Review - Luxman D-06 SACD player vs Accuphase DP-78

Solid as a rock

SACD Luxman D-06

Most highend components should be handled with care - a manufacturer advises not to touch tubes, push buttons too hard and leave fingerprints on fascias. You can simply ignore all these warnings as Luxman D-06 is completely rough-handling-proof and on touch it feels like a safe rather than a delicate piece of equipment.

Luxman’s designers play the card of mechanical perfection and therefore the D-06‘s silvery antiresonant chassis represents an assembly of 1.2mm thick steel panels. Close your eyes and use your knuckles to get the real 16kg heavy concrete block feeling. Open it and find a CD mechanism block with a robust stabilizer, so massive that in Luxman they had to develop a completely new driver to control it. Once the mechanism pulls its alumium drawer with a CD disc inside the pick-up gets locked and the only thing you can hear is the sound recollecting an elevator smoothly starting up. That’s the last sound (apart from music) you would get as during the playback there is nothing to indicate or to sense that something may rotate inside. So even before I started listening I had got impressed by the D-06‘s build.

The feminine element...
The ´Zero-Six´ stayed with me for three weeks and this made possible to test it with quite a nice line up of audio gear and I generously used this unique opportunity. Among others it played with Accuphase A-60, E-450 and C-11 and Canor TP106 VR Plus amps, Vincent CD S-5, Canor CD2 VR Plus, Pioneer PD-S904 TM and Accuphase DP-78 compact disc players, Usher Mini Dancer One, Mini Dancer Two, Audio Physic Virgo V and Velodyne SPL-800 Ultra speakers and subwoofers, and finally, Nordost Thor (Nierika PPF Mod) power distributor, Black Rhodium Polar Oratorio, Audioquest Pikes Peak, Krautwire Fractal, Kimber Kable Hero, Nordost Tyr, Nordost Valhalla, Homegrown Audio DNA, Vincent Power and Cardas Cross cables.

If I should summarize what the Luxman D-06 is about I would say it is like a music instrument feeding a listener’s ears with what they love: shimmering highs, ponderous lows, supersweet mids, spacious soundstage with ample details and expanding dynamics. It is tuned slightly towards the frequency extremes which is a perfect match for human hearing.

The good news is that I could easily pair the Luxman with whatever I had on hand and it always cooperated flawlessly. However, when partnered with the Canor tubed amplifier I felt certain cautiousness and hesitance in the sound. Despite the D-06 was clearly superior to the Vincent CD S-5 and justified its price with no problem the latter showed a bit more spontaneity and courage, energy if you want. On the other hand, when I listened to Girl from Ipanema (SACD The Best of Groove Note, GRV1036-3), the Luxman had a quieter and inkier background, a more spacious and deeper soundstage, precise depiction of details, extended and weighty lows and total control over sonics. Though the music was a delight to listen to the sense of overcontrol was what pulled me away from the Luxman-Canor combination in the end.

I could not wait longer to compare the Luxman D-06 to my reference, the Accuphase DP-78, which is Luxman’s biggest challenger (or vice versa) in Japan. Pricewise the Luxman D-06 is handicapped a bit with its EUR 7,000 per unit - the Accuphase is 30% more expensive. I spent a few very pleasant evenings in the company of the rivals and both ranked among the best sources I have ever had in my house.

Arabian Dance from Herbert von Karajan’s Peer Gynt (Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt Suites, Deutsche Grammophon 439 010-2) opens with the gentle stroke of a big drum, soft wash of cymbals and the interplay between a triangle and flutes. The first good thing I noticed was that the triangle and the cymbals were individually delineated in the space in the fashion the DG’s hyperrealistic recordings are famous for. The cymbals‘ essence was definitely a metallic one with ever changing inner textures. Some lesser players tend to present these microevents like a kind of white water hiss, which was not the case here. The dynamic drum strokes then go up in their intensity and usher the first burst of the orchestra. Ambient noises like players being a bit restless in their chairs lend a nice touch of reality to the piece.

What I just described lasted hardly 20 seconds, however, it already showed some differences between both players. The Luxman was quieter - imagine a deep black canvas from which each piece of sound emerges with sparkling clarity and assurance. As a result the dynamic attack of the drums was very attractive and very monumental. The textures of the cymbals were like exploding fireworks full of microdynamic contrasts and the voice of the triangle sang with crystallic purity.

The DP-78 was more laid back and less ´shiny´. The longer you listen the more differences you get. The inky background of the Luxman is absent. You can still perfectly hear the details and noises accompanying the performance, however, unlike the D-06, the Accuphase plays even if the music stops for a moment as you can hear the concert hall playing: the travelling sound bounces from the rear walls and far away corners back to microphones and spices up the performance with unique authenticity and a be-there feeling.

Karajan rides with the devil in Peer Gynt as if he wanted to arrive to the finale ten minutes earlier and a listener is relaxed only with the closing Solveig´s Song, the lyrical love song that is sung by a seductive harp and strings. The Accuphase essentially plays from the midrange offering what is usually thought to be a ´neutral´sound whereas the Luxman shows immediately off its aristocratic dignity and leaves no doubt about its shiny sonic capabilities. If you like the bombastic sound of Krell or the digital stridency of Esoteric gear then do not buy the D-06. The sound of the Luxman is sophisticated to the level of a feminine element: it is refined and gracious and skillfully makes you beg for more.

