[vernz]

It seems that not much people here pay close attention to the Luxman new Flagship Headphone Amplifier P700u.
Personally speaking I have huge interest in the P700u, the first model of Luxman with Balanced Output.
In Japan the MSRP is [size=1.35em]￥294,000.[/size]
 
Now the Pre-order people are getting their P700u in these days. 
 
I found a Open-Box and First Impression Thread in a Taiwan Forums.
Link: http://www.5i01.cn/topicdetail.php?f=180&t=3209225&p=1
 
And I will translate in simple words.
 



 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
In the Thread, the owner received the P700u yesterday, and he uses the Balanced HD650 to pair with the P700u.
Though the P700u was a new machine, the sound comes out of the Balanced HD650 was just stunning.
 
 
 
 
 
Unfortunately the Thread starter didn't describe anything in detail because he need to run in the machine first.
And the owner should post further impression later.
 

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Additionally, I found some P700u audition impressions in Japan, and I'm gonna translate them in simple words as well.
1. http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/digital_side/39592944.html
 

 
 
The Bloger  auditioned the P700u with HD650 in both Balanced and Unbalanced ends.
With Balanced ends, HD650 has captivating sounds with large soundstage, plenty of details, rich in information and great separation.
In the case of Unbalanced end, HD650 sounds tight with a sense of high density, and it is energetic.
You can enjoy HD650 with both Balanced and Unbalanced ends, and they suit for different genre of music.
 
2. http://community.phileweb.com/mypage/entry/2654/20121115/33895/
 
The auditor compared Luxman P1u and P700u in both Unbalanced and Balanced ends.
The order of audition was P1u->P700u Unbalanced->P700u Balanced,
the source was Luxman's flagship SACD/CD Player D-08, the headphone was HD800.
 
The auditor used to own P1u and HD800, and he thought during the audition the P1u+HD800 was lack of smoothness comparing to his own system.
He felt to be the issue of cables or the headphones hasn't fully run in.
 
While using P700u Unbalanced ends to power HD800, honestly he didn't feel much difference from P1u. 
 
Then he listened to the P700u+Balanced HD800 which satisfied him.
The soundstage was large and wide, and the sound was so nice that he couldn't help to nod his head with the music while listening. And he believes that with proper cables the combo can sound better.
 

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If anyone who owns P700u please post some impressions here in order for us to have a better view of this Amp.
And please post if you found any other impression of others.

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[MisterFox]

Thanks for posting. I am very interested in hearing more about the combi P700u+HD800 and about P700u+PS1000.

 

[bozebuttons]

I believe Yikes will be bringing the Luxman to the NY meet this weekend april 20th.The luxman was at the Ny audio show last weekend on the Cable company Table.

 

[rpgman1]

Seems that PriceJapan is selling some Luxman products including the P-700u and DA-06. Of course they're 100V only, but they're throwing in a voltage transformer for 8,800 yen. Still cheaper overall than what I see on eBay. Are these units any good and has anyone here tried them out recently?

 

[Sanarar]

is there any news about the p700u sound. Not many reviews can be founded on forum. How good is it? I want to order to use with hd800. And does anybody knows good seller from Japan to buy it? Because USA price of 6000 is not fair as I think. As in Japan is less than 3000 usd. Waiting for news because I need to order urgent. Thanks to everybody who knows anything about that

 

[minimus]

If it is similar to the P-1u, it should sound very good and have stellar build quality.  The P-1u is the best solid state amp I have owned, but ultimately I am really a tube guy.  Will be interested in hearing whether the new P700u is cut from the same cloth as the P-1u or has a different sound signature.

 

[TheOtus]

I was planning to do a listening room for speakers, but room modes are ruining it totally... Unless a certain DSP device that I'm going to try works, I'm investing in headphone setup again... This "little " amp here is probably my choise.

 

[Dopaminer]

I was able to do some A-B comparisons on the P-700u, between HD700, HD800, T1 and LCD3 at a shop here in Tokyo.  Connected to a SACD player, with a book full of discs of many genres.  For me, the HD800 was the clear winner, and I bought it based on those two sessions...  Now, I have found the P-700u in a shop used, like new, for about US$2,000.  
 
I am      THIS     close to buying it, maybe this weekend.  
 
