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From my time with the smaller L-550, I would differentiate the L590 A II as having rather superior bass control and dynamics as well as higher midrange accuracy. The comparison with my resident Vincent SV-238 wasn’t easy. While both are solid-state integrateds working entirely or partially in class A, they are also completely different designs and priced wildly different (even though the Vincent readily competes with far more blue-blooded challengers).


The Vincent is plug & play like a McIntosh, with a tube-like forgiving signature free of excess coloration. The Sino-German amplifier delivers good resolution with minimal fuss and a minimalist design whose only setting, except for the electronic potentiometer and balance, is the ground switch nearly hidden at the bottom of the back panel. The Luxman requires far more attention with setup but offers better linearity. Its perfect command of tempo and subjective energy seem unlimited. The various possible adjustments allow one to correct at least a few acoustic problems most listening rooms suffer. With the Vincent, your only option is to move the loudspeakers millimeter by millimeter to find the best spot.

The Luxman sounds composed and aristocratic but never too analytic. It leads one into the music much the same way as the Vincent but with more authority, better timbres and more elegance. The Luxman has superior control in the low frequencies with a perfect gradation of tone where the Vincent is rougher but nevertheless convincing - especially with rock and blues. The Vincent remains a solid performer in the treble which is well defined and always sweet. Having a more powerful transformer (1.500VA vs. 680) and higher reserves, the soundstage of the Vincent is far wider and the choices of suitable speakers broaden with its far higher output power. The Vincent obviously joins team Jaguar to lack the handling and responsiveness of the Luxman Lotus so the choice is definitely a question of taste.

It’s important to reiterate that the L-590 A II does not improve the recordings. For a more forgiving or editorializing amp, you best look elsewhere. In the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra’s first outing Maonin’, Chip Jackson’s bass line was punchy yet shaded. David Matthews's big band always modifies its pace and the Luxman tracked those time changes with outright joy. This kind of fragile and subtle groove which makes you think "that’s the way music should sound" now floated my listening room. The various timbres of the numerous wind instruments seemed spot-on and my right foot began to tap. The dynamical range of the recording (especially on the tracks with Dave Weckl on drums) was delivered with a high degree of realism.

Listening to Joel Frederiksen’s gorgeous deep voice in "The Elfin Knight", the variety accompanying timbres are quite amazing. The flute, percussion and bass viol are sensitively deployed while lutes and violin support the expressive bass voice of the singer. Percussive impacts were acute, the modulations in Frederiksen’s voice offering a vivid characterization of  various English folk songs served by high timbral distinctiveness.


Going to more exotic horizons with South African flügelhorn maestro Hugh Masekela‘s Hope album, the Luxman delivered wonderful warm atmosphere of this live recording. The heartfelt music became extra involving and the rhythms once again had verve. But more than this joyous attitude, the beautiful depth of colors and textures demonstrated the superb ability of this integrated amplifier to dig deep into the rightness of tones.
Listening to Passion, Grace and Fire of the Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia guitar trio, the Luxman did not cast the most striking and airy of soundstages. If timbres and speed were quite perfect, the soundstage was somewhat recessed over both my JLA Acoustique and McIntosh speakers. This criticism may not be definitive and I would recommend careful tuning between cables and loudspeakers to perfectly match the physical limitations of the L-590 A II’s power delivery. It’s not a Krell legacy monster. I should also mention that when just driving the monitor portion of the JLA solo, the sensation of lacing air completely disappeared.


Conclusion: This Luxman is a very good amplifier that will drive many loudspeakers but preferably above 3 ohms to get the full benefit from this machine. Under 3 ohms, I personally think the Accuphase E-450 would be a better choice if one’s interest is in remaining with Japanese transistor tradition. The various controls (tone and balance) allow finely calibrated tuning and one should definitely apply oneself here. The L-590 is no mere ‘as is’ proposition. I would ideally recommend this amp for speakers which share its vivid clarity.  Naturally this isn’t a perquisite but I’d personally would find it sad if one didn’t target speakers that could fully express this immediacy in reproducing the music. Here we no longer deal with gear of particular weaknesses or strong personalities.
This is a quite perfect design that produces rich tone colors, high transparency, impressive dynamics and control over the entire bandwidth. And yes, transparent fast speakers would seem ideal mates. There is nowhere to hide and one needs quality partners to hear this machine at its best. I personally would also consider a valve CD player like the EAR Acute but it is definitely a matter of taste.



The Luxman pure class A integrated amplifier is a strong value upon which to build an efficient system with an outstanding balance between musicality and neutrality. Like most high-end products, you have to pay attention to details.


Certain ‘harmless’ mistakes like electrical phase inversion are immediately punished with a significant impact on the sound. That’s the cost of perfection. And let’s not forget that Luxman's sophisticated tone controls allow tweaking with a high level of precision. If one were looking for an integrated amplifier to keep company with for many years even while the remainder of the system still undergoes improvements, the Luxman L-590 A-II would be a very prestigious and desirable solution to consider.
 

Quality of packing: Extremely good.
Reusability of packing: Several times without any problems.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: Very easy.
Condition of component received: Flawless.
Completeness of delivery: Remote control and Japanese manual.
Quality of owner's manual: An English version would be nice.
Website comments:  Complete.
Human interactions: French distributor always responsive and helpful.
Pricing:  High for a mere 30 watts but these are extremely refined class A watts. The price is comparable to equivalent Accuphase offerings but unfortunately reserved for a small community of well-to-do audiophiles.

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