Upgrade? Luxman M-900u and C-900u from Pass X250.8 - Simaudio Evolution P-8

Be careful with that huge WCSS thread.  Dude tries a lot of gear, but flips it so fast and has no frame of reference as he has had different rooms, speakers, yet compares past gear to new gear in completely different systems.  Plus, he looks to sell much as fast as he can get it.  Oh yeah, and FOLLOW the THREAD, closely.   Pretty clear to me at least ONE burner account used to pump his own thread up.  Not the first or last on this website.

Plus, some Top Gun Fan, Viper6 blows so much smoke in there he really hoses stuff up.  I can respect WCSS, guy has a blast trying new gear and posting it, yet needs to sell it.  The Viper dude comes off as a pompous know-it-all ass that gives opinion on gear he hasn't owned.

But, looking at his current room he has those massive Logans in a tiny room, with no dampening at all and a thermonuclear reactors worth of power to drive them.

Suppose if I had new high dollar speakers being delivered - I would start with the gear I know and ask myself - what would I like to change, and consider using gear that is tailored to do so.

Come on, a 10k amp vs 70k amp... are the parts, engineering, machining worth 60k more? (not that you are looking at that expensive of stuff)

Pass labs make a darn fine, musical, powerful amp.   It's not some soft-ass warmed up thing.  I would say leans towards the midrange, and maybe a bit of pleasing distortion voiced in.  But it's not some rolled off conrad johnson or older Mac gear.

The Sim you have - that is about as neutral as a pre-amp can be.  

Good luck.  I have viewing that huge thread for entertainment, but as a hard core review tool - I'll trust my ears.

I own 2 Pass Lab amps X250 and X 260.5 Mono blocks,sound and build quality exceptionally. Also service from Pass Labs is great. Have not heard many people say anything about Luxman build quality or service. I have heard horror stories about Macintosh certified repair centers.To the point of the unit being sent back in worse shape than it was sent out

I had a C900f and now have an ARC Ref 6. I would never go back to Luxman. It is refined but way too soft and dull IMHO. I know it's all system dependent and YMMV but I find Pass (had 250.5 amp) and ARC much more transparent and 'accurate'. In term of resell value, I had a hard time selling it on used market and had to swallow a big drop in price. I have been very disappointed since prior to buying my Luxman preamp I had heard only good things about them. My dealer is no longer selling their products.

From a support standpoint, I had to contact Luxman for technical questions and despite many attempts to talk to them, I never got an answer. I heard similar complaints from dealers selling Luxman products. So it's only my -poor- experience dealing with them and others may have better stories to share but clearly I doubt it's the level of service you get from brands like Bryston or Pass Labs.

My 2 cents

 

Guyl, thank you for informative and honest post. Based on the hype I bought Luxman 509x and it sounded like hifi device in my system, yes refined, but dull and strained at higher volumes. I went back to pass (pass int-250) and now I hear music. I think some people on  different forums pushing Luxman a lot. Granted I did not hear their separates but will not buy at this level anything without audition in my system or trusted dealer.

trudat
Great info.
Thank you

UPDATE:

So my new Magico S5 MK II Speakers that I ordered on November 11, 2018 were delivered and installed in my room 3 days ago and I am psyched.

I never ordered speakers brand new and had them made for me before this way just like I want them so the wait was not fun but the idea and process sure was.

They sound totally different then original S5 which is kind of odd. They look similar but sound nothing like the originals. They have totally different drivers, cables, crossovers and the cabinet looks similar but is totally different so I guess it makes sense but I was thinking more of a evolutionary sound then a totally different sound but they are nothing like the old ones. Still burning them in and will be for the next month or so but they are awesome and I am psyched. 

For the amp choice I decided to go with Pass Labs XA160.8 Mono-blocks because I love the Pass sound and the company so hopefully they are just a nice upgrade from Pass X250.8.

I appreciate the info and help on this thread.