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LUXMAN L-509Z
FERRUM WANDLA
KLIPSCH THE NINES
WILSON S
SASHA V
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❱ FEBRUARY 2024
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EQUIPMENT REPORT
W
hen I reviewed
Luxman’s L-509X
flagship inte-
grated amplifier,
in May 2018,
1
that sleek machine
shook me to my vitals. I wrote,
“Record aer record, the L-509X
illuminated every important
aspect and area of the recording.
It lived and breathed in the air
around the notes, consistently
creating big, solid, spatially
natural images that presented
me with a) the roundness and
complexity of each instru-
ment, b) a holistic sense of the
musicians’ intent, c) excellent
touch and texture and impact,
and d) a unified whole, regardless of musical style or dynamic
level.” I concluded, “the Luxman L-509X integrated amplifier takes
a dierent path to musical involvement. The L-509X is one of the
most intimate-sounding, dynamic, texturally nuanced, truthful
purveyors of music of my experience.”
Luxman’s new flagship integrated, the L-509Z, has the same thick
aluminum top plate and steel casework as its forebear and weighs
a similarly knee-crushing 64lb. The older L-509X cost $9495; its
newer, younger sibling rachets that up to $12,495. The front-panel
controls are nearly identical, including those big, eye-catching dual
VU meters; except for a new 4.4mm Pentaconn five-conductor mini
headphone jack and a mute button, the Z matches the cosmetics of
the X to a T. But as in all things, appearances can be deceiving. Even
the back panels are doppelgangers.
“Design of the L-509Z was a Luxman team eort, with Mr.
Masakazu Nagatsuma responsible for overall tonal qualities, Mr.
Kunihiko Koki for electronics, and Mr. Takeharu Sato for mechani-
cals,” John Pravel, VP of sales for Luxman America, wrote to me in
response to emailed questions.
“The Z-line represents a ‘generational update’ and upgrade
above and beyond the X-Series,” Pravel explained. “Aer a near
ten-year period since the introduction of the X-Series, consid-
erable circuit and parts improvements yielded superior sonic
results. For example, the L-509X had op-amps and buers in the
KEN MICALLEF
L uxman L-509Z
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
Description Two-channel inte-
bipolar, push-pull, class-AB out-
single-ended (RCA; Line 1 and
Line 2 are “Original high rigid-
ity terminals”), 2 pair balanced
(all RCA); two pair loudspeaker
output terminals with indepen-
sensitivity/input impedance,
-
power cord.
Dimensions"
""
Serial number of unit
reviewed
Price
Manufacturer
Luxman Corporation,
Kouhoku-ku, Yokohama-shi,
US distributor:
Luxman North America,
SPECIFICATIONS
1 See stereophile.com/content/luxman-l-509x-integrated-amplifier.
Reprinted from Stereophile magazine www.stereophile.com
I
-
1
recommendation, running it at one-eighth
over the internal heatsinks were hotter, at
his auditioning.
-
volume control operated in accurate 1dB
steps in Line Straight mode, and with the
tone controls, set to do nothing, into the
circuit. The single-ended input impedance
loudspeaker output impedance, including
Balance, Subsonic, Mute, Mono, and other front-panel controls also
appeared on the L-509X, as did the “Line Straight” button, which
bypasses the tone controls for the least signal degradation.
What’s LECUA? “LECUA” stands for Luxman Electronically Con-
trolled Ultimate Attenuator. “The L-509Z combines a highly precise
rotary encoder with a newly developed weighted rotation mecha-
nism to create the ‘LECUA-EX,’” the website states, “which oers
even greater reliability and a natural, high-quality operational feel.
Eighty-eight fine steps from 0 to 87dB and an acceleration setting
for the speed at which the volume knob is rotated and a long press
preamp section. The L-509Z has
a fully discrete LIFES system in
the preamp. Z-Series also has a
seven-segment LED display, 12V
trigger and control terminals, and
mid-frequencies (EQ ) adjust-
ment controls.” The L-509Z also
includes Luxman’s “LECUA 1000
computerized attenuator” and
“crack-resistant peel coat PCBs,”
the website states.
