Having given this latest addition to my system some serious thought, I decided to pull the trigger on the Luxman D-06U SACD player. Much like the story "The Last of the Mohicans", this SACD purchase was based more on emotional basis rather than the logical one as it really is the Last of the Mohicans for me in terms of physical media players.
Hardly a need for a Redbook/SACD player these days, we all know that. We the age of streaming upon us and the streaming services like Tidal and soon available in the US (2018) Qobuz , the physical media is disappearing fast.
I always felt like I missed out on the whole SACD phase of this hobby and perhaps back in the day SACD did not offer much of a selection for me but today I find plenty of content on SACD that does.
So partly due to the fact that I have to start my music collection from scratch once again, partly because I felt it was now or never.... Partly because I am not ready to give up the physical media just yet... The Luxman D-06U became the latest addition to my system.
I am very glad I decided to pull the trigger and will look forward to building perhaps a small but meaningful library of SACDs that I will enjoy spinning and listening to.
Unpacking the rather heavy and beautiful beast that was well packed with the typical Luxman triple-boxing, the unit appeared to have arrived fresh from Japan safe and sound.
The first impression of the weight of the unit, (all of 35lbs of it!) the elegant and rather to the point aesthetic design without unnecessary drama, as well as build quality all seems to be top notch.
Installing the unit in the rack and powering it up, I pushed the drawer button and the tray slid out with a smooth and virtually silent gliding motion. I inserted one of my favorite Ben Webster SACDs and so our long term relationship began.
I spent almost 4 hours listening to the D-06U this afternoon and with each passing hour, this Luxman SACD player kept opening up and becoming more inviting and musical to listen to.
There is obvious and strong family voicing with Luxman components. Having witnessed the break in and the gradual opening and blossoming of the Luxman L590AX Mark II Class A integrated, the D-06U seems to be closely voiced and of the same design goal of being "vibrant", "inviting", "analog smooth" and "colorful without sounding colored" philosophy and sonic design. This unit is brand new and still needs some hundred or more hours to fully blossom but I am already loving the latest addition or what I have nicknamed "The Last of the Mohicans" D-06U.
I don't know how long the Luxman D-06U is destined to serve my system with the rest of the components but I have purchased it fully hoping it will last a long, long time since I know I will never be buying another CD/SACD player again in this lifetime. The times are changing fast but I am glad I decided to make this detour from rushing ahead with "all streaming and nothing but streaming" approach and simply enjoy pulling some SACD and Redbook CDs off the shelf and giving them a spin.
I will reserve further comments and comparisons for later as the unit breaks in fully. So far I can say I am thoroughly impressed with both the SACD, Redbook and the internal DAC to which I have already streamed Tidal this evening just to see how it goes. Another wonderful unit from Luxman in my collection.