If anyone else is still monitoring this thread, I would love some more feedback on this amazing, admittedly maniac, amplifier.    
I may be the one posting the feedback. . .    
 
d

 

[TheOtus]

Well, my experience with different amps isn't that huge, but I must still most sincerely recommend this. This is all I could ask for in this setup. = )

 

[kenvisor]

LUXMAN P-700U Quick Review.


This day around I went down to A2A melbourne for a listen at this. The guys over there are kind enough to allow me to handle so many things at a time, and helped swapping cables and moving all those heavy stuffs around the room for some ABing on their equipments.
DACs used : Auralic Vega dac first and Luxman DA06 second
headphones mainly with : HD800, Abyss ab1266, and LCD-XC (and alittle time with TH900, LCD3, K812)
Musics : modern pops, solo vocalist, electrical sound tracks, rock.


Initial thoughts / background
For one I have been told that this is a way underrated amp, and my listening confirms this and that the p700u does deserve more attention. The issue of distributions and lack of reviews for the p700u is perhaps what makes this amp hard to find its place into more appreciations. (at least here on head fi)
I have to agree with the fact that this is no WOW amp, by that I don't mean its has no quality of its own but simply that it does fairly well over the frequency spectrum and good tonal balance as a whole, which this case is a good thing that the wow factor is not in there. Having sit back with this amp for 3 hours while ABing stuffs around A2A, I come to appreciate this amp in its qualities. The amp is by no means lean sounding if this is worrying anyone, my initial impression is that its lush and full sounding over all and quite engaging for that touch of musicality, but maybe alittle polite in terms of presentation. We had some one demoing an HE-6 into a Luxman power amp at the same time and it was compared to that that I said the p700u was pollite.


Sound
A brief description of the amp would be smooth and sweet rather than aggressive and direct, yet still maintains reasonable degree of dynamics. It is warm and had a slightly laid-back presentation. p700u overall is Lush and rich in the mids, while the trebles are smooth and easy to accept and does not have bright trebles, and there are also right amount of ambience presented in the music space which I am quite fond of. From my experience with my Zana Deux (with mullard short brown ECC35 shield logo 1950), p700u is lush and little thicker, smoother on transients, and better presence of the ambience and atmosphere, more musically involving than the ZD, whereas ZD(with said tube) relatively is more transparent, with clean separations and slightly faster and exact with better attack dynamics. The p700u though is a competent player in arranging music elements and is not in a way sluggish, it actually dealt decently with the complexities of the musics and and does a good job in conveying or say "put together" the grand sounding elements in your musics. Bass wise is very sufficient and not lacking at all in terms of its definition and quantity, although I thought could use more of an attack and speed performance. And finally the soundstage could be the highlight here, and it is definitely big and expansive with very good depth and sense of spaciousness, perhaps I would describe the stage of ZD as being more solidly defined of its boundary and good echo imaging and extensions, while p700u "blends" better with the music overall and has the sense of the environment in a very natural way. The way I heard it, p700u is a very musical sounding amp and I had enjoyed a very non-fatigue listening session with it.

The order of Headphone preference for this is a hard call, but I would have to go with 1.LCD-XC (unbalance) , 2. HD800 (balanced) with the 3. Abyss (balanced) close up for their respective distinctions. With the LCD-XC mentioned, I rekon it also works well with the LCD-X which I never had chance to try out. The thing is even when LCD-XC is heard through single ended, the vocal sound is surprisingly focused and very well imaged with the p700u, and the warm presentation simply blend in with the headphone's quality very well, that I simply had to call this pairing "very special" indeed. That said perhaps even out of the unbalanced outputs, the p700u can still sound really well. The HD800 with the p700u on the other hand is simply stellar, making the HD800 more liquid and the stage pairing with the p700u is remarkably round and does not interfere with the imaging potential of the HD800 at all, p700u also makes the analytical HD800 quite musical and less etching, I kind of revisited this pairing over and over again through out my listening period at A2A to reconfirm my preference for this. My experience with the Abyss thus so far is quite limited since this is the first time I ever handled one. But my thoughts on the Abyss for me though is I do not felt that the p700u is going to underwhelm its bass at all (save for LAu as I had never heard of it), but the p700u does not bring the upper trebles of the Abyss to a degree that is enough to satisfy my treble lust... It was perfect with the HD800 however and this consist of one of the best HD800 combo I have heard in awhile. If soundstage is important to you then perhaps you should add this into your list of consideration.