Let’s go over that list of changes.
“Fully discrete LIFES” is
Luxman’s new feedback system,
replacing the legacy ODNF (Only
Distortion Negative Feedback).
LIFES stands for Luxman Inte-
grated Feedback Engine System; the L-509Z includes version 1.0,
aka LIFES1.0; LIFES is now used in both the L-509Z’s preamp and
the power amplifier sections. LIFES1.0 aims to reduce the unwant-
ed eects of using negative feedback and is said to lower the S/N
ratio and distortion. Distortion is lowered “to less than half of the
distortion as compared to ODNF4.0, the final derivation as utilized
in the previous X-Series, with S/N improved by 3dB,” wrote Pravel.
The L-509X included only bass and treble tone controls, now
augmented by that “MIDDLE” dial, which Luxman says is “eec-
tive in the vocal and lead instrument frequencies bandwidth.” L/R
MEASUREMENTS
1 See stereophile.com/content/measurements-maps-
precision.
Fig.2
Fig.1
right magenta), 2 ohms (green) (1dB/vertical div.).
Fig.3
channel blue, right red).
Hz Hz
d
B
r
A
d
B
r
A
Reprinted from Stereophile magazine www.stereophile.com
measurements, continued
-
simulated loudspeaker
2
with its output into 8 ohms (blue and red
was taken in Line Straight mode and with
the volume control set to its maximum.
Commendably, both the very close channel
balance and the overall response were
-
shoot or ringing.
The audioband response with the tone
controls switched on but set to do nothing
their maximum and minimum positions.
The bass and treble controls boosted or
midrange control by 8dB.
Channel separation was moderate, at
-
band, unweighted signal/noise ratio,
taken in Line Straight mode with the
unbalanced input shorted and the volume
control set to its maximum, was a good
when the measurement bandwidth was
when A-weighted. Switching on the tone
controls set to do nothing decreased the
S/N ratios by 12dB. The blue and red traces
Straight mode with the volume control set
the same amount so that the output power
Fig.5
continuous output power into 8 ohms.
Fig.4
Fig.6
last leg, from the output stage to the loudspeaker binding posts, is a
copper cable with a 3.5mm
2
cross-sectional area.
Inside, each channel of the L-509Z’s class-AB output stage uses
three-stage Darlington bipolar transistors in quadruple-parallel
push-pull configuration to deliver 120Wpc into 8 ohms, 220Wpc
into 4 ohms—same power output ratings as the L-509X. A new,
setting for the remote control allows
for comfortable and thorough volume
control action with minimal degradation
in sound quality.”
So what about “crack-resistant peel
coat PCBs”? On a typical circuit board,
a thin, lacquer-like polymer is used as a
solder mask to prevent unwanted solder
accumulations between closely spaced
components and solder pads; the mask
also provides some protection to the con-
ducting traces during manufacturing.
But the mask, which is permanent, can
cause stray capacitance; Luxman says
it “can have a smearing eect on audio
signals.” In Luxman’s process, the mask
is removable—and is removed, remov-
ing the mask-induced stray capacitance.
Another interesting thing about the
circuit boards is the curvy, swoopy course of those 0.1mm-thick
gold traces “utilized for each channel of the L-509Z power amplifier
section and in other internal locations”; those curvy traces create
“better sound, improved current flow, with lower inductance as
compared to PCB traces having ‘right-angle’ signal path direction
changes,” Pravel said. All internal wiring is OFC copper, and the
-
ments-page-2.
