Предусилители — Luxman C-10X

The C-10X is a Luxman control amplifier and the first renewal of the top preamplifier position in ten years, replacing the C-900u. It made its North American debut in January 2024 at a suggested price of USD 19,995, and its front panel with bevelled sides matches the M-10X power amplifier and the D-10X digital player.

Key specs that matter

Three line inputs are fitted with both balanced and unbalanced terminals, and two preamplifier outputs allow bi-amping in either format. Input sensitivity is 180 mV, with input impedance of 45 kohm on RCA and 90 kohm on XLR. Rated output is 1 V at 90 ohm unbalanced or 180 ohm balanced, and the maximum reaches 14.1 V and 28.7 V respectively. Gain rises to 15 dB, up from 12 dB in the C-900u. The response is within 0.1 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and reaches 5 Hz to 110 kHz at -3 dB. Luxman specifies 0.005% distortion unbalanced and 0.003% balanced from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with noise figures of 129 dB and 132 dB with IHF-A weighting. Tone adjustment covers 8 dB of cut or boost, at 100 Hz for bass and 10 kHz for treble. Consumption is 40 W, or 2.6 W in standby, and the unit measures 440 x 130 x 434 mm at 19.8 kg.

Engineering and use context

The C-10X was the first Luxman preamplifier to use the LIFES 1.0 feedback engine, introduced in 2021 with the M-10X, and the LECUA-EX volume system. LECUA-EX switches a series of fixed resistors in 192 discrete steps from 0 to 95.5 dB, reading pulses from a rotary encoder that is fully disconnected from the audio path. Four preamplifier blocks form a fully balanced circuit, built in a discrete layout. The power supply combines a high-capacity CI core transformer with seven custom 3,300 uF filter capacitors. The loopless chassis rests on cast iron feet of graded density and carries a hairline-finished aluminium top panel. Other functions include a balanced phase preset, channel balance from L -6 dB to R -6 dB, bi-amp output level trim of plus or minus 6 dB, a loudness function linked to volume and a fluorescent display with dimming and 4x zoom. Rear connections use RCA sockets at 27 mm pitch and Neutrik XLR terminals, and the RA-20 remote is included.

Pairing

An external pre-input accepts the pre-output of an AV amplifier directly, so the C-10X can share speakers with a home theatre system. Control input and output terminals allow daisy-chain operation, and 12 V trigger terminals work with third-party control systems. Thanks to the paired outputs, one stereo amplifier can drive the bass sections and another the upper range of bi-wirable speakers.

Alternatives

The Luxman C-900u is the previous top control amplifier with LECUA 1000 volume control in 88 steps and ODNF 4.0 feedback.