럭스만 튜너 명기 3 총사 (T-110 , T2/T-530 , T-03/T117)

이것 저것 귀찮으면, 럭스만의 튜너중 가장 유명한 주요 명기는제품 종류에 비하면 몇 가지 없다. 다음 세 가지 정도외에는 이베이에서 대부분 매우 싸게 거래되고 있음.

T01(=T-110) , T02(=T-530) , T03(=T-117) 이 보이면 바로 지를 것. 

1.아날로그 튜너 T-110 1.6 µV, 0.06% /    T-12 / 5T10 과 매우 유사함.

가격대비 선정하면, 단연 T-110. // 직거래 시세 25-30만원

2. 디지탈 튜너 T-530(=럭스만 T2) ,0.04%   (T117과 함께 베스트 모델!)

※ 럭스만의 아날로그 튜너(1979년) T-2 는 초저가 모델이므로 혼동 주의. 

**모델명이 T-2로 동일한 아날로그 튜너. 짝퉁 아닌 짝퉁.

3. 디지탈 튜너 T-03(=T-117) (1.5 µV sensitivity, 0.04% distortion) 스테레오파일 A등급 획득. 실질적인 T-530의 후속기. 

T-117은 미국판매용으로 디앰파시스는 한국과 같지만 120v

, t-03 220v 구입한 경우, 디앰파시스 변경 여부 확인.

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럭스만은 모델명이 체계적이지 않아, 난잡하므로 글을 잘 읽어보면 출시가격과 다르게 아주 싼 값에 잘 잡을 수 있는 것이 럭스만 모델이다.

2009년 6월 ebay 에서 정상품 거래가 기준으로 정상중고 시세를 책정했으며, 특이한 가격은 제외했다. ( We have posted updated eBay sale price data on this page through June, 2009; data for "as is" or damaged tuners, or otherwise unrepresentative auctions, may be excluded.)

저가형 아날로그 Luxman T-2 (1979, $375)  (디지털 튜너 T-2=T-530과  전혀다른 저가 모델)

The analog T-2 usually sells for $30-75 on eBay, with a recent low of $15 and a recent high of $106 for used ones, both in 3/08. A "new in box" T-2 went for $207, also in 3/08.

디지털 Luxman T-02 (=T-530/ 1986, $500) 유럽 출시 모델명 T-530 : eBay 거래가 : 인기품목으로 $55/245/258 .  1979년에 출시한 아날로그 튜너 T-02와 다른 모델이며,  감도가 좋고, 간편한 조작, 뛰어난 음질의 디지털 튜너로 알려져있다.  만듦새 질이 매우 좋고, 훌륭한 특징들과 성능을 가지고 있다.  CAT (Computer Analyzed Tuning) 시스템은 온쿄 T9090 의 APR 시스템처럼  자동으로 수신 변수를 조정한다.  1986년 스테레오파일 Class B 부여. (실질적인 후속기이자, 외관외 사양변화가 없는 T-3(=T117) 가 스테레오파일 Class A 를 받았음을 보면, T-02 가 Class B 라는 것은 의아하다는 평.

(더 자세한 리뷰==> http://adultkid.tistory.com/650 )

The European T-530 was identical to the T-02 listed above except for voltage settings and tuning increments for FM and AM. Our contributor Thomas reports, "The T-530 was sold in Europe from 1984 to 1988 and is a forerunner of the recommended T-03 [the international version of the T-117 - Editor]. The T-530 was sold with extra wooden enclosure, too. The T-530 features the LA-3390 MPX decoder and a discrete audiostage, and its build quality is higher compared to later Luxman gear." The T-530 can sell for anywhere from $55 (in 6/05) to $245 in 12/05 or $258 in 8/07 on eBay.

The T-02 (not to be confused with Luxman's analog T-2 from the 1970s) is reportedly a sensitive, excellent-sounding digital tuner with decent selectivity. Our contributor Lefty tells us, "Luxman also marketed the digital T-02 in Europe (and elsewhere?) as the T-530. I have service manuals for both the T-530 and T-02 and they are cosmetically identical, with only AC power selections and AM/FM frequency step options for the T-530.  This T-02 digital model is of a very high construction quality and has great features and performance.  My only complaint is that there is no battery save function for the memory, such that if you unplug the unit from the wall outlet you lose all your memory preselected stations." Our contributor Gaëtan points out that the memory of the T-02 and T-530 is actually supposed to be saved for 24 hours without power. Our contributor Peter B., who is impressed with the T-02's build quality, tells us that its "CAT" (computer analyzed tuning) system automatically adjusts reception parameters like the "APR" in Onkyo tuners like the T-9090 and T-9090II does. Our contributor PZ adds that the 7-segment signal meter doubles as a multipath meter. PZ finds the T-02's selectivity "as good as any in the narrow mode." The T-02 usually sells for $65-110 on eBay. 

 Luxman T-117 ( =T-03 )  ebay 거래가 : 390$/203$/237$ : 이베이에서도 희귀한 모델이고, 정상품일 경우 국내 직거래 시세 40만원 안팎.

1988, $600/orig $550  럭스만의 대표명기 디지털 튜너. T-530의 실질적인 후속/상급기지만 스펙이나 구조가 동일하다.

The T-03 is the international version of the T-117, identical except for its champagne gold front panel. See the T-117 writeup below for more information. The T-03 only shows up about once a year on eBay-U.S. ($390 in 8/05, $203 in 7/06, $237 in 7/08).

극도로 뛰어난 수신감도. 4gang / 4필터, 지금까지 들어본 최고 음질의 튜너라고 평함. 스테레오파일의 돈 스콧은 그의 레퍼런스인 산수이 TU-9900과 비교할만하다고 평함.

