Since 1925, Luxman are not about mass produced products designed in Japan, then assembled in China from generic parts. Rather Luxman are designed in Japan, then each part is carefully tested & evaluated. Many parts are custom made for them which really does make these designs special. Apart from the shared Power Supply, the amplifier designs are usually dual mono. Even the transformers are made in Japan to their specification. Luxman select the color paint used on the resistors (to identify value & tolerance) based on extensive listening tests. The chassis are carefully tuned, both vibration and resonance are carefully controlled; they perform like a musical instrument. Finally assembly & testing is all carried out in Japan. The Japanese attention to detail is fantastic, the amplifiers come wrapped in a cloth shroud with elastic underneath, all of the RCA & XLR sockets are protected from oxidation with individual plastic sleeves. Even the power cord is a cut above the normal give-away and actually sounds good. No wonder Luxman achieve a superior sound..
Anthony Nicosia's review of the LUXMAN CL-88 in Enjoy The Music, here are a few excerpts:
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"The ability of the CL-88 to extend both in front of and behind the loudspeakers was a much welcomed and quite unusual surprise. Not only did the music have a nice sense of space to it but vocals displayed a correct timbre to them reminding me of a more true to life presentation."
"Whether played loud or soft the CL-88 brought great joy to what was being played, more so than with many other preamplifier's that have trotted in and out of my home in the past."
"The CL-88 was able to retrieve a good amount of information from my CDs, some of which had previously been obscured within the background of the music's soundscape. While good at uncovering details, within a song's instruments and vocals, detail alone was not where its magic lies. No the CL-88 was much more than that. Add to this a truer sense of space with a deep front to back soundscape, an alive type of presence that renewed the spirit of previously heard performances and a strong foundation in the lower registers of bass notes, then you will begin to understand its effect on ones system. Give the CL-88 the best associated equipment you can, like the MQ-88, add to that some exceptional recordings and sit back to enjoy this truly magnificent tube preamplifier from Japan."
full review here
Luxman’s stereo vacuum tube control amplifier, with an ALPS precision brass, four gang volume control, featuring an in-built mute function. By touching the centre of the volume control, the sound mutes at once. Signal switching is performed by a golden switch immersed in a nitrogen container, located near the input terminals in order to maintain a low S/N Ratio. Seen above with the matching EQ-88 moving magnet phono stage. Also available, the MT-88 moving coil step-up transformer.
Kappa Alloy RCA Jacks
This custom RCA socket was developed for the universal music player DU-80, it is a unique blend of copper and brass, chosen for its conductance properties, This new kappa alloy material is used for both the RCA input/output terminals, holds a secure connection and ensures that any sound quality deterioration is kept to a minimum.
Volume Control
The volume control on the L-509u is a solid brass, four gang ALPs potentiometer, its too heavy to be motorised, hence the lack of a remote control, it does however provide a linear attentuation & gain throughout the range, holding both channels perfectly in balance even at low amplitude, photo below:
Mechanical Grounding
Throughout the 88 vacuum tube series, a 15mm thick top panel and solid brass supports are used as a suspension structure. By cleverly hanging the electronics from the top plate, the mechanical vibrations are isolated from the delicate low level music signal.
The gradation cast-iron legs are provided to protect the tiny delicate sound signals from unwanted vibration.
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The CL-88 is seen here with the matching MQ-88 stereo amplifier.
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