Hz
d
B
r
A
W W
% %
Reprinted from Stereophile magazine www.stereophile.com
measurements, continued
channels driven. The downward slope
lies below the noise up to these powers,
but it remains very low until the actual
clipping power into 2 ohms, as the ampli-
8 ohms (blue and red traces) is very low,
rising only a little in the top two octaves,
2 ohms, the distortion in the right channel
channel (green trace), though it is still low
in absolute terms.
ohms was primarily the second harmonic
-
ous up to much higher levels than those
Intermodulation distortion was also ex-
terminals to the grounding lug on the
absolute polarity in all three modes at all
Fig.8
-
Fig.7-
green, right gray).
Fig.9
(bottom, not to scale).
travel the distance to the front
panel. From input to output, short-
est signal routes are optimized for
minimum capacitance.”
Twenty-eight sharply sculpted
top-panel venting chambers,
with honeycomb-mesh protective
grids, add to the L-509Z’s allure. A
chunky, user-friendly aluminum
remote add to its functionality.
Just like the L-509X, the ampli-
fier is supported by four large
insulator feet made from a cast
iron/graphite material, which
protect the chassis from external
vibrations. “The material density
[of the feet] increases from the out-
side diameter toward the center to
counteract and suppress external
vibration eects,” Pravel wrote.
The L-509Z features a large
numerical “seven-segment” LED
display, which made reading volume levels a cinch across my small
room. The VU meters are illuminated by white LEDs, making them
easier on the eyes. The back panel sports four pairs of single-ended
(RCA) line inputs and two pairs of balanced (XLR) inputs; the first
bespoke, low-loss 600VA EI-core
power transformer, with round
copper windings and 40,000μF
per channel of filter capacitance,
features “newly developed, large
capacity filter capacitors of a more
recent internal construction, like
those used in the M-10X power am-
plifier,” Pravel wrote. The L-509Z
adds newly developed Toshin and
Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors.
The L-509Z includes a higher-
specced MM/MC phono section
with a “new two-step gain switch
to select between high and low MC
settings to accommodate a wider
range of MC cartridges,” the web-
site states. By using the “Pre-Out”
or “Main In” connections and a
front-panel switch (“Separate”) that
decouples the preamp and power
amp sections, the listener can run
the L-509Z’s pre and power amp sections as separate, standalone
components. Luxman’s “beeline” technology ensures the “short-
est practical signal path implementation,” Pravel explained. “The
preamp section is located near the rear input-panel, so signals don’t
Avg: 32
Hz
d
B
r
A
Hz
%
Reprinted from Stereophile magazine www.stereophile.com
measurements, continued
across the audioband. The impedance in
-
-
range and high treble, with a slight imbal-
the inputs shorted to ground and with the
volume control set to the maximum. It was
-
-
second and third harmonics were the high-
-
-
phono input.
—John Atkinson
Fig.11
Fig.10
scale).
Fig.12
Setup
Once secured in my audio rack, it was a joy to slide my le hand
over the L-509Z’s silken casework as my right hand removed the
rubbery plastic caps that protect the back-panel RCA and XLR
jacks. The L-509Z is beautiful to behold and pleasant to operate.
Sigmund suggested 200 hours of break-in for the L-509Z, and
he wasn’t kidding. It sounded confused and bloated on initial
hookup—I feared something was broken. But aer two weeks of
constant streaming, it had come into its own.
I experimented with the tone controls and found the ecacy of
the “Line Straight option,” which bypasses the tone controls, to be
mostly recording or whim dependent—not sure which. Generally,
activating Line Straight made music sound cleaner, better focused,
well organized, and orderly but perhaps a little rigid. With Line
Straight disengaged, music was less tidy and seemed to fill up the
room with sound more easily. I mostly stuck with Line Straight for
its exacting sonic signature.
