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Luxman 3045


gto6

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Anybody have experience with these mono blocks. I'm looking into monoblock tube amps for my khorns. The Luxmans were highly recommended in the 1000.00-1300.00 range. I have an SS amp with Khorns right now and would like to try something different.

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Mark,

A very good friend of mine has '73 Horns and drives them with a Luxman amp and pre-amp,both SS.They are '82 or '83 and has had them since new.They sound great and the ones you are looking into would most likely sound excellent.

Luxman is a great name in stereo,but dropped out of the American market.

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Thanx for the replies. Guy, most of the 3045's have been converted to EL34's or 6550's. The pair I was looking at had the 6550's. I spoke to a sales rep. at Audio Classics who said, "sometime ago they were given 1 good review and that took off like wild fire." His personal opinion was not favorable. I think I've narrowed it down to 2. Either the McIntosh MC225's or the MC30 monoblocks.

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As between the MC-30s and the MC-225s: the 30s, which use 6L6 output tubes, will provide the "gutsier" sound, at perhaps the price of a slight roll-off on the top end, with consequent lessening of some of the ultra-fine details in the sound. The 225s use 7591 output tubes which, until relatively recently, were almost imposible to replace. I have heard it said that they are beginning to be a little more available now. Many consider the 225 to be the finest sounding Mac stereo amp. All of the ultra-fine details are there, at perhaps the price of a slight decrease in bass power ("oomph!"). The least "Mac" sounding of all the Mac amps. Also, because they are stereo amps, a pair of 225s offers the possibility of simultaneous bi-amping/bi-wiring. Both of these amps, the 30s and the 225s, are worthy contenders for a place in your system. Good luck!

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As between the MC-30s and the MC-225s: the 30s, which use 6L6 output tubes, will provide the "gutsier" sound, at perhaps the price of a slight roll-off on the top end, with consequent lessening of some of the ultra-fine details in the sound. The 225s use 7591 output tubes which, until relatively recently, were almost imposible to replace. I have heard it said that they are beginning to be a little more available now. Many consider the 225 to be the finest sounding Mac stereo amp. All of the ultra-fine details are there, at perhaps the price of a slight decrease in bass power ("oomph!"). The least "Mac" sounding of all the Mac amps. Also, because they are stereo amps, a pair of 225s offers the possibility of simultaneous bi-amping/bi-wiring. Both of these amps, the 30s and the 225s, are worthy contenders for a place in your system. Good luck!

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Meclaw.......I found an mc225 for a real good price BUT.......the tubes are not matched. Does that just mean that he has more than one manufacturer/model of tubes in the amp? I'm new to tubes. Roughly, what the cost of retubing the entire mc225 with top of the line tubes be. I have also located a pair of mc30 monos. They are from the late 50's and have had the caps replaced with MIT's. I listen mostly to progressive rock, fusion and the blues". Based on what you said, the 30's have more "umpf", would the MIT caps help in the detailed areas the 30's are lacking compared to the 225's?

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Usually modified Mac/Marantz gear worth less for collectors and you should buy it cheaper.Soundwise mit multicaps tend to harden the sound as I experienced with my 8B after replacing some old capacitors with modern ones it became thin and hard sounding so I recommend audition in your own system if possible.

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Guy...thanks for the input. Older Khorns get there xover caps changed all the time and from what I've read on the BB, it makes a world of difference, for the better. Wouldn't that carry over to amps as well? Would different caps like solens help take the hard edge out?

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gto6

have you listened to the units on your big old horns yet?

you may not find any harshness, but you may find scratchy background noise with an old tube amp - then take it from there with the changes you have to make

also, do you have a SS powered sub-woofer?

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Colin...unfortunately, I'm about 500 miles away from them, so I probably won't be able to demo with my horns. I'll have to ask allot of questions, to understand as best I can what I'm getting into, buy them, use for awhile to see if it's what I'm looking for, then if all else fails I can always auction them off and get my cash back.......as far as the sub goes, I use a REL storm III. I'll have an extra 225 watt Carver amp that I can use for a sub too, or just put it away for a rainy day project.

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Hi! Ill try to answer your questions as best I can.

1. That the tubes are described as unmatched may mean that they are from different manufacturers, or they may be from the same manufacturer but have not been batch-tested to ensure that they have identical electrical characteristics. One often sees ads in audio magazines for matched pairs or matched quads of a given tube, selling for significantly more than 2 or 4 unmatched tubes would go for. Theoretically, a matched set of tubes has been tested electronically and certified that their electrical characteristics are identical, or nearly so. Theoretically, this is supposed to guarantee better sound. Personally, I have never bothered. I ust make sure that when I re-tube an amp, I replace all of the tubes at once, rather than in piecemeal fashion.

2. Unfortunately, I have had no personal experience with MITs, so I cannot comment except to say that published opinions in the audio press are widely divergent. Some swear BY them, others swear AT them!

3. Colins comment reminds me of something else. Mac amps generate more tube noise than most other tube amps. While you should not hear the sort of scratchiness that he describes - and if you do it means that something is wrong, usually one or more bad tubes, but sometimes failing passive components as well - when Mac tube amps are hooked up to K-Horns, with their 104db sensitivity, you hear a constant, low-level hissing sound, even without any input from source component. This has never been an issue for me as I have found that a soon as I start playing music, the low-level hiss is almost completely obscured by the music (except e.g. in the quiet moments of classical music). Given your stated preferences in music, this should not be an issue for you, but I wanted you to be aware of it so that when you hear it you wont think that something is wrong.

4. Given your stated preferences in music, IMHO you might be better served by the MC-30s. The gutsiest 30 watt amps you are ever likely to experience. Especially when driving K-horns, they sound more like 130 watt amps. Absolutely no lack of - how shall I say it - testicular fortitude!

Hope these comments help. Again, good luck!

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OOPS - I see that I missed a question. Cost of retubing. A pair of MC-30s should be retubed for $200 - $300 (maybe more if you go in for "ultra low noise" or "matched" tubes.) A single MC-225 - well, this is a bit of a wild card. Before the days when 7591 output tubes seemingly vanished from the face of the earth, I would tell you that $300 would easily cover the bill. But what you might pay for 7591s today is anyone's guess. Still, unless you get snookered by a real grafter, I don't see why you should pay more than $450 - $500 to retube an MC-225. But this is only a semi-educated guess; please don't take it to the bank!

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One more thought about the MC-30s. I would not be overly concerned about my prior comment regarding the slight roll-off on the top end. As you well know, being a K-Horn owner (as am I, and Belles, too!), the top end of the K-Horn is often criticized as being too "sharp" or "bright." You may find that the top-end of the MC-30 complements the Klipsch treble in a way that provides a more satisfying sound. Just a thought. And now I WILL go away, I promise!

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Thanks a bunch Meclaw and Mdeneen. I've been talking it up with different sources and all agree on the tube issue. I think the mono blocks will be right for my application. Now I'll be able to put a block on each khorn and mess around with good quality cables. Well, Its late, I just finished playing ice hockey and a storm is moving in. Good night folks, and I'll let you know how things go!

Thanks again!

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  • 3 weeks later...

goto6,

I've heard the Luxman 3045's on horns. They didn't put up a good fight against my mod'ed MC-30's. Resolution of complex material was quite poor in comparison. They ran hot too, and it appeared to eat tubes quickly. OTOH, a MAC can have good tubes even after 20 years of use. Of course re-bias pots should be added to the MC-30's if you want to keep tubes over such a period of time.

Just my observations at the time, and I never heard a tube mod'ed Luxman.

Ken

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