(An extremely sensitive and moderately selective digital tuner, the T-117 has 4 gangs and 4 filters and should be easy to modify for sharper selectivity. Don Scott's review in Stereophile called it "one of the best sounding tuners ever," comparable to his reference Sansui TU-9900. )

데논의 TU-767처럼 깨끗하고, 야마하 T-85에 필적할만큼 감도가 좋다. 그럼에도 두 튜너보다 사운드가 훨씬 뛰어나다. 그는 매그넘의 FT-101A이나 다이나랩 208 리시버보다 117의 사운드를 더 좋아한다.

(Our contributor Jerry says the T-117 "is as clean as the Denon TU-767 and has sensitivity at least on par with the Yamaha T-85, but its sound is much richer than those two. I like its [sound] better than the Magnum Dynalab FT-101A or the tuner in the Magnum Dynalab 208 receiver. It is one hell of a good sounding tuner." Another contributor says he prefers the sound of the T-117 to all other tuners he's owned, including the Mac MR 78, FT-101A and others. )

Our contributor Mark H. observes that the T-117 "has an awful lot of buttons and tiny switches on the front AND back of it, which made me glad I had quit drinking 20 years ago." One of the switches on the back panel enables the T-117 to tune in either 200 kHz or 25 kHz increments. 

Our contributor PZ reports: "According to the service manual that came with my unit, the T-117 has 4 versions. The L in 'T-117L' stands for longwave and it is sold in Germany. This is also called the SD model. Another model, EK, runs on the same European AC power and does not have LW. The Japanese JA model includes a TV tuner and runs on 100v AC. The UZ model is the US version of the EK model. In different markets, the T-117 is also known as the T-03 or T-03L. They came in either champagne gold or black finish." The T-117 can sell for anywhere from $200-400 on eBay, with $250-300 being most common. See how one T-117 sounded compared to other top tuners on our Shootouts page. [JR]

Luxman T-1 (1980, photo) search eBay

The T-1 usually sells for $20-35 on eBay.

Luxman T-110 (a/k/a T-110U) (1976, $545, photo) 럭스만의 아날로그 인기모델

Our panelist Jim says the FM-only T-110 was his favorite Luxman tuner, although he was not a big fan of "Luxmen" in general. Our panelist Bob agrees: "My assessment was that the 5-gang T-110 was the only Luxman worth looking at as well. Very overpriced it appears. Their later stuff was absolute dreck, comparable to any other crappy black tuner." Our contributor Mark H. says: "The T-110 is the best FM I've ever heard. In [my] area, even with a rooftop antenna, selectivity and rejection are non-issues, and the T-110 locks on and sounds great. Our T-117 was *never* this good, which I still suspect says more about our local stations than it does about the tuner. Music and voice both sound great on the T-110." Our contributor Pete G. says, "One thing I have noticed about this model is that it seems to hold its RF alignment fairly well. One of the reasons is because, instead of using compression trimmers on the main tuning cap the way many tuners do, this unit has relatively high quality ceramic trimmer caps. These are similar to the types of trimmer caps that you see in test equipment."

TIC tested our friend Kevin's T-110, which sounds OK and has a nice wooden cabinet, but its sensitivity is just average and adjacent channel selectivity is surprisingly poor. Overall, we expected more from a self-proclaimed "ultimate high fidelity stereo component." The T-110's front panel crosses the line where "minimalist" turns to "boring," with just a power button, mono/stereo and muting on/off buttons, a tiny stereo light and a large tuning knob. There is much more of interest on the back panel, including fixed and variable outputs, an attenuator switch for strong signals, a 75 µS/25 µS de-emphasis switch, scope outputs, and what appears to be a quadraphonic output (marked "4ch. decoder"). Kevin's unit says T-110 on the front panel and T-110U on the back. Inside is also rather minimalist, with lots of empty space despite the small cabinet size. The T-110 has 5 gangs, one 3-pin ceramic filter and two sealed black filter blocks labeled "four pole linear phase filter 10.7MHz," so it would not be a good candidate for a filter mod (except for replacing that one ceramic). The T-110 has sold for as little as $75-100 on eBay, but $125-200 is more likely. [EF][JR]

Luxman T-4 (1978, $495, photo) search eBay

The T-4 can sell for almost any amount on eBay. One with some scratches went for just $13 in 10/05, and $25-50 is always possible. However. others have gone for $85-105, with one fetching $177 in 2/04 and a bizarre all-time high of $255 in 4/07.

Luxman T-12 (1977, $645, photo) ( ebay 시세 140$~255$)

FM 전용튜너인 T-12는 음색과 중저음이 약간 가볍다. 그러나 음악적이고 해상력은 1등급이다. (comment: 소위 빈티지 두툼한 튜너경향과는 다른 것으로 보임)

Our contributor Joe says that the FM-only T-12 "is a fabulous-sounding tuner. Timbral(음색/tone clolor) values and bass end are a bit light, but musical and spatial resolution are first rate. Reception is quite good."

 Our contributor PZ reported, "I opened up my T-12 and 5T10 and confirmed that they are essentially the same tuner. The T-12 was made first and Luxman just repacked it inside a bigger case than the 5T10 and made very minor changes. They have the same main board where the IF and audio circuits reside, and the same transformer, power supply and RF section. Only the CLL circuit board is different. The one in the T-12 is shielded and the one in the 5T10 is not. The 5T10 has the extra high blend feature. The rest is just cosmetic differences." 

However, our contributor Hank A. notes that the T-12 has a 5-gang tuning capacitor, whereas the 5T10 had 7 gangs. 

럭스만의 Accutouch 시스템은 산수이 TU-719/919의 쿼츠락기능과 비슷하다.

Hank adds that Luxman's "Accutouch System" functions like the quartz lock in such tuners as the Sansui TU-719 and TU-919 but, unlike Sansui, "Luxman had sense enough to make it defeatable." 

