Decided on Luxman Class A w/Guarneri

[Bavarian05]

Arrived this morning...
Turntable is at dealer having a new Sumiko Blackbird installed and should have back later tonight.

[antipop]

This is looking good. I like the retro design of the Luxman.

This should make the Guarneri sing. What are your first impressions ?

[Capcom]

Originally Posted by antipop

I like the retro design of the Luxman.

+1

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by antipop

This is looking good. I like the retro design of the Luxman. This should make the Guarneri sing. What are your first impressions ?

Thanks. I like it too. Definitely a nostalgia thing going on. It looks very much like my fathers stereo I grew up with and discovered all kinds of music on as a kid.
First impressions are always a little skewed for me. So I am trying to be skeptical for now. Though I truly think I have solved my Guarneri riddle. I didn't care for low to medium tubes - lacked solidity, nor did I like powerful class A/B solid state - lacked delicacy and color with the Guarneri. This is my first time ever trying pure Class A solid state amplifier and so far I am really, really impressed and wondering why I hadn't tried this years ago. 40 watts into 4 ohms had me a bit concerned initially, but everything I read and what my dealer told me was spot on (ignore the power rating and just listen). There is more power than I will ever need in my 11x15' listening room. It has high current driving ability with all the delicacy I missed about tubes. What a wonderful combination. Exactly what the EVOs need in my opinion.

I just picked up my turntable and am running in the new cartridge along with the amplifier so things should improve when everything warms up and gets some time on the clock. The Luxman sounds pretty great upon start up, but definitely improves after about 30 minutes. It runs nice and warm.