Alongside Mono, Mute, Phase Reverse, and Subsonic, the L-509Z
oers Loudness, which increased low-end weight to a greater de-
gree than any ’80s era integrated I remember. Engaging Loudness
was like wrapping the music in a soggy wool sweater; I liked it, but
it made me break out in a rash. Increasing bass via the tone con-
trols didn’t achieve the same deep-in-a-sauna eect that the Loud-
ness feature did. Some of these controls are only on the handset.
two RCA inputs are on “original high rigidity terminals.” This is “a
design borrowed from our flagship C-900u/C-10X preamplifiers,”
according to Luxman USA head Je Sigmund. “These terminals
employ a special copper alloy with the conductivity equivalent to
copper and the hardness equivalent to brass. They also feature an
improved internal structure allowing for better contact with the
associated cable, as well as improved oversized termination points
where the 509Z’s internal wiring connects to the rear of the termi-
nal assembly.” Why use only two? On the inside of the rear panel,
they take up too much space.
Two preamp outputs and one power-amp input facilitate system
configuration including biamping. A classic Luxman hairline fin-
ish adorns the amplifier’s top panel. The supplied remote control
replicates the front-panel options, including power on.
To the lovely, CNC-cut top plate, Luxman adds “blaster-finished”
aluminum-alloy front and side panels and powder-coated steel bot-
tom and rear panels. Aluminum-alloy blaster finish, which is also
used on the remote, is the “same process used in camera finishes by
the likes of Nikon and Canon,” Pravel wrote.
Unlike many manufacturers that insist you download the
owner’s manual, Luxman included a copy, which, as Art Dudley
wrote in his April 2020 review of the Luxman CL-1000 preampli-
fier, “suggests a manufacturer who gives a shit about the customer
and who realizes that anyone who spends this much money on a
single audio product might be presumed to have more than a pass-
ing interest in how the thing works.”
2
2 This was Art’s last review.—Jim Austin
Reprinted from Stereophile magazine www.stereophile.com
Analog sources-
Digital sources
switch, Apple iPad mini.
Integrated amplifier
Preamplifier
Power amplifiers
Loudspeakers
Cables
Spirit II. Speaker: Analysis Plus Silver Apex Speaker, Auditorium
Accessories
-
bamboo chopping boards (under turntable, preamp, power, and
integrated amps), mahogany blocks (three to a stack) under
boards.
—Ken Micallef
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
systems—so well, in fact, that we found ourselves digging out old
records we hadn’t listened to for years and enjoying them for their
content as well as for their naturalness. … Summing up, then, we
would characterize the Spendor BC-1 as a music lover’s speaker
system rather than an audiophile’s system.”
I wish he could have heard them with the Luxman.
The Luxman didn’t overcome the BC-1’s wooly bass, but as Holt
stated, music sounded live and natural; the Luxman driving the
Spendors was a natural fit, like Mingus’s bass with Dannie Rich-
mond’s drums. The duo made music feel good, eortless, and fun.
Records pulled me into a large, deep stage, liquid yet punchy and
large in scale. I could’ve listened to this jam all night.
That little speaker with the big voice, the GoldenEar BRX, also
sounded alive and liberated when driven by the L-509Z. The amp
paired smoothly with the speaker’s expressive folded-ribbon
tweeter and 6" mid/woofer, providing a luminous stage with dead-
center focus and an airy, ambient glow. Playing Coleman Hawkins
with the Red Garland Trio (LP, Prestige Swingville SVLP 2001), the
master tenor player sounded relaxed and airy, guttural and groov-
ing, the other trio positioned a step or two behind him on the stage.
The Luxman provided a swinging, happy gestalt that moved and
liberated this listener.
Conclusion
Some amplifiers make you work to understand their meaning and
message. Others shout their personalities like “Swiies” about
to see their heroine. The Luxman L-509Z never shouts, barks, or
begs. Its message is clarity, balance, coherence, seamlessness,
quietude, and a certain invisibility—in keeping, I believe, with a
Japanese audio aesthetic of delivering music artifact free, above
all else.
