Personal Pope: Luxman LV105 hybrid amplifier

Sunday, 19 January 2025

Luxman LV105 hybrid amplifier

An update for my HiFi system with this Luxman LV-105 hybrid amplifier with two 6CG7 triode tubes as preamplifier. The power amplification is done by mosfets. The LV-105's marriage of solid-state power and tube warmth made it a coveted choice among audiophiles seeking a harmonious blend of classic and modern sound technologies.

I connected it to the pre-out of the Maranz SR7300 AV receiver, as a separate amplifier for the two KEF R300 3-way stereo front speakers.

Three analog inputs are connected:

A. (phono)

The Fisher turntable with AudioTechnica AT-VM95ML cartrige and nude diamond microlinear stylus via the Phono MM input.

B. (tape 1)

I use the Marantz 7.1 surround amp. with the excellent Crystel 6-ch DAC for all digital inputs:

TV (55" Philips Ambilight) with Chromecast integrated (ZiggoGo, Filmnet, YouTube, Spotify, Radio) connected by toslink. (TV)
KODI: Raspberry Pi with HiFiBerry Digi+ module for playing my own music collection with Kodi, easy to operate by TV remote control.
An 4TB hard disk contains MP3, FLAC, DTS and Video files that are connected to this mini computer which is connected by HDMI to TV and toslink to receiver (cd).
Sony Blueray/DVD/SACD player connected by digital interlink cable and HDMI to TV (DVD).

The 6-channel power amp amplifies any DTS surround sound to the KEF surround speakers, the frontspeaker and LFE to the active subwoofer (Infinity). The HiFi stereo pre-out is connected via the Luxman to the KEF R300 3-way monitors.

C. (tape2)

The Logitech Bluetooth receiver connected the my iPad (or iPhone).

Conclusion:
Very smooth sound with good imaging and air. The instrument separation, deep soundstage and insanely clean noise floor continuously blow my mind ;-)