Our contributor doug says, "I owned a T-12; yes, they're nice sounding, yes they're nice looking, yes, they're rare. I sold mine because I was not overwhelmed by the sound - it is comparable to any number of other top tuners. I found it to be a hair off in detail, which kept it from being up there with the very best, but the main detraction, for me, was its only so-so sensitivity - it seemed to be less immune to noise on stations relatively easy to receive, compared to most other tuners I had. But, I never had it serviced." The T-12 has front-panel switches for recording tone, multipath check, signal-strength indicator, mono/stereo, IF bandwidth (wide/narrow), muting on/off, quartz lock release, and tuning lock release. The T-12 usually sells for $140-255 on eBay, with an all-time low of $75 in 7/06.

Luxman T-14 (1981, $800, photo) search eBay

Our panelist Jim provides some quick facts on the FM-only T-14: "It's, I guess you would say, global. You can rework the transformer inside for 100, 120, or 220 volts and change the de-emphasis between 75 µS and 50 µS. The audio op-amp is a 5532. Four ceramic filters. There is easy access to both sides of the board for upgrades. Fixed and variable outputs. Level control on the rear panel. Defeatable muting level control on the front." Our contributor Greg says, "I just got the Luxman T-14, and I would say it is a pretty nice-sounding tuner. The bass gives up a little richness to the [Accuphase] T-100 I had, but all in all, I would say that it is a pretty good performer, and the sound is surprisingly refined and rich to boot." The T-14 is seen on eBay only once a year or even less. It used to sell for $165-180, with a high of $297 in 8/02, but one went for just $50 in 4/08.

Luxman T-33 (1976, photo) search eBay

The rare T-33 usually sells for $30-60 on eBay, with a strange high of $127 in 8/05.

Luxman T-34 search eBay

The T-34 is extremely rare on eBay. One sold for $23 in 11/03.

Luxman T-50A search eBay

There's a page on the very rare T-50A at The Vintage Knob, and our contributor PZ discusses it on the PZ's Luxman Tuner History page. One T-50A sold for $125 on eBay in 3/03.

Luxman T-88V (1976, $345, photo) search eBay

The T-88V is a rather basic AM-FM tuner despite its very distinctive appearance. It has 4 gangs and 4 ceramic filters for FM, and 2 AM gangs. The only front-panel controls, other than the tuning knob and band selector knob, are a hi-blend switch and a muting off switch. On the rear are fixed and variable level outputs with a level control, and horizontal and vertical multipath output jacks for an oscilloscope. Here's Luxman's own description, as posted by an eBay seller: "LUXMAN'S NEW HIGH SENSITIVITY TUNER FRESH IN DESIGN PRESENTATION! The T88V is designed as a matching tuner to the L-80 series integrated amplifiers with a common concept of being refined yet economical. It incorporates all the useful features with a modern appearance. The FM section consists of a 4-gang tuning capacitor and FET RF amplifier circuits, inter-stage double tuning circuit, mixer circuit, and special oscillator circuit of low distortion. This results in excellent figures in such characteristics as high sensitivity, signal overload capability, various spurious responses and intermodulation distortion. Therefore impeccable quality reproduction of FM broadcasting is possible over a wide range of signal strengths. The IF amplifier employs 2 pairs of linear ceramic filters together with 2 transistors, and adoption of LC double tuning circuit, wide bandwidth discriminator transformer. A high gain IC makes it possible to obtain an improved phase relationship as well as excellent distortion and separation. In the MPX circuit the specially selected PLL IC is used, which automatically compensates for voltage and temperature drift etc. for many years without the need for re-alignment, so ensures good separation and low distortion. All above mentioned facts account for our meticulous care paid to overall improvement of reproduced tonal quality. Also a constant voltage supply circuit is provided at the power supply section to offer high stability against fluctuation of power supply voltage. Annexed accessories are FM high blend circuit, FM muting circuit, multipath detector and output level setter, etc. Among others the FM muting circuit is of electronic operation by means of transistor logic and FET analog audio muting, which is controlled by signal strength and accuracy of tuning centre ensuring a stable muting threshold irrespective of RF input strength, and at the same time eliminates thump noises at the time of ON/OFF operation of the muting switch. The AM section is composed by high quality variable capacitor with ceramic filter at the IF amplifier, and therefore excellent selectivity and faithful reproduction." The Vintage Knob has a page on the T-88V. The T-88V is fairly common but has sold for a wide range of prices on eBay: most often from $55-100, but as low as $15 in 12/04, $25 in 2/06 and $34 in 3/08, and recent highs of $175 in 12/08 and 5/09.

Luxman T-100 (1976, $250, photo) search eBay

The digital T-100 usually sells for $25-50 on eBay, with an inexplicable high of $100 in 10/07.

Luxman T-102 (1986, $330, photo) search eBay

The T-102 has wide and narrow IF bandwidth settings, a muting level control, and 20 memory presets. It usually sells for $40-70 on eBay, but two bidders ran up the price of a T-102 with a manual from $85 to $175 in 1/04.

Luxman T-105 (1984) search eBay

The scarce T-105 usually sells for $25-50 on eBay, with a low of $10 in 3/09.

Luxman T-111 (1988, $300, photo) search eBay

The FM-AM T-111 has 20 memory presets and automatically switches to hi-blend on weak signals. The T-111 usually sells for $30-60 on eBay, with lows of $11 in 2/06 and $15 in 7/08, but two silly bidders ran up the price of one to $142 in 4/04.

Luxman T-115 (1981, $500, photo) search eBay

The fairly common T-115 is a beautiful tuner with a rosewood finish and champagne-gold front panel. Its front panel looks like a blending of the analog T-110 (low-profile rosewood case) with the 1977 digital 5T50 (quarter-size round tuning button on the right, a row of presets below the display on the left). The T-115 had six mechanical presets for FM and six for AM, and variable muting but only a single IF bandwidth (i.e, no switchable wide/narrow IF). In back, some, if not all, T-115s have a PAL jack that will require a PAL to F antenna adapter for use with standard coax. Our contributor PZ comments, "Luxman was taken over by Alpine in the early '80s, and their cost-cutting ended the 'rosewood era' for good. The new T-117 became another black box with lots of buttons - like a Yamaha. The T-115 marked the last low-profile rosewood tuner made by the original Lux company at the beginning of the digital era." See how one T-115 sounded compared to many top tuners on our Shootouts page. The T-115 usually sells for $50-100 on eBay, with occasional lows of $35-40 and a recent high of $130 in 8/06. The all-time high is $232.[JR]

Luxman T-210 (photo) search eBay

Three T-210s sold on eBay for $50 in 12/02, $99 in 3/03 and $31 in 6/04. A T-210L (is this the same tuner?) sold for $60 in 11/03.

