Coinciding with a recent factory tour in Japan for local Australian Luxman dealers, two new products were unveiled highlighting the brand is still pushing forward despite an ever-changing Hi-Fi landscape.

Accompanying Luxman's Australian distributor's Managing Director, Jeremy Bouris of Audio Active, was Dave Prowse from Frank Prowse Hi-Fi (Perth), Nick Papas and Tony Stantzos from Audio Solutions (Sydney), and Kevin You from Class A Audio (Melbourne), all who proudly represent Luxman within their specialist outlets.

Australian dealers enjoying Japanese traditions and culture.

As Luxman celebrate their 90th year in manufacturing recently, Dave Prowse commented:

On first meeting some of the dedicated staff it becomes obvious why this company produces such phenomenal products. They have a passion for music and as a result this passion transfers to designing and building the very best products that they can, to eventually reproduce music in the home of their and our customers.

Seeing the way that the Luxman products are manufactured reinforces to me why this largely hand built product is gaining such a deserved following once again.

Dealers were given a first-hand presentation of the two Special Edition releases, including the CL-38u SE Valve Control Amplifier, and the MQ-88u SE Valve Stereo Amplifier.

In special commemoration of the 90th anniversary of Luxman, these two releases will only see 100 sets hand-crafted by the Japanese factory.

The CL-38u SE and the MQ-88u SE are a tribute to the original legendary Luxman amplifiers and combine LUXMAN’s traditional designs with a deep appreciation for music reproduction. The proprietary designs of the CL-38u SE and MQ-88u SE include a number of LUXMAN original custom made parts including the transformers and block capacitors.

Luxman say that while a simplistic circuit configuration has been implemented into the tube amplifier circuits to ensure tonal purity, each individual component has been evaluated for sonic performance through repeated and extensive listening tests.

With a respectful nod to the original CL-35 control amplifier developed in 1970, the new CL-38u SE has seen Luxman's R&D team pay special attention to the tonal quality of this “Special Edition”, with up graded ECC803 and ECC802 Slovakia JJ Electronics Tubes for what they say is unbeatable silky-smooth expression.

A Shunt Regulated Push Pull amplifier configuration operates in antiphase bringing extremely low output impedance throughout all gain stages and achieves a strong drivability to cope with the most awkward amplifier loads. It's equipped with a multi-function tone control and phono equaliser with four fully-fledged, MC cartridge step-up transformers.

Luxman say it is optimised for analogue record playback, with a three-stage treble / bass tone control. It's also equipped with a convenient switch for mono playback and lowcut switch to suppress unwanted low frequency vibrations from warped records.

It's also supplied with an aluminum remote control.

The Luxman CL-38u SE is available from December 2016 for $6999 RRP but with only 100 available worldwide, you'd likely want to be quick.

The MQ-88u SE Valve Stereo Amplifier is based upon the legendary and highly sought after MQ-60 stereo power amplifier. It utilises Slovakia JJ KT-88 power tubes configured in triode mode.

Luxman says:

With extensive research integrating new Slovakia JJ Electronics miniature vacuum tubes into the amplifier and oil condenser connections, circuit stability has been perfected ‒ above and beyond the original performance of the legendary MQ-60. As result, a much smoother tonal quality and powerful driving force can now be enjoyed.

With a push-pull circuit with triode connected JJ made KT88s the MQ-88u SE will deliver 2 x 25w (6 ohms) and 2 x 20w (4 ohms, 8 ohms) operating in pure Class A. The tube complement comprises 2 x ECC803, 2 x ECC802 and 4 x KT88.

The Luxman MQ-88u SE Valve Stereo Amplifier will also be available from December for $7,499 RRP in very limited quantities.

As brands with rich heritage and history in the HiFi world scramble to produce iPod docks, portable speakers and headphones, Japan's Luxman still has its roots firmly placed, remaining true to their source and their customers.

Dave Prowse continued:

Having visited other massive electronics factories over the years that are full of large machines picking up components and placing them on circuit boards, to see this operating being performed by hand and by a combination of dedicated Japanese men and women, was remarkable. The check and re-check of each individual circuit board before it sees an amplifier chassis shows the great care that every employee takes to produce an end result that they can all be proud of.

Jeremy Bouris also added:

While 80% of Luxman's total sales are in their own domestic market, the export market is expanding rapidly with a 15% growth last year alone. Australia’s part in this export growth has been significant and despite our very small population, we move between 4th and 5th on the export sales list.

As Audio Active, we're very proud to represent Luxman in Australia and it's quite evident by the recent sales increase that the reputation of this exceptional company will continue to grow in our home market.

Both Special Edition products are available to pre-order now. For your nearest Luxman dealer visit Audio Active.