Finally, Briefly accounting the DAC pairing, Personally I think the DA06 pairing sounds more analogue and musically engaging, perhaps its some sort of house sound synergy and changing back to the auralic vega makes the presentation slightly paled with the p700u but I think vega has a more neutral sound. Over all to me, the DA06 is more musical and visceral while Vega is more analytical, clean and neutral. For my personal taste I would go with the DA06+p700u, and I think old school DACS like the pcm1704 masters 7 would possibly make a good pair with the p700u as well.

I would love to hear p700u with the W300ANV some day, as they are both japanese productions and I suspect that the characteristics of the amp will do a fine job in driving it on low gain.


Versatility
Yes you are buying loads of versatility here, the gain can be adjusted low mid and high, which I think mid gain is best sounding for HD800 and high for both Abyss and LCD-XC. I could just simply live with this as my universal amp at any day. XLR 3 pins, 4 pins, 2 TRS you name it. It simply accommodates and drives almost all headphones quite well as I swap around loads of headphones with it, I believe it provides adequate drive even for the abyss on high gain 10-12 O clock. ( with exception of the HE6 which some one tried and was unsatisfied before moving on to power amps that day).

Downsides
The balanced and the unbalanced outputs sadly cannot be used at the same time (it is toggled), and it does not have pre amp function which I am always looking for in head amps, and it only comes with an RCA though out not XLR.


Built quality and My verdict
I had to say I am convinced at first sight. By the looks I believe for the price the built quality is simply stellar, every thing from the control knobs to the case finish is Outstanding. The volume control knob has a really smooth and weighty touch which gives a very premium feel to it, my ZD's knob frankly becomes very unprofessional compared to this. The casing is also very well made and the finish looks durable and very expansive.
short " Its a beauty and a beast." , I am not in the least disappointed.
To me, it certainly is tempting to just go for one on the spot, considering all factors from the sound to its built qualities, this amp deserve a visit and I would recommend to those who love soundstage and a warm lovely smooth and lush sound and especially to those who owns an LCD X/C or an HD800 if this amp fits your budget.

 

[Dopaminer]

Great review, kenvisor !  This should be on the Headfi front page. . . . 
 
I ended up not going for the P700u, but I did buy the Luxman DA-06 dsd DAC, which stacks with the P700u. . . It also is unbelievably good.  
 
Enjoy !  
 
d

 

[kenvisor]

Thanks for the comment.
Cool, I really liked the DA06 for its musicality particularly, it simply had more mass and sentiment in the music than the Auralic Vega (which in its self is already a very impressive DAC), could be one of the best piece of gear I auditioned in the shop that day. I believe for the price you got in Japan its a really good buy indeed. 
im guessing you went for the Andix HPA45 instead, I hopped on the web and that looks like a really interesting and wicked looking amp!

 

[Dopaminer]

Yes that is my headphone set up : DA-06 and the Andix with some 1939 tubes.  The Andix shop is this amazing world of tubes, stacked to the ceiling and all over the floor.
I don`t know why Luxman charge so much for their gear outside of Japan.  I`m always shocked when I see websites refer to the DA-06 as a `6000$ dac`.  You should come to Japan - you could tuck one under your arm for about a third of that price.....  

 

[kenvisor]

  "You should come to Japan - you could tuck one under your arm for about a third of that price.....  "

that only works for people with large armpits..

, sadly even then I would have to spend a good few grands again for a decent voltage converter for that, we run 240V here in Australia. although the SR009 headphone is quite tempting in its self.
P700U runs about 4400AUD here. so over all its just alittle bit marked up. DA06 on the other hand runs 6K which is abit Hmmm.. I believe p700u is a good match for the W3000, just my hunch. I hope Otus could share something on this.

 

[Ony38]

Hi everyone!

I tried the p700u few days ago with LCDX, LCD3f and Abyss. I really enjoyed it! But when I checked the internal pics from the website Luxman. I notice that this amp isn't grounded :



Someone who own the amp can check if the ground of the iec interconnect is linked to something?

Thanks!