Luxman T-240 (1984, $200, photo) search eBay

The T-240 is an extremely common bottom-of-the-line tuner that we don't recommend, since so many better Luxman tuners can be purchased inexpensively on eBay, but hold the phone! Our panelist Ray kinda likes his: "Inside the T-240 I found a small sealed RF box that I'll guess has 4 varactor FM gangs. That's followed by two nice blue 230 kHz GDT filters. The detector is an LA1235 quadrature type and the MPX IC is a HA12016 that has feedback de-emphasis which calculates to 70 µS. The board has a blank provision for a 50/75 µS switch but the power transformer is single 120v primary. Tuning is only done in .2 MHz leaps but the tuner is surprisingly sensitive off a 30' wire. It seems to pull as hard as some of my big boys when on the bench. Plugged into my workbench system, which recently inherited a subwoofer thingy, it sounds pretty darn good. All told, I would say the bottom of Luxman's barrel ain't all that bad." Ray added some technical comments: "Stock it has a time constant of 68.5 µS with the expected shelf above 2 kHz of +.55 dB. On the bottom it's -0.10 at 40 Hz, -0.60 at 20 Hz and -2.1 at 10 Hz... not bad. The feedback deemphasis caps were .0015 µF so I put 100 pFs across each one. This brought the T.C. to 73 µS and the response leveled to +0.10 dB. This tuner must have good pilot filters as I see no impingement at 15 kHz, but a 19 kHz signal goes waaay South. Through my workbench system it now sounds virtually the same as my workhorse modded Technics ST-S707, and that ain't bad at all." Luxman's marketing materials list the following features: "FM/AM Digital Synthesized Tuning; High Energy PLL Circuit; Spectrum Front End AGC Circuit; High selectivity IF Filter; 16 FM/8 AM Station Preset Memory; Memory Scan; Preset Channel Display; FL Frequency Display; Memory Back-up Battery System; Up/Down Switch; Memory Store Switch; Muting/Mono Switch; FM/AM Change switch; Memory A/B Change Switch; 8 Preset Switch. The T-240 Tuner features Luxman's exclusive High Energy PLL Circuit as well as newly designed spectrum front end circuitry, which provides superb, stable, accurate tuning, good receiving qualities and an excellent signal-to-noise ratio." The T-240's specs are actually pretty good for a cheapie tuner: Usable sensitivity 10.3 dBf; 50 dB quieting sensitivity, mono, 13.7 dBf; alternate channel selectivity 80 dB; S/N ratio, stereo, 74 dB; stereo separation, 1 kHz, 50 dB; capture ratio 1.5 dB; IF and spurious response ratios, both 100 dB; stereo distortion at 65 dBf, 0.1%; frequency response 30 to 15 kHz +/- 0.5 dB. The T-240 very rarely sells for more than $40 on eBay, and one even went for $2.25 in 1/09. A "new old stock" T-240 went for $76 in 7/08, and two lunatics bid up the price of a garden-variety one from $25 to $202 in 3/09.

Luxman T-310 (a/k/a T-310U) (1976, $595, photo) search eBay

The scarce T-310 is a fairly sensitive 4-gang tuner that was one of Luxman's better models. It has an adjustable muting threshold and good sound overall, but our contributor John says its highs are not as extended as its bass. John also found the T-310's stereo separation to be comparable to that of the Kenwood KT-8300, but not as good as the Magnum FT-101 or Sansui TU-717. The T-310 also has a pretty good AM section, with 3 gangs for AM. The T-310 and T-310U usually sell for $100-130 on eBay, with a recent low of $53 in 12/07 and high of $157 in 7/07. The all-time high is $360 in 7/02. The cosmetically similar (and equally scarce) 4-gang T-300 (a/k/a T-300U) can sell for $60-120 on eBay. We don't know how similar the T-300 is to the T-310 electronically (our panelist Bob says there are "minor differences, one had Dolby - sold at the same time, but it appears the T-300 was first").

Luxman T-400 (1981, $300, photo)eBay 거래가 $40-70

The very common T-400 usually sells for $40-70 on eBay, but occasionally around $30 (with an all-time low of $16 in 1/08) or $130 (with an all-time high of $150 in 1/06).

Luxman T-450 (1982, $400, photo) eBay 거래가 $50-60

The very common T-450 is an FM-AM tuner with an attractive wood cabinet. It features an Acculock "Accurate Touch" tuning system that triggers a mechanical lock on the tuning knob when the exact center tuning point is found. The Acculock system can be defeated by a push button on the front panel. The T-450 often sells for $50-60 on eBay (with a low of $32 in 3/07), but up to $100-130 is not unusual. One went for $152 in 1/09 and particularly nice examples have occasionally gone for around $200.

Luxman T-550 (a/k/a T-550U) (1973, photo) search eBay

The T-550 (T-550U) has 4 FM gangs and 3 AM gangs. It can sell for $75-150 on eBay.

Luxman TP-117 (1988, $1,250, Stereo Review review) search eBay

The fairly common TP-117 tuner-preamp usually sells for $200-280 on eBay. Recent lows were $66 in 8/07 and $128 in 1/09, the recent high was $330 in 4/09, and the all-time high was a bizarre $456 in 1/04.

Luxman TX-101 (1982, $350, photo) search eBay

The TX-101, which has wide and narrow IF bandwidth settings, usually sells for just $25-40 on eBay, with a low of $10 in 6/06. The recent high was $91 in 5/08 and the all-time high was $132 in 1/07.

