Luxman P-200

[Asr]

Didn't find an existing thread for this amp, so I thought I'd start one. I spent the last week listening to one I had on loan from TTVJ and compared it to the FET-A, also on loan.

The following is sort of my "mini-review" of the P200 to share my impressions. Disclaimer: these impressions are based on 6 days of listening, far from ideal. Normally I would've liked to spend at least a week per headphone which is what I've done in the past, so even I might disagree with my own impressions later. My opinions varied a few times during listening in fact and without enough time to confirm what I heard via repeated listening, take these impressions with an extremely small grain of salt.

Equipment used:

- Source: Plinius CD-101

- RCA interconnects: BPT IC-SL

- Headphones: AKG K701, Alessandro MS2i, Audio-Technica AD2000, Grado HF2 and HP1000, Sony SA5000 and Qualia 010

Music used:

- Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Raising Sand

- Alison Krauss & Union Station - New Favorite, Lonely Runs Both Ways

- Jane Monheit - Surrender

- Massive Attack - Mezzanine

- Orbital - The Middle of Nowhere

- Priscilla Ahn - A Good Day

- Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin'

- The Crystal Method - Community Service

To get right to the point, I thought both the P200 and FET-A are good amps, at least for the price. The P200 crushed the FET-A, enough that I thought it was the sonically superior amp. And at $650, the FET-A isn't a bad amp at all, but I did find some detractions that would make me hesitant to recommend it for everyone in every situation. I'll write more about the FET-A later in a different thread since I want to keep the subject here to the Luxman.

The P200's gain could probably be a little lower but I actually found it not that bad with the low-impedance headphones I used, as I got enough control to achieve just about any volume I wanted. Also it's worth noting the amp doesn't turn on immediately - it takes about 10 seconds to actually fully power up after the power button is pressed (the LED blips for a while as it turns on).

As far as sound quality, the Luxman was right up my alley. It was very fast and kept up with everything I threw at it. Strong, clear, & clean treble, in fact quite a noticeable contrast against the FET-A which didn't have as pronounced treble. The FET-A smeared over fast notes in comparison and failed to deliver some key details in the AKUS CDs, like vibrating strings and high-speed twangs.

The Luxman also separated & splitted musical elements from each other more distinctly than the FET-A, enough that each could be clearly discerned and located by ear (the FET-A had more of an "integrated" image). I felt the Luxman also had more of a "sharp focus" type of sonic image whereas the FET-A was a bit blurry - very good "crystal clear" sound on the Luxman, but some loss of distinction between musical elements on the FET-A. It also had more controlled and defined bass (the FET-A was a bit flabby and generic-sounding). Good strong, deep bass, though not too much mid-bass quantity (the FET-A was more of a mid-bass pounder).

I'd guess the Luxman might sound somewhat similar to a discrete HeadAmp amp but without a Gilmore Lite or GS-1 on hand, I can't say for certain. It had a similar type of sound compared to my AE-2 but I didn't directly compare the two, only going off of memory (the AE-2 has been my primary amp for the past several months). The Luxman did sound "flat/linear" compared to the FET-A which seemed to have a few colorations.

I listened for soundstage on every appropriate CD track but my impressions kept varying so I'll say nothing on the subject, other than that the Luxman seemed to do a proper job as far as width and size. For CDs that were recorded with studio acoustics, it did really feel like I was in the studio.

I also compared my Plinius CD-101 to my Arcam FMJ CD36 with the Luxman (using the Qualia 010) to check how well it could scale. Oh and it scaled all right, I could hear the clear sonic advantages of the Plinius over the Arcam. The soundstage was smaller on the Arcam and instruments were placed much closer too. Musical elements weren't as properly delineated on the Arcam and multiple concurrent voices/instruments weren't properly separated either. The Plinius also came across as edgier and quicker, and had clearer bass too (somewhat generic-sounding bass on the Arcam). Both CDPs are good though, and both conveyed the kinetic energy of AKUS properly, it's just that the Plinius sounded more detailed due to its faster speed and more separation. (Technical addendum: both the Plinius and Arcam output 2V, so I did not need to adjust the volume for compensation between the two. I also found that the two CDPs have the same remote control codes! I was able to use the Arcam remote on the Plinius and the Plinius remote on the Arcam!)

Overall I was impressed by the Luxman. For $1500 it's a very good amp that can scale with high-end sources and it didn't really have any major disadvantages that I could tell, other than perhaps a lack of authoritative low-bass power. It was actually a really good match for my low-impedance headphones from Audio-Technica, Alessandro, Grado, and Sony, and I would recommend it for those brands too.

The amp had a hard time driving the K701 though which leads me to not recommend it for use with high-impedance AKGs, Beyers, or Senns. The K701 lacked oomph with this amp, and when I turned up the volume to a very high level (past ear-safe volume), the bass started distorting and the frequency balance went wonky.

