LUXMAN M-600A

MJ13.10.2010

Power amplifiers

The Luxman M-600A (and the C-600f preamp too) are extremely good machines. They have the sonic sophistication of the real high-end plus juicy and lively sound of a pure entertainer. It occupies the place between solid-state and tubes using the best of both conceptions. High fidelity? Come on, the M-600A offers more: high enjoyment!

Function and form

91%

Ease of use

74%

Sound

100%

Appearance

The M-600A works in class A up to 2x60W into 4 ohms (it halves its output into 8 ohms) and then automatically switches into A/B. Unlike with the Luxman integrated the transition from A to A/B was not apparent even when volume was cranked up. Should you need it is possible to run the M-600A in a bridged mode by using the BTL (Bridge Tied Load) switch that can be found at the back with an indicator on the faceplate. Luxman is very attentive with how the M-600A’s inputs and outputs are marked so I do not suspect that anyone may have a problem with connections.

The cradle of a power switch is on the rear panel, however, there is another power pushbutton at the front accompanied by a stand-by button as a bonus. Think twice before you decide on the power scheme as in the stand-by mode the amp consumes less than 4W, unlike the power-up mode when it takes over 290W permanently. This is the tax for the A-class.
It is easy to know that the amp is working as there are two vertical yellow neons next to Luxman’s logo. Though Luxman says they are ‘VU meters’ they are not as they are not calibrated. Thus they just rhythmically jump up and down which may be attractive for a shopper but not for serious listening. Fortunately the neons can be dimmed or turned off completely.

There are two inputs, one balanced and the other single-ended, selectable by a BALANCE switch on the fascia. I liked speaker terminals’ oversized plastic nuts (1 pair for each channel) that are carefully isolated to prevent short-circuit. If you remove plugs you can use bananas on top of spade lugs and bare wires. Even more I liked a sensor of voltage polarity that is available on Luxman’s machines as a standard. There should be a law enforcing such a thing on any hifi gear.

Knock the M-600A’s chassis and you will have sore knuckles. The silver aluminum box is very compact and feels like a brick. Luxman says that the attention was paid even to the bolts to be secured with the same tightening torque to assure proper anti-vibration behavior. The M-600A is not big (440x189x420mm) neither it is heavy (26,5kg), it plays like big and heavy, however.

Bass management

Weight

Slam

Articulation

Some artists use a hammer and a chisel, some work with a brush and paints. It is not different with amplifiers. The Luxman M-600A weaves the sound like embroidery. There is less of the hammer-like punch (the tax is paid to the Class A configuration), however, you will not miss the bass as there is plenty of it, even more than with, let´s say, Mark Levinson´s No.432 – the TR´s reference - or Accuphase´s A-60 – the reference of mine. What the M-600 does have are wonderful mids and highs, that, voila, can be accounted to the Class A.

The slight excess of energy in the lower registers lends dynamism to the Luxman´s sound; this also results into euphonic sound that is highly addictive, perhaps more addictive than the already mentioned Levinson/Accuphase references. When I listened to a double bass in She Walks Right In, the M-600A is maybe a slightest bit less detailed on initial transients of a string, being very entertaining, however. Well, high fidelity has always been about compromises.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail

Air

Transparency

The three-minute Introduction to Le Sacre du Printemps immediately breathes and is much more relaxed than through the L-550A II. There is more separation to the instruments that occupy the soundstage – not that it is necessarily wider or deeper but the instruments give the sense of their existence within it. Also they are more firmly locked in their positions and the sonic picture is acquiring better stability and focus.

Despite the fact that brass and winds are shinier and brighter they are not aggressive. Quite opposite, they are more natural and tonally correct than they were through the L-550A II integrated and they have subtle sheen of warmth. This is a kind of signature of the M-600A. Therefore the parts like pizzicato around 3´00 is heard as fingers pulling strings and strings resonating on violins’ bodies. A more up-tempo pizzicato comes back a few minutes later in Les Augures Printaniers; again the Luxman is able to delineate individual strings within this massive sway and the way a player hits them one by one.
When I listened to Danse de la Terre I had an impression that the skin on a drum is not so tightly stretched as it was with the L-550A II, however, the M-600A is able to keep dynamic scaling under perfect control all the way down to silence. If there is something striking about how the M-600A plays it must be its dynamic capabilities: silence is more silent and loudness is explosive with a lot of fun in between.

Tonal accuracy

Timbre

Dynamics

Temporal resolution

The M-600A can make any recording shine. Literally. When I swapped the Rites of Spring for southern blues of Pinetop Perkins (Pinetop Perkins / Hubert Sumlin, Legends) I could hear splendor of piano that was played back with clarity and self-assurance that is never to be found with integrated amps. The soundstaging is phenomenal and thus it could be easily recognized where individual players stood in a studio: the piano back on the stage and Mr. Sumlin with his electric guitar front and slightly right. The experience of hearing natural rendition of what happened in the studio including reverbs is indeed refreshing. Unlike Le Sacre du Printemps the Telarc recording does not overdraw the reflections (it is a studio recording) and all sounds trail off into deep silence. As a result, cymbals have incisiveness like a sharp knife, with delicate trailing-off that bears the Luxman’s delicate and warm signature.

Spatial resolution

Holography

Soundstage width

Soundstage depth

Okay, let me make a wrap-up: dynamics, delicacy, sophistication, good on voices, soundstaging precision, excellent harmonics, speed... How about the size of a soundstage? Front to back it seems to be more loosely laid, the Accuphase – for instance – seems to be more condensed. As a result you have a feeling of higher front-to-back continuity with the Accuphase and a feeling of expansion with the Luxman.

Price as reviewed:184 000,- Kč

Recommended resellers

HTP s.r.o., tel: +420 606 642 175

PP HiFi Otrokovice, tel. +420 603 581 305

Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078

Manufacturer's website: http://www.luxman.com

Associated components

Sources: Luxman D-05
Amplifiers: Luxman L-550A II, Accuphase E-550, Luxman C-600f
Interconnects and speaker cables: Crystal Cable Standard, Crystal Cable Piccolo, Nordost Heimdall, Crystal Reference
Loudspeakers: Usher Be-718
Power conditioning: Supra MD06, Supra LoRad

Gallery

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