Luxman Z-503 (1980) search eBay

One Z-503 sold for $156 on eBay in 5/03.

Luxman 5T10 (1978, 7 gang) // 5gang 인 T-12와 거의 유사함.

드문 7-gang FM 전용 튜너로서, 이베이에서 1년에 1~2회 보인다. 보통 120~225$에 거래됨. T-12 와 비교한 것은 아래 T-12 부분 참조.

The rare 7-gang FM-only 5T10 shows up only once or twice a year on eBay, where it usually sells for $120-225. See the T-12 listing below for a comparison of that tuner and the 5T10.

Luxman 5T50 (1977, $1,595)

1977년 디지털 튜너는 매우 새로운 기술이여서 매우 비쌌을 것이다. 디지털 튜너로서 성능은 떨어졌다. The digital FM-only 5T50 was Luxman's priciest tuner, and our contributor PZ assumes it was so expensive mostly because "in 1977, digital was really state of the art. The 5T50 was one of the first digital tuners (see http://www.luxman.biz/history.html). It was part of Luxman's 'Laboratory Reference Series,' so it was probably built to higher standards than most consumer gear. The 5T50 should be a collector's item, even though it may not be better than a lot of later, cheaper digital tuners." Our panelist Bob reviewed a 5T50 and found it to be nothing special, aside from the no-longer-innovative technology. There's a great page on the Laboratory Reference Series, with a circuit description, photos and specs for the 5T50, at The Vintage Knob. The 5T50 used to sell for $300-350 on eBay but the last three seen went for $465 in 4/05, $202 in 7/05 and $152 in 1/06.

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PZ's Luxman Tuner History

럭스만 튜너는 메이저 브랜드중 가장 헷갈린다. 어떤 사람들은 럭스만을 고급 브랜드로 인지하고, 중고 입문레벨 모델에 기꺼이 지불한다. 럭스만의 모델 넘버링 체계가 이상하거나 없기 때문일 것이다. 럭스만은 일본시장에서 먼저 테스트 후, 결과가 좋은 모델들을 해외에 출시했고, 소개에 빠진 모델들은 재고 정리로 가격을 낮춰서 나중에 판매했다. 또한 우드 케이스 같은 장식이나 컬러변화와 같은 마이너 체인지모델에도 다른 모델번호를 붙여서 판매했다. 해외판매에서 연관성 없는 모델작명은 뛰어난 품질에도 불구하고, 아마도 럭스만이 망하는데(the demise of the company) 일조했을 것이다. 뒤집어 생각하면, 오늘날 득템할 수 있는 기회다.

Luxman tuners are probably the most confusing among the major brand names. Some people recognize Luxman as an upscale brand name and will pay dearly for a used entry-level model; others have been able to snatch a top-line classic for a song. Probably the biggest reason for this is Luxman's mysterious numbering system, or the lack of it, for their products. There is no simple way for interested buyers to know what they are buying today. The seller's hype and a few pictures are often all they have to go on; few magazine reviews can be found, and Bluebook data are full of mistakes. It appears that Luxman introduced the same model in different markets with different names in different years.  Luxman tested their products in Japan first. The better-received ones were offered to the distributors and left up to their choosing. A model rejected on its introduction was sometimes chosen later when Luxman lowered the price to clear their inventory. Minor cosmetic changes such as colors and wood cases were adjusted for the market and given different model numbers. The lack of a coherent global marketing strategy or a tight control of distributors probably contributed to the demise of the company despite the fine quality of their products. The flip side is that there are some great buying opportunities today.

To sort out what's what in the Luxman food chain, I put together a skeleton of the genealogy of Luxman tuners based on data from three key web sites:

· Luxman's own website lists the Japanese models.

· Audiogon lists the U.S. models. Their data appears to be based on the Orion Bluebook.

· AudioInvest lists the Scandanavian/European models. Their pre-1980 data were based on the Swedish HiFi Yearbook (Svenska HiFi Institutet) and the Danish HiFi Yearbook (Dansk HiFi Institut).

Pictures were collected from eBay listings and the Russian site Retroaudio. Some manuals were obtained from Sven Eiman in Sweden. AudioInvest provided additional information not listed on their website. Several other websites were used for cross-referencing, especially this Japanese website and Audiocircuit in Europe. Hans Hilberink's Luxman website has copies of sales brochures of many popular components.

Following a long history in amplifier and other audio components, Luxman began its venture into tuners in 1971. Their own website shows two models in 1971: the W717, priced at 35,000 yen, and the WL500 (photo) at 69,500 yen. These were followed in 1972 by the WL700 (photo) at 44,100 yen and WL550 (photo) at 49,500 yen. None of these appear in the Audiogon/Orion database, but AudioInvest lists them as 1974-76 models. The WL500 and WL550 are cosmetically identical.

The switch from the W prefix to T occurred in 1973 with the T-550 (photo), priced at 54,500 yen (1.8 µV sensitivity, 0.3% distortion). A picture of the T-550 can be seen on the Retroaudio site and it appears to be the same as the WL-500/550. This model is not listed on other U.S. and European sites.

The 1974 T-300 (photo) was clearly the big brother of the T-550, with improved sensitivity (1.7 uµ) and distortion (0.2%) and a higher price (79,500 yen). AudioInvest shows it as a 1976-77 model along with the T-310 (photo). The difference between the T-300 and T-310 was the obsolete Dolby FM option. Interestingly, the T-310 is not listed on Luxman's own site; instead, there is a T-300V dated 1976 with identical specs as the T-300 and a slightly higher price (83,500 yen). Most likely the T-300V in Japan is the same as the T-310 in Europe. On Audiogon/Orion, only the T-310 is shown as a 1976 model at $595. The T-300 was definitely sold in the U.S., probably for over $500. There was a little brother to the twins: the 1975 T-33 (photo), with 2.0 µV sensitivity and 0.3% distortion, was priced at 39,500 yen with a single S-meter. It's listed on AudioInvest as a 1976-78 model. Two additional models in Japan appeared to fit in between: the T-660 (1974, 49,800 yen) and T-550V (57,500 yen). Neither appears to have been sold outside the home market. This entire family were AM/FM models.

