Luxman MA-88

October   1 9 9 3 october 1993
1 9 9 5 1995

This is where the "old Luxman" ends : Alpine is about to leave, Azden starts to manufacture the high-end components Alpine doesn't want to make anymore (little profit there, as always), and the Luxman staff is about to loose many of its oldest engineers which will soon either leave or simply retire.

Companions of the CL-38, the MA-88 are tube monoblocks made to celebrate Luxman's 70th Anniversary ; they proudly show their two KT-88 Super tubes up front and their 1961 OY36 trafos, remanufactured again for the occasion.

A 12BH7A is used for the first stage and a low-impedance 6CG7 for the driver stage ; the output stage is a Williamson pentode circuit for low power loss and very low phase rotation.
No cap at the reference point's, no cap either due to the fixed bias configuration, only 12dB of NFb.

The two OY36 are identical in core and coils to the 1960s originals, but with better packaging and mounting methods and the improvement of copper shielding plates added to the core and ground's electric potential.

To avoid tonal degradation with a large number of taps, the output terminals have been design strictly for 6 Ohm ; a 12-step resistance array input attenuator is located at the back.

The upper base is made of Luxman's FRP non-resonant material : it rests and covers a traditional metal chassis.

Not that I'll ever own one, but one CL-38 and two MA-88 do make my own personal dream tube combo.


A real pair of MA-88 here.

Luxman MA-88, image 1 Luxman MA-88, image 2
Luxman MA-88 specifications
Title Value
Power output : 1x 45W (8 Ohm)
THD : < 0,1% (1Khz, 1W output)
Frequency response : 50Hz...30Khz (-1dB ; 1W output)
Input : 0,8V / 60kOhm
S/N ratio : > 90dB
Tubes : 2x KT-88 Super
1x 6CG7
1x 12BH7A
1x 5U4GB
1x 6X4WA
PC : 120W
170W at rated output
Dimensions : 22 x 17,2 x 45,5cm
17kg. 17kg.
Listprice : 800,000¥ /pair
Optional : BMA-88 cover (40,000¥ - more like Invisibilia...)
page online since : september 2011
page updated : not yet
page type : LGT / KNB
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