Luxman vs. Accuphase

How about one of each? I am the original owner of an Accuphase E-202 vintage 1976 and I have a 1979 Luxman L-5 integrated amp I picked up from ther original owner when the Accuphase developed a problem. The Accuphase is a bigger, heavier piece (45lbs). One of the reasons I bought it was because it looked like it was built to last forever and it sounded great. The circuit boards are mounted vertically and are plugged in for easy removal if a repair is needed.

I intend to get the Accuphase fixed and sell them both since I listen exclusivly through a headphone tube amp these days. I will probably list them on Audiogon. After years of listening to both I would recommend either, with the nod going to the Accuphase due to sheer power and a very warm sound for a SS unit. Once fixed, it should be good for another 30 years.

Own an E 202 a P300 and C200 not even close Accuphase all the way You won't regret it

I owned a Luxman L-430 integrated w/matching champagne finish digital tuner in the early 80's. I thought it was the stuff then, running it with Infinity, JBL L-100T & Klipsch KG-4's. I think it was end of the decent Luxman gear I'm not sure....they may have begun their decent before the issue of these models. I thought it was the stuff then & agree with all the above about binding posts. I remember having a channel go out on me one time & taking it to a local repair shop & when I picked it up the technician said "man this thing is really built". Of course at that time he was mostly working on big hollow, light SS boxes, Beta vhs & TV's. My dad still uses it in his seldom used system today...

Between the two (L450 or E202), I would also go for the Accuphase - I think a better all-round amp originally. Given their age, the Luxman has probably lost all but utility value and while the Lux sounds "OK", I would agree with Photon46 that it's no stunner. If you can pick up these early 80s integrated amps at garage sales, you can get a stonking bargain sometimes but if you actually go out in the market to find one, the price could be high enough to put a lot of other more recent (and/or better?) used equipment into competition range.

When comparing more recent Accuphase and Luxman higher-end equipment (some or all of which does not make it to US shores), it is much more of an apples and oranges thing. Top-end Luxman from the past few years is competitive with the top SS amps out there (price is too).

I used a Luxman L430 integrated amp for several years and I still have it as a backup in case an amp or preamp goes down. The L430 is quite heavy, it's well made and the only thing that's ever failed are some of the numerous small light bulbs in the front panel. It's sound quality isn't bad, but it's no stunner either. It can be used as either a power amp or preamp with a flip of a switch on the back panel. It sounds considerably better in either of those modes than it does as an integrated. I'd go with the Accuphase myself.

Rod,
I still have my Luxman 450 ( and matching tuner) from my high school days. That piece spoiled my ears for anything the local federated group, etc was selling. I still have it in my garage and it is always musical and sweet sounding. And yes the binding posts pretty much only accept bare wire

I saw in the forum message you are looking at an Accuphase E-202. Don't know if you have one picked out or if you have already bought one, but just wanted to let you know I am looking at selling mine. I bought it from an Audiogon member back in December. He played it only at low volumes and did not realize it, but when I started using it at higher volumes the right channel clipped in a hurry. I took it to my local dealer who is a certified McIntosh repair facility and they went through it 100%. They replaced numerous capacitors and an output transistor among other things. In the end it tested at 128 Watts/Channel both channels driven into 8 Ohms and it sounds great. While it was being repaired I acquired other equipment and now it is a backup. I was going to post it on Audiogon but if you are interested please make an offer. I am flexible on cost, but the repairs cost $350 so I am trying to minimize the beating I take on it. Thanks, Jason.

i think i owned that luxman in college in early 80's. if so it finally gave up the ghost 2 yrs ago. fwiw it had a great 'tubey'? sound and put in a lot of hard use and never missed a beat. it drove small b&w's and jbl's mostly. silky smooth controls and toggle switches and bypass options etc. a friend had the bigger brother and had trouble driving his low impedence polks however. if this is the same amp i would highly recommend it but the binding posts were not the greatest. might be able to retrofit those tho. if it is not that older unit, please forgive my recall:)