The first FM-only tuner, the T-110(하급기 T-33) (photo), came in 1975 at 96,000 yen. Along with the C1000/M6000 amps, it's highlighted by Luxman as their flagship trio. The T-110's key specs (1.6 µV, 0.06%) put it a notch above the T-300/310 twins. In terms of styling, the T-110 broke the old radio mold of the T-300, stretched it wide to 19" and squashed the height from 6" to 4.5". A new fashion of low profile was clearly on Luxman's mind. The T-110 came with a set of high-heeled boots - take off the boots and its height goes down to 4-1/8"!

T-110의 핵심 스펙(1.6 uV, 0.06%)는 T-300/310 쌍둥이보다 더 높은 등급(notch)에 있다. 디자인면에서 T-300의 구형 라디오 스타일을 깼고, 19인치로 넓게, 6~4인치 높이로 슬림하게 만들었다. 슬림한(low profile) 새로운 스타일은 정확히 럭스만 스타일이였다. 하이힐부츠 세트였던 T-110 이 부츠를 벗고, 4-1/8인치로 낮아진 것이다.

 Strangely, its U.S. price was only $525 in 1976, below that of the T-310. My theory is that the U.S. dealers fooled the buyers by renaming the T-300V to T-310 and pitched it as a better model than the T-110. The Dolby and the AM made that credible, if one didn't look at the specs and listen to the music. The T-110 was priced lower, apparently to compete with notable supertuners like the Kenwood 600T and Sansui TU-9900, both around $600.

 이상하게도 1976년 T-110의 미국 출시 가격은 T-310보다 낮은 $525 였다. 내 생각으론 미국의 딜러가 T-110 보다 좋은 모델로 포장하기 위해, T-300V 를 T-310으로 모델명을 변경하고, 소비자를 우롱한 듯 하다. 음악을 들어보지 않거나, 스펙을 보지 않았다면, 돌비와 AM이 추가된 것이 더 상위 모델이란 것을 믿게 했을 것이다. $600 가량의 유명한 슈퍼튜너인 켄우드 600T 와 산수이 TU-9900 과 경쟁하기 위해 T-110 의 가격은 더 낮았다.

The cross-breeding of the T-110 and the low-end T-33 resulted in the T-88V (1975, 54,500 yen, photo). It kept the boxy body of the T-33 and adopted the unique gray color dial face of the T-110, but without all the intricate designs. The T-88V's specs (2.0 µV and 0.3%) suggest that its performance was similar to the T-33, but its better look and extra meter might be the main reasons for the price difference. The same silver/gray/rosewood look proliferated to the popular R-1000 and R-3000 series of receivers. The Audiogon/Orion database has the T-88V as a 1976 model at $345. AudioInvest dates it 1977-78 in Europe. In the UK, it was priced at 116 pounds, compared to the T-33 at 110 pounds and the T-110 at 295 pounds. The Brits clearly loved the T-110.

T-88V : T-110의 하급기인 T-33을 모아서(cross-breeding: 이종 교배), 1975년에 T-88V 를 출시했다. T-88V 의 2.0uV , 0.3% 의 스펙은 T-110 보다는 하급기인 T-33에 가깝다는 걸 암시한다. 그러나, 디자인이 더 좋은 것이 가격차이의 이유일 것이다. 동일한 실버/회색/장미색 외관은 R-1000 과 R-3000 리시버 시리즈로 인기가 확산돼갔다. 영국에서는 T-33이 110파운드, T-110이 295 파운드임과 비교하여 T-88v 는 116 파운드였다. 영국인들은 정말 T-110 을 사랑했다.

High Fidelity's review of the T-110 was titled "A Tuner with a Mission." If that mission wasn't quite accomplished, the next two models in 1977 surely finished the job. The 5T50 FM-only tuner (photo1, photo2) was Luxman's first digital. The push-button presets and up/down frequency scanning in a low-profile chassis set the standard for all digital tuners to follow. Luxman's website shows that it was introduced in Japan in June 1977 with a whopping 220,000 yen price, second only to the 5M21 power amp's 240,000 yen in the prestigious Laboratory Reference Series (LRS) components. Strangely, Audiogon/Orion shows that the entire LRS appeared in the US in 1976, very unlikely. The 5T50 was priced above the 5M21 in the US: $1595 vs. $1295, although an old magazine ad shows the 5T50 priced at $1495. AudioInvest dates the 5T50 as a 1979-80 model, probably following a price reduction. Interestingly, Luxman's web site lists the model with a second date of January 1980. The distortion spec was mysteriously raised from 0.06% to 0.08%, while sensitivity remained unchanged at 1.7 µV. My guess is that the IF bandwidth was made narrower to improve selectivity on this one-bandwidth model, but it's only a guess. We need someone who knows Japanese to see if any explanation is given.

The second 1977 home run tuner was the analog T-12 (photo). Luxman designated the T-12 and its matching amps C-12/M-12 as the Laboratory Standard Series, a step below the LRS, but the performance of the T-12 actually surpassed the 5T50. It showed a complete rethinking of the analog tuner: the T-12 lowered the T-110's 4.5" height to 3.1", set a new low of the distortion spec at 0.05%, got rid of the center-tuning meter with its implementation of the closed-loop lock (CLL) circuit for the front end and the very slick Accutouch mechanical sensing of the tuning action, and adopted LEDs for the signal meter. It was also the first Luxman to offer a choice of wide/narrow IF bandwidth. Virtually every later Luxman analog was based on the T-12 concept, but none came close to its stunning look. It's not an overstatement to say that the T-12 was Luxman's crown jewel of analogs. It has the look of a fancy gold watch with a pearl-like textured dial face, which makes me wonder if they farmed out the design to Seiko. Its Japanese price of 96,000 yen equaled the T-110, but the U.S. price of $645 was higher, and justifiably so. Like the 5T50, Audiogon/Orion dates the T-12 as a 1976 model and AudioInvest lists it as a 1979-80 model. Luxman's website shows it with a second date of January 1980 but there is no change in specs.

