To retain continuity, serious listening of the new Luxman DAC begins with Aimee Mann’s Lost In Space. For those not familiar, I always start here because I’m intimately familiar with this record, and it offers a little bit of everything – sultry female vocals, a vast soundstage, a nice mix of acoustic and electric instruments, and a fairly complex mix. I’m sure you have your own go-to for this kind of thing.
A brief overview
The Luxman unravels everything as it should, and this DAC has a very non-digital sound overall—very natural. While some of this has to do with the BD3430EKV chips from ROHM in a dual mono configuration, the rest has to do with the meticulous attention to every other aspect of the DA-07X, from the vibration-resistant feet to the circuit boards, parts layout, and careful assembly. And at almost 30 pounds, it feels much more robust than some power amplifiers; that’s how Luxman builds things.
Luxman America’s John Pravel tells me that the DA-07X shares a lot of technology and implementation with their D-07X and D-10X SACD players. Where the D-10X has a fully balanced analog section (and a more robust power supply), the D-07X uses a pair of transformers for its balanced outputs. Currently, they are the only premium audio manufacturer using the ROHM chipset. It still utilizes three separate, high-capacity power supplies—each with its own individual OI core power transformer.
Please click here to read all the technical details and specs.
Pravel explains why Luxman does not put a digital section in their integrated amplifiers, saying, “Because digital is improving at a much quicker pace than analog, it’s best left as a separate component. Keeping the associated noise from a digital section out of low-level amplifier technology is also much easier if it is a separate box.” It’s also worth mentioning that the onboard phono sections in Luxman integrated amplifiers are always high-performance and stand up to outboard components very well.
The DA-07X is unique in that it does not incorporate a streaming component, and Luxman does not offer a stand-alone transport at present. Their high-quality NT-07 streamer ($7,495) is Roon-ready and allows network, USB, and HDMI connectivity. We will review the NT-07 shortly.
True artisan quality
Though it looks fairly simple on the outside, with a minimum of controls, the photo of the internals is courtesy of Luxman. I always ask a manufacturer first for their permission to remove a cover to photograph the inside of a component. I’m really glad I didn’t do it this time. It turns out the chassis (and covers) in Luxman components are torqued down to a specific, non-disclosed value.
Their engineers have taken painstaking tests to find out what torque values provide the perfect balance of rigidity and sound quality, so they ask that any work be done by a factory-approved technician under NDA. That’s attention to detail.
The DA-07X is strictly a DAC. You will need to add the streaming or transport component of your choice to make it a complete digital playback solution. While giving the DA-07X a few days of operation to completely stabilize thermally, it’s back to a wide range of listening choices.
Inputs, outputs, and modes
The DA-07X has digital inputs aplenty, with a pair of coax SPDI/F jacks, a pair of optical ports, USB, and AES/EBU. There is also a coax digital out and an optical port, along with 12v control ports. A single pair of RCA and a single pair of XLR balanced outputs allow connection to the rest of your system.
The coaxial inputs are limited to a maximum of 24-bit/192kHz (which should be more than enough for nearly everyone), while the USB inputs will handle 768kHz and up to 22.5MHz (1-bit) DSD files. MQA decoding is still part of the mix for those still needing it.
The only part of the DA-07X’s performance that we could not comment on is its ability in the DSD realm, as we have not invested in that format.
Price/performance ratio
If you already enjoy a streaming component, transport, or other input device and are just looking for a DAC upgrade, the DA-07X is one of the best values in a premium DAC today. Much like our other reference, the Aqua LaScala, which is comparably priced and also only a DAC, the Luxman is in a somewhat unique category.
From a strictly sonic standpoint, the Luxman DAC delivers sonics on the level of our dCS Lina (though a slightly different flavor). However, the dCS does offer built-in streaming and the option to connect an external clock, so there are not many direct apples-to-apples competing products.
When using a MacBookPro via USB and serving up files via ROON, the Luxman is fantastic if this is how you roll. Our vintage Proceed CD transport also delivers highly satisfying playback from the standard silver discs. I wish Luxman had offered their own transport to go with them.
Back to the sound
Provided you have the correct way to get your digital signal to the Luxman, the sound coming out is fantastic. As mentioned at the beginning of this review, the initial take of the DA-07X’s incredibly natural presentation is the highest compliment you can pay to any digital component.
After going through hundreds of tracks in multiple genres, the comment “this sounds good for digital” never comes up. Unless you are willing to spend 2-5x more on a DAC, I doubt you will get 2-5x more sound quality. This is tough to put an actual number on, but I do have a $95k dCS Vivaldi ONE as a primary reference. Much as I love my dCS (To be fair, it does offer streaming and CD/SACD playback), it doesn’t reveal 10 times more music.
The main thing that distinguishes great digital products from stunning digital products is the ease with which they deliver music. This is what makes the DA-07X so impressive to me. When listening carefully to male and female vocalists, the pace and swell of a vocalist’s voice are incredibly well represented, with texture and dimension.
Acoustic instruments sound correct, especially the two toughest – the violin and the piano. If you’re a fan of orchestral music, the ability to discern the oboes from the clarinets comes through clearly, and it’s easy to hear the different stringed instruments in the same way. (And you thought all I listened to was Slayer…)
Of course, an incredible dynamic range and a low noise floor are given. Yet, when listening to music with no real acoustic anchor—such as any of your favorite electronic compositions—a spatial, atmospheric quality must be present for this music to be engaging. I tend to fall back on Kruder & Dorfmeister, Massive Attack, Yello, Thievery Corporation, and Nightmares on Wax, but no doubt you have your faves. Even tracking through a guilty pleasure (The debut Coldplay album) reveals texture, nuance, and ease that only comes via the best digital hardware. It does justice to digital files you might have thought were mediocre and reproduces the best productions at a stellar level.
Finally, should you not have a music player of choice, Luxman does provide their own. To be short, it helps to render perfectly good digital playback, however it is not terribly user friendly. But we’d be amiss if we didn’t mention it here.
Definitely award-winning everything
If we weren’t giving the DA-07X our Digital Product of the Year award in February, it would definitely get an Exceptional Value Award. I’m going to stick my neck out and say that this is really a sweet spot for digital playback, offering a tremendous amount of cost-no-object performance at an approachable price. Again, this is what Luxman offers in its entire product lineup. Value means so much more than just performance. In the 20 years of TONE’s history,
I’m sure it happens occasionally, but I have never had a Luxman component fail on my watch, nor have any of my friends who own Luxman gear. That’s another aspect of Luxman ownership that’s worth a lot. Once the initial endorphin rush of unboxing wears off, there’s a quiet pride that comes from enjoying music with Luxman components every day that very few components at any price can match.
The combination of sonic and build quality from a company that has been around for nearly 100 years (with excellent secondary market performance as well) makes for very satisfying components. Considering how good the Luxman turntables are, you could easily build an entire system from Luxman, add your favorite pair of $5k-$50k speakers, and live happily ever after.
And never regret spending more than this on an incredible hi-fi system.
$7,495
Peripherals
Digital Source dCS Vivaldi ONE, Aqua LaScala, Proceed PDT
Analog Source SME 20 w/Vi.iV arm, Hana Red, Luxman PD-191 w/Luxman LMC-5
Preamplifier Pass XS Pre
Phono Stage Pass XP 27, Nagra Classic, MoFi Master Phono
Power Amplifier Pass XS 300 monos
Speakers Clarisys Auditiorium Plus
Cable Cardas Clear, and Clear Beyond
Racks Quadraspire and Finite Elemente
