Luxman A-312 Amplifier
One of contemporaries of political economy described his work table as follows, "There was complete disorder on it, but certain order was in this disorder". Exactly like the faceplate of the amplifier Luxman A-312. For the first sight, scattered buttons and handles of different forms and sizes make an impression of full chaos as if they were mixed like chips in dominoes. However, chips turned out to "be formed by the arm". Each handle is in its right place. The button input selector is bit higher, more accessible - it is used more often. By the way, it surprised us most of all. Firstly, not wholly, but only bottom of the button, is pressed. And this seemed to be comfortless. Secondly, the base of input selector turned out to be a mechanical switch key with dependent fixation: pressing the one, you hear flick of another, which goes back. This reminds about 20-years old devices, when such switch keys were in fashion. Now, of course, it becomes more comfortable (Japanese quality is felt by lightness of the pressing). Volume control is designed like in the most precise measuring instrument: numerous numbers are around the handle, judging by which the turning precision is of hundredth of a dB. Truly, the numbers show not the gain, that would seem to be natural, but the weakening relative to maximum volume.
On the back panel of Luxman A-312 usual warning surprised us: the impedance of connected speakers is given near the speakers terminals. For one pair of the speakers the impedance, judging by the inscription, is from 8 to 16 Ohms. And in the instruction the output power is declared not only for 8 Ohm, but for 4 and even 2 Ohm. That's why we made the measurements with load equivalent of 4 Ohm, but took 8 Ohm speaker while the listening. Luxman A-312 has inputs-outputs of the preamplifier. They connected by the jumper. If you take it away, you can connect external graphic equalizer or processor Dolby Pro Logic. There is a small switch key near the amplifier input, which shutdowns built-in vinyl player corrector and, by this way, transforms it into one more additional AUX-2. What can we connect to two additional inputs? For example, to the one - stereo output of TV or VTR, to another - computer audio card. Surely, it's not bad, when there is something additional, but this is on the assumption of having everything necessary... As for necessary, to our mind, there are lots of misses: loudness, and mute function, and the remote control.
Rating the vocal facts at low volume, the experts noted that bass in "Dinner at Woolfie's" (Toscho) sounded, as it should be, quite gruffish. But when the volume was increased, bass sounded like the strokes of a hammer, and electronic organ, being in the middle, slightly stretched to the left. This picture could be changed by balance handle, but we, so to speak, didn't use the additional regulators wittingly for cleanness of the experiment. Powerful and almost infra-low bass in "Two ships" (Miller Anderson), lost nothing in its power, didn't strike to the marrow for some reason, and guitar and vocal slightly missed. But then more quickly and elegant melodies were sent. Our amplifier turned out to like "Waltz of the Flowers" by Chaykovsky. What if more quickly? So, please, only for you - "Polka" by Straus. Oh, how the amplifier likes solo instruments! Luxman will put them in their right place and play all nuances with tints.
