Luxman L-570 Amplifier
Say 'integrated amplifier' and the image that immediately springs to mind is of something priced at £300 or less that offers good but not outstanding performance. Few integrated designs are built to a standard rather than a cost; most are aimed at those wanting an all-in-one amplifier that sounds okay, isn't too large, and is priced attractively.
The Luxman L-570 breaks the mould. It's an integrated amplifier aimed at the deep-pocketed few who want superb performance without the fuss of separate pre and power amps. And why not? Who says that a no-compromise amplifier has to be housed in separate boxes? With all the talk these days about short signal paths, the humble integrated has a definite head-start.
The fashion for separate pre/power amplifiers is in some ways a legacy from the days when valves ruled the roost. With problems of hum and heat it made sense to separate the low and high-level sections of an amplifier. It's harder to justify that today with transistorised designs, though ironically the L-570 - which operates in pure Class A - puts out more heat than most.
Luxman equipment is built in the way that classy Japanese hi-fi used to be back in the seventies. If your memory doesn't stretch that far you might be surprised by such build quality; it's certainly rare today. Most modern Japanese hi-fi is well-finished, but its beauty is little more than skin deep. With Luxman the knobs are of solid aluminium, like the thick front panel; you only have to lift the L-570 to know how solid it is.
The sound of this Luxman is extremely pure and natural. It's capable of delicate, finely detailed reproduction, there being an effortless quality about its music-making. It doesn't exactly lack fire or guts, but it isn't dramatic unless it's pushed hard. The sound is refined rather than aggressive, but has bite and presence by virtue of its excellent resolution. Bass is firm, full and round, with a nice bloom despite being tight and controlled.
In use the L-570 gets warm to the touch, but not dangerously so. But you will need to provide it with plenty of ventilation. There isn't much of a 'warm-up' time; the sound is good from the moment you switch on, even though it does improve a little after 20 minutes or so.
The stepped volume control gives varying degrees of increment according to position - in the centre of the control the amount is 2.5dB. This gives precise, repeatable volume settings, but at the expense of the fine resolution of a conventional volume control.
If, like me, you regard setting precise volume levels as a vital ingredient of getting a good sound, a gap of 2.5dB may be slightly coarse. At times I'd feel the need for a slight increase in volume but find the next increment a fraction too loud.
The L-570 doesn't have tone controls as such, but does offer a sort of brightness/darkness control that simultaneously lifts bass/cuts treble (or the opposite) to give subtle changes in tonal quality. For the best sound you should press the 'Direct' button which gives a cleaner, shorter path, avoiding the balance and tone control circuits.
The phono stage caters for both MC and MM cartridges, giving good LP sound. There is a set of balanced XLR line inputs too - though I'm told that Luxman is ambivalent about certain aspects of balanced operation and only provides unbalanced outputs on its flagship D500X's CD player. A mains polarity indicator allows you to check that everything is wired up correctly.
The L-570 proved very nice to live with: civilised, extremely transparent, and very clean. It has a way of presenting music in a fresh and honest manner, devoid of false drama. It's also subjectively powerful given its relatively modest output of just 50W per channel, though I'd not recommend the Luxman for playing loud rock through inefficient speakers.
In terms of absolute sound quality I wouldn't necessarily say that it's the best way to spend £3500, but you do get something rather impressive for your outlay. Few audiophile components are so lavishly crafted, and price cannot be related solely to performance. The Luxman L-570 is a de-luxe product with class in spades. Take my word, it's more than a litde special...
