Lewis CaliburnNew from Luxman is the C-10X, the successor to the C-900u released in 2013, but in the form of a completely redesigned amplifier.
In the amplifier section, Luxman’s new LIFES amplification feedback engine, which was first adopted for the M-10X flagship power amplifier, is installed for the first time in a control amplifier.
Four fully-balanced preamplifier blocks, under completely identical operating conditions, achieve “pristine purity” and a natural, three-dimensional sound. Luxman’s original electronically controlled attenuator, LECUA, is directly connected to the preamplifier section, translating volume control operation into attenuation in fine increments of 0.5dB.
The rotary encoder system is driven by a stylish volume knob, with its built-in heavyweight damping mechanism, installed on the front panel. The C-10X is equipped with LECUA-EX, which reproduces the feel of traditional audio equipment, but with modern technology under the hood, and achieves smooth and tactile volume control, while thoroughly suppressing sound quality deterioration.
The exterior expresses a three-dimensional layering with a bold contrast between the authentic, blasted white finish front panel, inherited from the C-900u, and a fresh hairline finish top panel.
To attain its flagship pedigree, the C-10X control amplifier is a C-series model revision, the first in 10 years, with plenty of luxurious features unique to high-end products. As the perfect partner to the M-10X power amplifier, it is equipped with our latest LIFES amplification feedback engine and as a controller, it draws out peak performance from any power amplifier.
Since its founding, Luxman has developed numerous amplifier circuits in order to achieve the highest performance and musicality required of high-end audio amplifiers. ODNF (Only Distortion Negative Feedback) 1.0, which was first used in car audio amplifiers in 1999, achieved excellent static characteristics without feeding back the actual musical component of the audio signal to the main amplifier, providing natural distortion elimination, almost like a non-feedback equipped model.
As an epoch-making amplifier circuit that provides excellent sound quality, Luxman’s system has steadily evolved up to its final version, ODNF-u, which debuted in 2020. In 2021, in anticipation of the 100th anniversary, Luxman completed work on a new amplification feedback system, LIFES, which is installed in Luxman’s new flagship C-10X control amplifier.
The LIFES amplifier feedback engine greatly improves the static characteristics of the ODNF system and Luxman has made improvements to the differential amplifier that detects distortion in the signal. Various approaches were considered at the design stage and, by adopting an N-channel dual JFET with audio characteristics in the first stage of the differential amplifier, distortion detection accuracy was greatly improved.
In order to support delicate amplification operations that accurately convey all of the nuances in a music signal, the combination of a dual packaged control elements and improvements to the constant voltage circuitry contribute to stable operation, as did the adoption of US-made Zener diodes (Vishay), with the emphasis on audio quality.
The new, highly stable power supply is resistant to input and output load fluctuations, AC and DC gain variations and has excellent regulation performance that faithfully supports reproduction of the finest musical details.
For the purpose of stable operation, LIFES features four current mirror-type constant current circuits and dual transistors for each channel to thoroughly eliminate the effects of fluctuations in ambient temperature and power supply voltage in the listening room.
Furthermore, the temperature compensation of the current amplification stage combines a transistor and a thermistor to suppress bias fluctuations, improving the circuit for more stable operation.
A volume control function is essential for audio amplifiers and it is necessary to have a mechanism that smoothly attenuates the voltage while maintaining the quality of the input source in order to output audio at a level suitable for listening on a fixed gain power amplifier.
Luxman’s original LECUA is an electronically controlled attenuator system that switches independent, high-quality fixed resistor steps for each channel, arranged orderly on the circuit board according to the position of the volume control.
The C-10X combines a high-precision rotary encoder with a newly developed heavyweight rotation mechanism to complete the LECUA-EX system, achieving greater reliability and a natural, high-quality feel over 192 fine steps from 0 to 95.5dB. Increased volume knob rotation speed and long-pressing of the volume buttons on the remote control moderately accelerate the increase or decrease of the output level.
Combining Luxman’s original LECUA electronically controlled attenuator with a heavy rotary mechanism realises high-precision volume control over 192 steps of 0.5dB. The gain of the preamp circuitry that handles a wide dynamic range has been increased to 15dB, where its predecessor, the C-900u, was 12dB.
The Luxman C-10X preamplifier is available to order now at an RRP of £16,000 inc. VAT.
Luxman products are brought to Britain by IAG UK.