My parents have an old 1982 (pre-alpine) luxman L-400 integrated amp. I know back in the day luxman was highly regarded, but is the sound better quality then some of today's mid-fi gear i.e my h/k 445? And if i stole it from my parent would it match well with the MA RS6's i am salivating after. (other consideration is B&W CM1's, don't have the cash for the CM7's)
to make an addition, and maybe ask an easier question, how does older i.e 80's gear (pioneer, luxman etc.) that you can pick up for relatively cheap compare to the new stuff, has technology changed that much? is there a huge difference?
In what way Jan? Styles have certainly changed (as they do). The way music is recorded and produced has changed too. Most everything is compressed all to hell these days.
Chris, the RS6's are pretty easy to drive to crazy levels. The Luxman would be up to the task I'm sure. Would it sound good? Who knows. It would be a fun experiment, though.
"In what way Jan? Styles have certainly changed (as they do)."
I would say "styles" have evolved out of one another. There are more "styles" of music today than there were 50 years ago but the musicians have for over one hundred years done nothing more than adapt what they care to take from one or more "styles" while co-opting their revisions into what we hear as a "new" style.
As Muddy Waters proclaimed forty years ago, "The Blues had a child and they named it Rock and Roll!"
I-IV-V with a turnaround beats at the heart of most modern Western music no matter the "style".
The point to my question would be whether the amplifier had a reptuation for "playing the music". If a component is designed to be true to the intent of the musicians and is capable of conveying the spirit of the music, it will be a worthy item no matter its age.
The question than becomes whether this specific example of that component is worth the effort it will take to make it a workable product with today's mating products. In my opinion refurbishing a 30 year old Pioneer receiver isn't worth the effort. We had a thread a while back where a few others (another forum actually) vehemently disagreed with ny opinion.
I would tell you refurbishing a vintage (real) Marantz or McIntosh power amplifier is well worth the effort assuming you have a reasonably good example to start with.
A Luxman integrated amp from 1982 was about the equivalent to a similar model Yamaha or Denon. I would see this as refurbishable if it has sentimental value. The task is not easy since Lux from 1982 doesn't exist as McIntosh from 1982 still does. Lux, Yamaha, Denon and so forth no longer back their vintage products. That makes any refurbishing effort a matter of too many times destroying another unit to make one half way good unit. If you don't want to do this, your effort is better spent elsewhere IMO.
OTOH, if this is what you have and this is what you can afford, then use it until it stops and then move on. The Lux will be the narrowing point in the hose if coupled with most of today's speakers.
Thanks for the great feedback, all. Jan, that makes sense, I had heard Luxman's reputation for being a good amp and its appeal to produce a smooth sound. Sounded appealing know my ears. the question was about the quality and that was answered well thank you, i'm just trying to get the best solution to fit my ears and exploring the most options