Last Piece of the Jigsaw. Restek Concret? Err Luxman

[hiesteem]

Yes I would feel upset Myself Jon.
I could say more but am aware we are on an open forum
Consistency and support is key in any industry.
I don't know where I would go from here if Restek go under as my ears feel to comfortable with my system. Probably active ATC, but even then I would likely not be satisfied with the pre amps available.

 

[Rockchild]

Yes I would feel upset Myself Jon.
I could say more but am aware we are on an open forum
Consistency and support is key in any industry.
I don't know where I would go from here if Restek go under as my ears feel to comfortable with my system. Probably active ATC, but even then I would likely not be satisfied with the pre amps available.

I don’t think Restek will go under as they have a fully staffed latest model engineers but the support for the older models (the ones that actually built them) are few and far between. It’s the same as Mercedes AMG engines, built by one individual and signed on the top of the cover. Inside each older Restek, this is the same. I admire this but if someone is retiring, you do generally have enough notice to train someone else but in many businesses, they don’t forward think and then we have these problems. It’s the way of the world I’m afraid. Not so with Luxman. They even have an apprentice scheme and many 21 year old Japanese engineers are as good as the originals.

 

[DomT]

A sad tale Jon. Hopefully you will be able to sell it on and best of luck with buying a Luxman.

If it's any consolation in the vintage synth world that are tales that certain synth repairers have had people's synths for repair for years; in one case it was over ten years!

 

[hiesteem]

I don’t think Restek will go under as they have a fully staffed latest model engineers but the support for the older models (the ones that actually built them) are few and far between. It’s the same as Mercedes AMG engines, built by one individual and signed on the top of the cover. Inside each older Restek, this is the same. I admire this but if someone is retiring, you do generally have enough notice to train someone else but in many businesses, they don’t forward think and then we have these problems. It’s the way of the world I’m afraid. Not so with Luxman. They even have an apprentice scheme and many 21 year old Japanese engineers are as good as the originals.

This is good to hear Jon, at least from my perspective. I know you have a lot of experience in similar industries but I do wonder how supported I would be if I bought something of theirs from new.
It does seem something is lacking in the business model regarding support after purchase .
In fact I remember having this same conversation with the dealer in Worthing just before I purchased the concret and the fantasy.
His response was and I Quote. " it won't go wrong".
He was correct, the CDP didn't. Never failed in 25 years, more reliable than crabs in a Victorian brothel!

 

[hiesteem]

A sad tale Jon. Hopefully you will be able to sell it on and best of luck with buying a Luxman.

If it's any consolation in the vintage synth world that are tales that certain synth repairers have had people's synths for repair for years; in one case it was over ten years!

Yes agree, at the moment getting anything repaired is a long drawn out process. I gave my Restek intergrated to an engineer whose name was given to me by the original guy who was to busy.
This was June 2020 and it was February 2021 when completed. He had to source components from other countries and constantly do tests along the way.
It was his willingness to explain the process of continual testing and replacing components that I understand the difficulties.

 

[TIU]

I'll have a crack at it. I'll put some new pieces in but necessarily in the right order.

 

[macvisual]

I once had a lend of a (huge) pair of Restek Extent mono's in the early 90's -- wOw

 

[hiesteem]

I once had a lend of a (huge) pair of Restek Extent mono's in the early 90's -- wOw

Yes I know. When I heard them with their pre amp and for what is a reasonable price I began to believe how much of a rip off some other audio equipment can be, imo of course.

 

[antonio66]

They even have an apprentice scheme and many 21 year old Japanese engineers are as good as the originals.

Wow, how did you find that out?

 

[Rockchild]

Wow, how did you find that out?

I can’t remember tbh, I think it was an article about planning for the future. It wasn’t specifically on Hifi but in general. Having said that, Japan has always been pretty much ahead of the game in this regard.

 

[DomT]

Apprentice schemes in Japan go back four of five hundred years. It’s something that they take very seriously. Normally apprentice programmes in Japan last several years and some even longer.

 

[simon g]

Apprentice schemes in Japan go back four of five hundred years. It’s something that they take very seriously. Normally apprentice programmes in Japan last several years and some even longer.

Indeed. The below is an example of a proper apprenticeships. The Japanese outlook, in general, is very much the long term, unlike many western countries, the UK in particular, where short termism is the bane of all our lives.

https://www.toki.tokyo/artisan-stories/yoshindo-yoshihara

 

[Rockchild]

So here we are.. finished, almost The Luxman D-03x resides in place of the Restek.


From those of you following this thread and others regarding class D and A/B amps etc, I decided that waiting for the Restek to be upgraded was too long. The new owner is delighted and will be having it done as he is currently waiting for his amps to come back from Restek and no doubt tell me all about the upgrade in due course.

So, the Luxman was the logical choice right? Not necessarily. I had the short spell of borrowing a D-07x and it sits a lot higher in the range with SACD capabilities amongst other things so opting for the D-03x was a gamble but at the price I got was a no brainier.
Ok, built on a tighter budget and no SACD, it was always going to fail right? Wrong! Glorious build, DAC inputs etc and I am struggling to see and hear a weakness against it bigger brother. It sounds every bit as good as it’s brother to my ears.
Maybe in the more expensive Luxman system, it might show up but quite frankly I’m scratching my head as to why spend more.
The combination of Harbeth Luxman and Studio Connections (Abbey Road) reference cables is a truly end game and rewarding system (tinnitus sufferers take note)



What this player is all about is delivering music as true to the sound as possible and it’s doing just that. Detailed, warm, rhythmic and dynamic but playing familiar discs, it is achieving things rarely heard at this level.



The disc try is silky smooth and I hear zero transport noise when loading.

Moving to the digital inputs, don’t disappoint either. My trusty Cambridge 851 sees sonic gains and will be staying in the system because unless I spend £1000’s more, I see no point in changing it.



Having tried single ended rca and balanced options, balanced is the preferred, I can’t put my finger on it but a slightly better sense of realism is about right. Studio Connections come up trumps again. Full bodied sounding cables both source and speaker and don’t draw me to one common thing which is great.
Just for sanity, I popped in the Van Damme speaker cables and it was clear that the Studio connections allow the system to display their benefits.



Taking advantage of the internal DAC for high res is a bonus but if I’m honest, playing an original CD or vinyl of the same recording still sounds better. More involved and less analytical. Music is all about emotion I think.

Anyway, very happy bunny.

 

[hifinutt]

brilliant ... the Luxman has better RCA digital outputs than others like bryston and teac

18mm pitch gold-plated RCA outputs

it also has a zoom function on the screen which is helpful
the only thing missing is AES outputs and not sure i would use the MQA features [ not sure i even understand MQA !! ]

funnily enough this week the schiit URD came into stock if anyone wants one but this Do3x is rather a cut above

i may well get one at some point and try it against the stonking modded black ice dac i just got

 

[Jules_S]

That's a beauty, Jon, both visually and (apparently) sonically - not had the chance to hear one but may be someday? And after all the time waiting for Restek to sort your upgrades, I'm glad you have reached a happy place.

 

[hiesteem]

Certainly looks nice Jon and probably isn't much in it at this price point other than differing presentation.

 

[TIU]

Sexy. The x at the end is giving you some love every time it's playing.

 

[Rockchild]

Certainly looks nice Jon and probably isn't much in it at this price point other than differing presentation.

I can’t find anything to criticise atm. The Restek would have been a star but having the digital inputs on the Luxman is like getting two for the price of one

 

[Rockchild]

A long evening ahead

 

[HouseElf]

Great feedback on the D-03x and really pleased it’s met (sounds like exceeded) expectations.