Luxman R-1050 receiver 1977-1980

Nakamichi OMS-7 cd player 1985

It has been awhile, but I have to write, I've  something to say...
I intended to review my Luxman R-1050 receiver by itself,  but I have to add the Nakamichi OM-7 CD player since they are a match made in Japan.  I tied the knot between them with Kimber Kables.  Speakers are Braun L1030's, connected with bulk speaker cable stamped with what appear to be its name "clear signal."  It was left over from my in wall surround sound install.  It's 14g, in a yellow sheath, and I added some Monster pin connectors.  For something basically generic, it is really quite good sounding.

Then I tried some Monster THX cable, both cable sets did great.  The reviews with vinyl are with the THX cables.

Luxman's R-1050 receiver is growing on me, I prefer a little more flash, a little modern fun.  But I am appreciating the classic beauty more each time I listen. The flashiest thing about the receiver would be the power meter display's red lights moving left to right.  There are 6 lights per channel, they each light up individually and stay lit as the power output increases and each turns off accordingly as the output declines.  Kind of eye catching, kind of flashy, like I say, its growing on me.  I adjusted the meters to hover about 2/3 of the way for the sound levels I usually listen at.

Luxman R-1050

She has 55 true watts for each of two channels at 8 Ohms, and considerable dynamic headroom. Yes, she has more than a pretty face.  When I want my music loud, very loud, she puts out.  I am not left wanting.

Luxmans R-1050's classic wood-look finish
These pretty ladies placed a quartet or the entire orchestra right there in front of me, and I was there.  They kept me smiling, it was nice, very nice.  She has two phono inputs, but I used a CD source for my listening tests because I wanted to try a variety of recordings with a minimum of fuss, and my turntable is not out of the shop yet.  I like the quality of the Nakamichi OMS-7, the solid feel of the controls, and the look of the unit.  It looks like it would go nicely next to the Nakamichi Dragon.  The Nakamichi OMS-7 is a solid, heavy unit, just like the Luxman R-1050.  And the beauty goes deep...

     Nakamichi OMS-7 another gift from Japan 

Single loader

This combination of components is Vintage by my definition.  The 70's and 80's produced this equipment, and when I listen through it, it makes me wish I was there.  It was an era when even small towns had an audio store or two.   I miss all those little shops, and the big ones too!  I miss the the sound rooms, show room floors full of individual complete systems, and the substantial amount of time a sales person would spend with you.  It is hard to find now.

Music from any era just blooms with this equipment, well, the good recordings do.  The OMS-7 will reproduce them well, not with exaggeration, not even implied emphasis.  She is pretty faithful to the recording, good recordings sound good, great sound great, and the not so good recordings are pretty obvious.   

The R-1050 has bass, treble, and balance controls, a subsonic/low filter, high filter, loudness button, and can accommodate two pair of speakers.  I would prefer she had a direct button to bypass tone and balance control circuits, but I have a feeling that the already great sound would be hard to improve on by doing so, but maybe it could.  I listened with bass and treble controls set to flat.  And I kept the loudness, and filter buttons settings on off.  

I enjoyed some CD's beginning with Supertramp's Crime of the Century, an A&M release.  Near the end of this posting I compare this CD to the MFSL LP version.  First the CD, voices are clear, shimmering detail is apparent, I hear things I may not have noticed before.  Staging is wide, moderate in height, very deep, and rock solid.  Dynamic passages were dramatic enough, but the opening notes of bloody well right only made me jump a little, gets me every time, but not as much this time.  That is the only criticism I can come up with for the musicality of these Luxury items.  I played back the opening notes with a little more volume and it helped, it got me a little more, but I felt less surprised than I felt I should be.

The Ames Quartet on the Dorian Sampler II CD was so beautiful, emotions welled up within, it sounded better than I ever heard it before.  And I have heard it alot, on quite a few fine pieces of equipment.  The piano was especially right, I have had difficulty finding the right combination of equipment to reproduce piano, this combo gets it right.  

I tried an easy listenin' hint of jazz CD album of Renee Olstead, some tracks are great examples of fine audio recording.  Awesome experience, lovely singing, vibrant instrumentation, and I feel like this equipment reveals all.  No disappointment.  I have heard this album countless times at work through headphones using an Aiwa portable CD player.  The detail through the Luxman, Nakamichi, Braun, and Kimbre Kable ensemble revealed things I never noticed before, they sounded lively, au natural.  The deep notes were well rounded, nicely forceful, and the highs were high.  The full mid-range was equally well presented.

