Luxman 700u-Series Differences -- More than Price?

To Doug Schneider,

I read your article on CES 2015 with the highest interest, as you can imagine. But there were reasons for me to collapse:

  1. I have to wait two months more for your article on the M-900u power amp!
  2. You found out so many new value-for-money hi-fi devices!

Especially, I noticed the new Luxman 700u series. I am not really surprised about the power amps as I had already examined the specs on Luxman’s site. However, I suppose that there remains some subtle differences between [the M-900u and M-700u] considering that the most recent lost 20 kilos. A strict diet? Indeed, I have the same question about the preamps, considering the respective specs and size of the new C-700u and C-900u (very few discernible differences).

Note that I finally paired my M-900u with the Gryphon Athena preamp, which deliver a very nice sound.

Kind regards,
Gilles
Belgium

I really have to apologize about the delay with the M-900u review, which I blame on a very deep review queue. But, as I said in that article you read, it’s coming!

The new Luxman C-700u ($9900) looks very similar to the C-900u ($19,900) on the outside, but I believe they’re quite different inside. The C-900u is a fully balanced design, but the C-700u has single-ended circuity (although it does have balanced inputs and outputs). That goes a long way to explain the difference in price, since a truly balanced design basically has double the parts, which must all be very carefully matched. It’s also not clear to me if the C-700u’s circuitry is influenced more by the C-900u or the C-600f, the latter being a few years old and with a retail price of $9000. Whatever the case, the C-700u might look a lot like a C-900u, but it’s definitely not the same. . . . Doug Schneider