Pics: (click any for hi-res)

[riceboy]

Thanks for the review ASR. I haven't heard either, but do own the P-1. The P-1 for me did separated and split the musical elements from each other really, really good. I know someone mentioned before that they felt the P200 was about 85% of a P-1. Overall, thanks for the impressions and sharing them.

[veloaudio]

I'm trying to figure out my next amp purchase. Anymore impressions of the P-200?

[peanuthead]

I heard the P-200 at CanJam, and I thought it kind of "struggled" with the HD650 and HD800. Personally, I felt the FET-A drove the Senns with more authority. I did not listen to the P-200 with any other cans, however.

[Aimless1]

It was actually a really good match for my low-impedance headphones from Audio-Technica, Alessandro, Grado, and Sony, and I would recommend it for those brands too.

This is trule of the P1 as well. I have not heard Senns on it, but the P1 had difficulty driving the K501 properly. The ATs especially have been a good match with the P1 and would think the P-200 as well.

[Currawong]

That's interesting, as the P1 I tried was a nice match with HD-800s IMO.

[Asr]

I'm trying to figure out my next amp purchase. Anymore impressions of the P-200?

Not many have heard the P200 yet so you might be waiting a while. IIRC, IPodPJ didn't like it, but I did. Take from that what you will.

That's interesting, as the P1 I tried was a nice match with HD-800s IMO.

Well the P1 has twice the output power of the P200 at 1W vs 500mW (at 32 Ohms), so it should theoretically drive all headphones better including high-impedance ones.

[Voltron]

This is trule of the P1 as well. I have not heard Senns on it, but the P1 had difficulty driving the K501 properly. The ATs especially have been a good match with the P1 and would think the P-200 as well.

I don't think I have tried the K501s with the P-1 but the K701 is also hard to drive and it sounds fine from the P-1 to my limited recollection. I have also tried the K340 (Headphile'd) and it was certainly not playing to its highest level from the P-1. However, I have the HD600/650/800 and the P-1 handles all of them well and without straining. I don't really think the P-1 can be said to have trouble with high impedance cans or even favor low impedance even though I definitely like the way Grados and AD2Ks sound from it.

[n_maher]

I definitely like the way Grados and AD2Ks sound from it.

Whatever you say Pliny the Shill.

[morphsci]

So it seems that being a shill is the new FOTM, NTTAWWT.

[riceboy]

I don't think I have tried the K501s with the P-1 but the K701 is also hard to drive and it sounds fine from the P-1 to my limited recollection. I have also tried the K340 (Headphile'd) and it was certainly not playing to its highest level from the P-1. However, I have the HD600/650/800 and the P-1 handles all of them well and without straining. I don't really think the P-1 can be said to have trouble with high impedance cans or even favor low impedance even though I definitely like the way Grados and AD2Ks sound from it.

I agree with Al as I have a K701, K500 and K400 and the P1 drives them without a problem with a lot of volume swing left to play with. I also have a HD650 and HD800 and the P-1 handles them without straining as Voltron mentioned. I do like the way my HF-2s and RS-1s sound from the P-1 as well .

[veloaudio]

The P1 sounds nice but too much $$$.

Anyone seen a picture of the inside of the P200?

[Fungi]

Would a P-1 be fine for say, $800? The prices are going down in Japan since the P-1u is coming.

[Currawong]

I reckon a P-1 for $800 would be very damn good, excellent if you consider it's a brand-name amp and the premium one normally pays for that IMO.

I was in Best Denki (Best Electric) today where they have a proper headphone listening area (to go alongside their shithouse racked headphone area, which has an Esoteric and Yamaha CD players, as well as the AT amp and what I thought was a P-200 because of its size, but what turned out to be a P-1u. It was a great opportunity to try the SA-5000s, W5000s and other cans.

Since the staff (probably in fear of having to speak to a foreigner in English) completely ignored me, not that there are many around that floor, even on a Saturday, so I just traced the wire for the AD-2000s on the rack to the headphone distributor, pulled them out and took them to the listening table for a proper evaluation.

It was rather hard to evaluate well, as I felt that likely the Yamaha CD player and cables weren't good enough for my tastes, especially as most of the cans I tried were strong in the areas where any harshness is most noticeable: SA-5000s, W5000s, A2000X (very fucked-up sounding cans they are, seriously, and that's before one gets into fixing the fit, which requires serious wire bending), and AD-2000s.

OT for this thread, but my thoughts on what I tried: SA-5000s: Nice treble, needs more bass punch (rather like the new aluminium ATs in a way); W5000s sounded the least like an AT woody, ie: least dull; A2000X is just indescribable with tonality just all over the place, maybe something like if you go from HD-600s to 650s, but with all the gains in complete revsere -- more treble, less bass; AD-2000s: Remind me of HF-2s with bagels, but with strong mids instead of strong bass/mid-bass. Not really great descriptions, but that's what struck me most about each.

[riceboy]

Really cool pics. Thanks for posting them up as well as the impressions. I hope to get out to Japan one day.