Diana Krall's CD "When I look in your eyes" kept me saying "wow!"  Made me a fan.  The recordings are varied in tonality, many are emphasized in the upper range, not quite neutral enough for my preference, and they all seemed a little bass shy.  But the piano sounded quite good, cymbals, extensive drum feathering, and acoustic guitar done mostly with jazz styling's were all quite nuanced wonderfully.  If I was shopping for a sound system between stores back in the 80's, and this stereo with this album were demo'd I am certain I would keep coming back.  But, I would probably have waited until I could afford it, and am pretty sure it would've stayed on my bucket list awhile.  I am pragmatic enough to settle for less than first choice when it comes to stereo systems.  My mom would often tell me that I had champagne tastes on a beer budget, which was her way of telling me that I was largely on my own when it came to stereo shopping, so I should set my goals for the achievable.  My mom was awesome, she helped me appreciate classical music by taking me to concerts when I was a kid.  She often had public radio on playing classical music during drives to school, and yes, we commuted about 45 minutes each way, so I had some great exposure.  Not against my will either, I guess classical is in my genes, my grand dad was a moderately accomplished violinist and I hear he sang some opera too.  I remember getting to "fiddle around" with his violin when I was a kid.

Another disc from EMI I tried was Nigel Kennedy with the Berliner Philharmoniker "Vivaldi II".   The opening track bloomed large in front of me, an experience that is rare and wonderful.  The music is large and beautiful on this equipment.

Thorens TD-165 is out of the shop

Now for the Phono Section, it has room for two turntables, the cartridge is a Shure M97HE, the turntable is a Thorens TD-165 with a cable I got off e-Bay, sounds great!  I grounded it nicely, does ok for awhile without grounding but really it does need grounding.  I was surprised that the sound stage was so wide open, and with airy ambiance.  Quiet passages were very quiet without extraneous sound.  I tried Bob Dylan's "Slow Train Coming" LP which I decided is a poor choice for a system test, the nasal quality of the singing is Dylanesque, and for me is  not really appreciated.  The system did fine, but I did not feel the need to hear it again, not a short coming for the system though, it just played back what I gave it to play.  

Then the ultimate test, Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." on a double set LP of his "Greateest Hits & some that will be" release.   When the emotion is captured then I know this is right.  I was nearly there, I don't like to cry, and I was fighting it, so I think this receiver's phono stage is good enough.  Dynamics are spot on, nothing over or under stated.  It is quite neutral but lively when called for.  So, if judgment must be made, it is not disappointing, and it gets the job done.  I probably played it back 6 times, it just feels good.

Next I tried Supertramp's Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab  release, "Crime of the Century" on well played vinyl.  The depth of sound stage seemed even deeper, and perhaps wider than on CD.  Dynamics were a little less surprising on bloody well right...  Some aspects were more enjoyed on vinyl, specifically the tonal range was smoother, read nearly tube-like, and more notably the ambiant voices and such were clearer.  But overall the improved dynamics on cd contributed to an even more satisfying experience. 

I should put the Luxman R-1050 up against the more rare Concept 5.5 receiver's phono section as it is truly awesome, or later Luxmans like the RX102.  The Concept 5.5 is very tough competition.  But I am optimistic this Luxman will fare somewhat favorably.

Luxman RX-103 Receiver

                           Luxman RX-103 receiver

                                      Something to Smile about.


The RX receiver line was a bold departure from the more traditional, sedate, Luxman designs with predominantly champagne color schemes. Luxman's designers had been following a gently artistic retro feel for the range of its components, and this fit nicely in the high end audio salons where Luxman could only be found. It had long established a distinguished reputation for quality in sound, quality in construction, and aesthetically pleasing consistent designs.

Then Luxman seems to have found some balls when designing the RX line, and altered course to embrace the burgeoning "yuppy" market.  Boldly adopting a more glamorous, modernistic appearance, the look of the 80's. The  RX line left a long established design tradition of conservatively elegant though bland designs. Released  exclusively to the American market in 1982 and only to higher-end audio salons, it's modernistic even flashy features were met with mixed emotion. Traditional Luxman aficionado's were concerned that significant changes in appearance could signal unwelcome changes in sound and quality.  I would agree that the RX series did adjust the punch (attack) a little, thus accommodating New Wave's theme. But considerable heritage remained in its Duo-Beta genes. Panache did not compromise sound or build quality.