A twin of the T-12 is the T-300X (December 1978, 98,000 yen, photo). Judging from the photo on Retroaudio, it is the T-12 in a rosewood case, which made it more conservative and bulky, and not as effective a presentation of a new concept. There is also a T-90 FM-only tuner on the Luxman web site (1977, 69,000 yen) that appeared in the same month as the T-12 (November 1977). It probably did not make it outside the home market.

The analog 5T10 (August 1978, 98,000 yen, photo) was a T-12 under the 5T50 skin. This late addition to the LRS was probably produced to meet the demand for a less costly tuner for LRS lovers. Though not as pretty as the T-12, the dial scale has an artistic touch that you would not expect from anything associated with a "laboratory." All its specs and features (with the exception of the hi-blend circuit with dual settings) are identical to those of the T-12. The 5T10 was priced just 2,000 yen higher than the T-12 in Japan. The much higher U.S. price ($795) was probably due to the rise of the yen against the US dollar and the premium of the established LRS image. Again, Audiogon/Orion lists the 5T10 as a 1976 model and AudioInvest has it as a 1979-80 model. It appears that when Orion didn't know when a Luxman tuner was made, they put down 1976. They have 8 totally different models listed for that year!

Things started to go downhill after the 5T10. October 1978 saw the introduction of the Studio Standard Series, a low-cost imitation of the LRS and LSS, achieved by simplifying the T-12 and repackaging it in a slim chassis with a silver finish. The big brother T-4 (58,000 yen, photo) has a 5-gang front end and all the operating features of the T-12, but the specs were weaker across the board (1.8 µV, 0.07%). It was the only one listed on Luxman's web site. AudioInvest shows the T-4 and T-2 (photo) as 1979-80 models. They both had the CLL/Accutouch tuning. A still lower model, the T-1 (photo), with 1.9 µV sensitivity and 0.15% distortion, was introduced in 1980 without the CLL/Accutouch. Orion's dates for the T-4 and T-2 (1980 and 1976) are probably wrong, but the prices ($495 and $375) seem about right. The T-1 is not listed, but was probably priced below $300. There is also a T-111 (not to be confused with the later black digital T-111) which looks identical to the T-1.

In parallel with the Studio Standard Series between 1979 and 1982 was a series of slim tuners in rosewood cases and entirely different names, just as the T-12 was put in a rosewood case and called the T-300X. The Luxman site shows three models, the T-50A (1979, 69,000 yen, photo), T-45A (1980, 39,800 yen), and T-400 (1982, 49,000 yen, photo). Among these the AudioInvest site lists only the T-50A, as a 1981-82 model, and the Orion has only the T-400 as a 1981 model ($300). The big brother T-50A has been spotted on eBay and so it was probably sold in the U.S. It has the same specs as the T-4 and most of the features of the T-12, including CLL/Accutouch tuning and wide/narrow IF bandwidths. They are likely to be similar or identical inside despite the different treatment of the front face. Both should be solid performers. The T-400 appears to be just the T-1 or T-111 in a rosewood case. Orion also shows a T-450 (1976 again? $400, photo) that often appears on eBay. It looks identical to the T-400 except for an extra button for variable muting threshold and the Acculock feature. The T-450 may be a variation of the T-2, by moving all the buttons from above the dial to below it. Sans the rosewood case, the T-450 was known as the T-112. Its specs (1.8 µV, 0.15%) were between the T-4/T-50A and T-1/T-400. AudioInvest lists the T-112 as a 1982-83 model. Two other tuners on the Luxman website with similar model numbers are the T-40A (1980, 49,800 yen) and T-40X (1981, 50,000 yen). The dimensions given show them to be about 5" high, atypical of Luxman in those years. They were probably not imported by overseas distributors. On the other hand, RetroAudio's website shows a picture of the T-40A and it's identical to the T-450, but this could be a mistake.

Luxman's first follow-ups to the digital 5T50 were the nearly identical-looking T-14 (photo) and T-115 (photo). The model numbers suggest that they were intended to be the digital updates of the analog T-12 and T-112 (a/k/a T-450). They have the basic layout of the 5T50 packaged in the slim rosewood case of the T-450. It is unclear why neither is listed on Luxman's website. Both were available outside the U.S. without the wood case, with a finish like the Studio Standard Series tuners. Despite the cosmetic similarity, there is a significant performance gap between the two. The spec sheets show that T-14's performance (1.8 µV, 0.08%) was below that of the T-12 but better than the T-4, and the T-115 (1.8 µV, 0.15%) was a bit better than the T-112. The T-14 has two IF bandwidths and the T-115 just one. AndioInvest lists them as 1982-83 models, while Audiogon/Orion has them as 1981 models priced at $800 and $500.

럭스만의 진짜 제 2 세대 디지털은 1982년 T-530이였다.

 The real second-generation digital was the T-530 (1982, 79,800 yen, photo). It set a new low for the distortion spec (0.04%), introduced the computer-analyzed tuning (CAT) system that chose the optimal settings for RF attenuation, IF bandwidth, CS filter (anti-birdie), and hi-blend circuit. 

The look of the tuner appears to have borrowed a page from Accuphase, with two polished side strips in champagne gold. It came standard in a rosewood finish, clearly not the work of the designer of the T-12 and 5T10. The T-530Z skipped the wood finish, and that model later became known as the T-02 (photo). The T-530 was listed as a 1983-85 model on AudioInvest, but was not listed on Audiogon/Orion. The T-02 was also listed on AudioInvest as a 1983-85 model, a member of a trio that included the C-02/M-02 amps. Curiously, none of them show up on Luxman's own website. Audiogon/Orion shows the T-02 priced at $500 in 1986. The T-530 and T-02 were clearly worthy products. Stereophile gave the T-02 a Class B rating in 1986, calling it the best Luxman tuner since the 5T10 in 1978, but the T-02 was actually several years old at that time and tuner technology had advanced over those years.

