese
    polkatese Posts: 6,767
    edited May 2010
    Excellent Bill! It was made in Japan through and through right?

    How does it sound?
    I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
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  • camp21178
    camp21178 Posts: 273
    edited May 2010
    Great find! The vintage gear not only sounds great but looks great. It enhances the listening experience for me if the equipment is nice to look at. My newest receiver is a 2000 model, and my oldest is a 1978 model.
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited May 2010
    Bill I'm nowhere near the level that you are at--here's one I dug outta' the clost,,had it sitting around for 30 years.
    012.jpg 206.6K
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,772
    edited May 2010
    Don't kid yourself George, that Citation is very nice.

    Yes, this Luxman was made in Japan, through and through. For not having any work done to it, it sounds great. DC offset is a little higher than I would like though (35mV in one channel), so I may go through and rebuild some of the sections. I'm just afraid I'd never get that wiring to look so nice again ;)
    For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
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  • polkatese
    polkatese Posts: 6,767
    edited May 2010
    A buddy of mine had a Luxman TT and Receiver setup back in 1984, paired with KEF speak of that time. It was a glorious. It's a shame great products like that went south. Or product like Nakamichi for that matter.
    I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,812
    edited May 2010
    That Luxman is a very nice receiver (you probably knew that already).
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  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,152
    edited May 2010
    The Luxmans' 1030's are part of why I'm so down the rabbit hole now. I think I had 2 sets of speakers and 2 receivers at the time I found that first Luxman at the goodwill store.

    I had one and liked it so much after a week or two I bought another off of ebay. I used 1 receiver with 4 of my Polk audio Monitor 10's w/peerless tweeters and relistened to every cd I owned and the radio reception and sound was, I thought, 1st class to. That receiver rated at 35 watts I believe had plenty of power for those 4 speakers! I hesitantly sold them off but have never forgotten them! Thanks for bringing back great memories.

    Congrats on getting the more powerful 1050 model.;)
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
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  • pbinpb57
    pbinpb57 Posts: 19
    edited May 2010
    One of my favorite pieces of vintage gear.
    Polk Audio~Cambridge Audio~ProJect~Emotiva~Grant Fidelity~a/d/s/~Yaqin~Parasound~Denon~Onkyo~Technics~Pioneer~Elac/Miracord~Musical Fidelity
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