Luxman RX-103

What distinguishes the RX line visually from Luxman's preceding distinguished model "R" line including...
R-1120 @120watts/ch
R-1070 @75 watts/ch
R-1050 @55 watts/ch
and later distinguished models...
R117 @160 watts/ch
R115 @70 watts/ch
...was the brushed aluminum "suck face" servo controlled front panel, and the eye candy controls.  The RX series was Luxman's first foray into LCD displays for wattage meters and tuners.  Luxman had emphasized a tradition of classic simplicity for a lifetime. Now it was showcasing new technologies, embracing change, and this terrified it's more traditional high end clientele whose maxim in life seemed to be "boring is good."  But, new-traditionalists took to Luxman's face-lift gladly.   The RX line was a hit!

Oooh!  Pretty pretty lights!

I too was impressed with the large, colorfully illumined rectangular buttons when the RX line appeared.  Pretty pretty!  Regrettably I could not afford an RX component at the time.  That fascination with RX eye candy stuck with me for 30 years, so this receiver line stayed on my bucket list, more for the lights than the also cool "suck face". The RX-102 was the first RX I heard, loved it so much that I was thrilled when I could get a RX-103.  While I really love the pretty pretty lights, I have I am embarrassed a bit to admit I also have an affinity for the "suck face" too, but truly the lights have "it."

"Suck Face"

Does the RX line need to sound good when it looks so good?  No, it doesn't, it looks so good to me, that I would leave it in my line up just to look at it, well, maybe, but fortunately there is more to the RX line than its pretty face.  Yes, I am a sucker for a pretty face, but before you judge me harshly for my shallowness, or dismiss the RX line as just another pretty face, please "hear me out".

I still enjoy my Luxman R-1050, but this review is for the RX-103.  

I listened to CD's for this review on my NAD 5330 CD player, Braun L1030 speakers, and Monster 12 Gage speaker cables terminated and Monster interconnects.

I listened mostly to Supertramp's "Crime of the century" an A&M Records release on CD, for this review.  Also listened to a number of DEVO CD's, and a few of EMI's classical releases.  I hope to review the phono section of the RX-103 later when I have re-calibrated my turntable.

Wow, I have fulfilled another of my life goals!  Really!  Some splainin' first.

Back in 1981, my high school biology class took a field trip to Lake Tahoe and surrounding eco-systems.  On the way up Hwy 80 we stopped in Truckee or maybe Colfax, and while classmates were eating lunch I walked over to an audio shop. The shop had a nice sound room and when the proprietor asked if I would like to hear something, of course I said yes, so he put on a MFSL LP of Supertramp's "Crime of the Century."   The speakers were Braun L1030's powered by a Phillips Amp and Preamp, and either a Linn or SOTA turntable but not quite able to recall which.  But what I was sure about was the musical memory derived from that experience, and it was a life goal to reproduce that again.

We have arrived!  I have the Brauns now, and instead of the sedate Phillips duo I have the spirited Luxman RX-103.  I wish I had a Linn or SOTA, but for now, I have the NAD 5330 and the A&M CD release of Supertramp's Crime of the Centrury.  Such a deal!  The RX-103 had been warming up with classical music, and some 80's country albums while I went about my various activities.  When I was ready for serious listening, I put in Supertramp, turned it up, cued track two, and quickly assumed the listening position.

Bloody well right!  Wow!  The dynamics, solid attack, and musical punch put a big smile on my face.  The music was clear, it was spatial, the band was there, they arrived and set up in my living room, each where they belonged.  The sound stage wrapped widely around me.  The lead voice originated about 5 feet high front and center.  Despite considerable volume approaching the level of harmful, it just made my smile bigger... I was having a nostalgic flashback.  And it felt good.  I was there in that sound room, 35 years ago in Truckee.  Another life goal well met.

I listened to the whole album, and played much of it again, then I listened to 3 DEVO albums at embarrassingly loud volume levels.  It was glorious.  I had to ask myself, "but will classical sound good too?"  It did, in fact, the classical discs sounded better than I expected, melodic, cheerfully warm, and fully dynamic. This is the way it is supposed to be.  High highs, low lows, and a fabulous mid range.  Luxman anticipated the New Wave of  musical needs for the 80's and beyond, loving it.
Now I have to find a remote for the receiver, yes, it can be remote controlled.

I might try other speakers, but for now, the Braun's with this receiver are what I was looking for.