As Luxman’s evolving noise-suppression technologies make the
company’s amplifiers more silent, what is le behind is purity and
focus. The L-509Z builds on tradition without losing the plot. It’s
an exacting integrated amplifier with a good phono stage, a bevy
of control options, and plenty of power. The Japanese company’s
flagship integrated merits a “Sai-kōkyū” designation. We call it
Class A.
n
Listening
What immediately struck my ear, brain, and backside, to a degree
beyond other tubed or solid state amplifiers I’ve had in-house, was
the size and stability of the L-509Z’s presentation. L-509Z images
were large, dense, and spatially profound, presented within a
soundstage of considerable scale. The L-509Z recreated record-
ings with nearly life-sized portrayals of musicians, vocalists, and
the ambient space in which they were captured—all this in my
small listening room. The amp’s pure sonorities in the upper mids
through the treble captured my ears. This is an amp of brilliant pu-
rity and fluid communication. Its squeegee-clean top end allowed
cymbals, guitars, pianos, and percussion to resonate and commu-
nicate direct to my gut.
Recordings I know well, such as Miles Davis’s Miles in the Sky (L P,
Columbia CS 9628), trumpeter Matthew Halsall and the Gondwana
Orchestra’s Into Forever (LP, Gondwana Records GONDLP013), the
Horace Silver Quintet’s Finger Poppin’ (LP, Blue Note 4008), and
drummer Kendrick Scott’s Corridors (LP, Blue Note 4552189) were
presented in near-3D on a generous stage with munificent images.
In those respects, the Luxman outperformed other integrated
or separate amplifiers I’ve reviewed or had/have in house. My
reference PrimaLuna and Shindo Labs tubed electronics sounded
tonally sweeter; the Luxman inhabited my room as if it had won an
election and was implementing its own agenda.
Playing Ella Fitzgerald’s Ella Swings Lightly (Verve MGVS 64021)
using the Luxman’s own phono stage, I relished the delicacy of her
voice and responsiveness of the ensemble. Equally, my 1957 Lexing-
ton Ave press of Sonny Rollins’s Blue Note BLP 1542 (Sonny Rollins
Vol.1) sounded pungent, powerful, and barking-mad dynamic: I
defy any Tone Poet to sound this good. The Miles Davis Quintet’s
Workin’ (Prestige PRLP 7166) smacked me with its potency, pres-
ence, and transparency to the source, especially Paul Chambers’s
tractor-beam acoustic bass.
The L-509Z was beyond quiet, presumably due to Luxman’s
noise-suppressing technologies. Beyond its bass-to-midrange
neutrality and superpure, upper-tier clarity, the L-509Z had no
obvious signature. It was largely music and equipment agnostic.
It allowed recordings, whether from streaming or vinyl, to speak.
It did, however, provide a clear view of the accompanying equip-
ment, most of which does have a sonic identity and personality.
I was impressed with the Luxman phono stage. The tubed
Manley Chinook had a larger presentation and a more relaxed
and swinging sense of flow, but the Luxman stage had serious
clarity and drive.
Up to this point, I had done all my listening with the Volti Audio
Razz speakers, which, with their high sensitivity coupled with the
Luxman’s power, superbly charged bass-oriented instruments
with drive, and music in general with excellent space and depth,
providing consistent delight.
I pulled out the DeVore O/babies. They revealed the Luxman’s
purity. The DeVore’s explicit tweeter, though, requires careful
matching. I pushed them closer to the back wall. The resulting
sound was crystal-clear and graphic with a tight, solid low end.
Music didn’t bloom as with the best tube amps, but the L-509Z’s
presentation le no detail uncovered. The Luxman/DeVore combi-
nation was consistently engaging, with superhigh resolution and
excellent front-to-back layering.
Seeking synergy closer to that of the Luxman/Volti audio pair-
ing, I invited the venerable, tried-and-true Spendor BC-1s to my
even more venerable (circa-1860) tenement apartment.
In his October 1978 review of the Spendor BC-1, J. Gordon Holt
wrote, “Its assets include truly remarkable reproduction of depth
and superb imaging and scale. … Despite their manifest shortcom-
ings, these speakers can recreate the gestalt of live music like few
Reprinted from Stereophile magazine www.stereophile.com