The brilliant trumpets are your guides in the first part of Mahler’s Fifth symphony (Mahler, Symphony No.5, San Francisco Symphony & Michael Tilson Thomas, SACD 821936-0012-2). Soon, however, the orchestra is led towards a gloomy funeral march so typical for the Fifth. The Luxman is at home with the spark of the trumpets and dynamic explosions of the orchestra. I would say it even strengthens the drama and tension by adding more contrast and control to the music. In the review of Luxman‘ s and Accuphase’s integrated amplifiers (read here) we wrote that ´the preference between the Accuphase or Luxman is about the preference of the gold or silver colour´. Once you get to such a premier league a brand does not really matter and this is also the case of this duel.

Not every SACD is an SACD...
The good news for everybody is that the D-06 is not sensitive to interconnects. There is a marginal difference between balanced and unbalanced connections; the XLR outputs provide more headroom and ease, but it is like I said - marginal. Upgrading the interconnects leads nowhere (unlike in the Accuphase’s case) and I was getting consistent results when listening either through the expensive Nordost‘s Tyr or through the cheap Kimber Kable‘s Hero. Therefore you do not have to really spent a fortune on signal wiring and this releases extra budget that can be put in power cables or conditioning instead.

The power sensitive is what the D-06 is. You can hear the sonic difference even with the change of phase - i.e. turning your wall plug 180°around. The sensor indicating correct phase which is located next to the IEC inlet of the Luxman is therefore extremely useful. I read in some sources that the sensor does not work properly - it does, the only thing you have to do is to put your finger on a small metal plate next to it to activate the function. Good job here!

The Luxman enables you to switch between CD and SACD formats, however, upon a hybrid disc´s insertion the SACD is always preferred. If you need to play back the CD layer of an SACD disc then you have to stop the playback and restart the player in the SACD mode.
The comparison between the CD and SACD layers of a disc makes sense only when you are absolutely sure about the sonic correlation between these two. However, this is not a rule and quite a number of hybrid discs does not carry a well done CD layer. It is maybe logical as we buy a hybrid disc because of the SACD version, correct? Therefore if a reviewer raves that an SACD(CD) was much superior to a CD(SACD) then go and check the mentioned title as such an information can be very misleading. Fortunately, there are hybrid discs with both layers fully competitive like Mahler´s No.5. In the Luxman´s case switching between the CD and SACD layers lets you hear why the SACD format is the best available medium today - it is analogue-like smooth and natural, tonnaly correct and texturally exquisite.

With the D-06 you can choose if you want to listen to an SACD disc in either PCM or DSD encoding. Whereas the DSD is the native format for SACD, the PCM is inherited from the standard red-book protocole. Things get more complicated in reality as some SACD recordings are converted from the PCM during the transfer - so in fact they are not real SACDs. The Luxman lets you switch between both encodings so that you could decide which one suits you the best.
When I listened to Mahler, the DSD/PCM difference was alike to the SACD/CD difference, only a scale was smaller. The PCM played with slightly better dynamics and contrasts, however sounding a tad more mechanical and lifeless. The DSD was smoother, finer and the recording better exposed its inner life.
You need a lot of patience and time to identify these differences and without the aforementioned certainty about the encoding of a disc‘s master data I consider the PCM/DSD switch on the Luxman to be a redundant option for most users.

The better and more practical feature is that the D-06 automatically upsamples to 24 bits (it uses twin Burr-Brown PCM1792A converters), plays CD-Rs without hesitance and can be used as a digital transport or a DAC via its coaxial and optical outputs and inputs.

Betwixt and between…
For sure I do not want to discriminate rock music lovers so let´s listen to excellently remastered The Wall album (Pink Floyd, The Wall, Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc UDCD 2-537). The track called Young Lust comes with a deep and groovy bass line that is best savoured with the help of a good subwoofer. The D-06 proved itself to be a very good source for the subwoofered system: the bass was tight and deep, precisely countoured and served with great authority. The track (and the whole album) through the Luxman became a real treat - the physical feeling and palpability was superior to the Accuphase DP-78 which was a bit drier and less enticing. On the contrary, the crying baby from The Thin Ice was rendered better through the DP-78 to the extent that I had to check the other room to make sure that there is no baby in it. The Accuphase draws more accurate three-dimensional pictures, I suspect thanks to its ability to more correctly decode the recording´s ambient clues.

Simple question comes: would I replace the Accuphase DP-78 by the Luxman D-06? Considering the sound qualities only, probably yes. The Luxman is more musical, purer, sweeter, juicier … entertaining in one world. If you are a rock music fan than the D-06 is an excellent choice thanks to its solid bass foundation and a sprinkle of sparkle on top. It simply rocks.

Is there any criticism? You bet there is. The D-06´s display can be switched off but you cannot switch off the other indicators on its front panel which are pretty bright. If the small golden letters and numbers on the display scare you away do not worry - the size of the ´fonts´can be magnified through the supplied remote.

The user interface is what needs an improvement. Access times are slow, you cannot work with indices, skipping to a track takes 3 seconds. Also the ´fast forward/reverse´ functions are not very intuitive - the Luxman copies Meridian players where the control logic is the same. Though the latter is a matter of adaptation, I did not get adapted however.
I missed heavily an analogue variable output which is unusual in this price category. Provided you want to use a power amp you will have to invest into a very good preamp or attenuator therefore.

To conclude, I would say the Luxman D-06 is a technically advanced F1 monopost rather than a comfortable Mercedes. The buyer would get essential functions and strong performance instead of luxury. Despite some minor drawbacks it is one of the finest SACD/CD players that 10,000 euros can buy today.

© Audiodrom, IV.2010

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