 Had the T-02 been reviewed when it was first designed, it probably would've earned a higher mark. I think the performance of the T-02 is very close to the T-03, which was rated class A in 1987, and I'm not sure why the T-02 was rated one step lower. 내 생각에 T-02 의 성능은 1987년에 A 등급을 받은 T-03과 매우 유사하다. T-02가 왜 한 단계 아래(B-Class) 등급을 받았는지 이유를 모르겠다.

A series of low-end models were concurrent with the T-530/T-02 between 1982 and 1985. These were named the Status/New Standard Series, and included as members the analog T-210 (photo), T-215 (photo), digital T-230 (photo) and T-240 (photo). None of them appear on Luxman's Japanese site. They were all housed in the same Accuphase-imitation T-02 chassis with the bright golden sides. Audiogon/Orion shows only the T-240 priced at $200 in 1984, perhaps a reduced clearance price due to Luxman's takeover by Alpine. RetroAudio's website shows a picture of the T-230 but refers to it as the T-400. This may be a mistake. There was also a short-lived Contemporary Series with just one model between 1983 and 1985: the TX-101 ($350, photo). Orion dates it 1982 and AudioInvest has 1984 as the year of introduction in Europe.

1982~1985년 사이에 T-530/T-02의 하급기 시리즈들(T-210, T-215, 디지털인 T-230과 T-240 )이 동시에 존재했다.  럭스만의 일본사이트에서는 이들을 볼 수 없다.

Luxman's Japanese site shows only two more tuners made after the Alpine take-over in 1984: the T-105 (1984, 44,800 yen) and the T-117 (1987, 59,800 yen, photo). They were priced at $420 and $600 in the U.S. The T-105 had an unusually mediocre distortion spec (0.15%) for a Luxman. It was clearly a commodity product made quickly to give the exotic LV-105 BRID amp a cosmetically matching black tuner. 

The 1987 T-117, however, was a serious comeback effort. It registered the best specs of all Luxmans (1.5 µV sensitivity, 0.04% distortion) and it was also the thinnest at 2.5". It earned a Class A rating from Stereophile. The return-to-glory gold version of the same tuner bears the T-03 name and was listed on AudioInvest as a 1986-87 model (photo).

1987년 T-117 은 중요한 컴백의 산물이였다. 모든 럭스만 튜너중 최고의 스펙(1.5uV, 0.04%) 에 등재됐다. 스테레오파일 A등급을 획득했따.

The Dark Ages: The transition to black finish in 1984 was followed by a series of tuners that do not appear on Luxman's own website, which suggests that they may have more to do with Alpine than with Luxman. The ones listed by Audiogon/Orion include the T-407 (1985, $600), T-100 (1986, $250, photo), T-102 (1986, $330, photo), T-111 (1988, $300, photo), T-7 (1989, $400) and T-353 (1995, $450). AudioInvest shows the T-100 and T-102 as 1986-87 models, but has no listings for the T-407, T-7 or T-353. They also show a black digital Z-503 tuner (1980-81, photo) that was not mentioned on the other websites. They also have the T-111 in 1983 as an analog model, which may be an entirely different tuner from the one listed on Orion. Other unidentified models include Audiocircuit's listings of 71/5T and 71/7T in 1973, and the undated T-11 and T-92. They also list a T-01 in 1980-82 and T-04 in 1979-80, which are probably just the T-1 and T-4.

This little bit of history shows that Luxman's milestone tuners were the analog T-110, T-12 (a/k/a T-300X) and 5T10, and the digital 5T50, T-530 (a/k/a T-02) and T-117 (a/k/a T-03). The first four of the bunch all appeared in the three-year period 1975-78, which were undoubtedly Luxman's golden years for tuners. Their most notable offspring in the following three years included the analog T-4 and T-50A and the digital T-14. The only significant tuner prior to the T-110 was the 1974 T-300/310. Before 1980, the top models all had a price above the 90,000 yen mark. The later T-530 and T-117, which had lower prices in yen, represented brief comeback efforts when the company was in disarray. They were competitive with other top tuners on the market in the mid-eighties. A number of other later digital models may be interesting, but no information can be found.

All of the top Luxman tuners had 5-gang front ends and a straightforward linear phase IF stage - nothing fancy compared to the best Japanese tuners made after 1977, when Luxman was at their best. Within that design, test reports show that they were able to achieve high sensitivity, low distortion, wide separation and flat frequency response. The spec sheets of the top models routinely gave distortion figures below 0.1% at 6 or 10 kHz in stereo, channel separation of 50 dB or so, and frequency response flat up to 17 kHz within 0.5 dB. The focus on audio quality meant putting selectivity in the back seat. The T-110's owner's manual spent two full pages on antennas and cables. One gets the idea that Luxman was telling the owner to get a clean station by using a good directional outdoor antenna and not by trading off audio quality with narrow filters. That's probably why they were relatively late in offering wide/narrow IF filter options and never went beyond two settings.

Next to audio quality, Luxman was unabashed in designing for the look and feel. The T-110 was a kind of mission statement. With only two tiny buttons on the front besides the power switch and the tuning knob, it is like saying "keep your fingers to yourself, just listen and look." Indeed, its look aspired to be an antique musical instrument and not a modern electronic widget. This "less is more" style was the company's theme in the mid-'70s. They had fewer buttons and knobs but introduced quite a few genuinely useful features: the blinking dial marker in the T-110, Accutouch in the T-12, seek/scan tuning in the 5T50, CAT in the T-530, and audible multipath detection and variable muting in several models. Each of these was aimed at getting the best reception with the least fiddling. In contrast, most companies adopt the opposite philosophy to keep the user's finger busy. Putting more knobs and switches on the front panel suggested that they had more sophisticated stuff inside the box. Some of the later Luxmans unfortunately seem to have followed that style.