LUXMAN
One high-end audio manufacturer, resourceful in both tube and solid-state designs, has weathered selloffs, acquisitions, and fickle audiophile demands to create beautiful, enduring audio art under a name synonymous with Japanese high-end audio supremacy: Luxman.
Founded in 1925 by Tetsuo Hayakawa as part of an Osaka picture-frame business, the Lux Corporation was the first to import to Japan radio receivers from abroad. Playing those receivers in the store fascinated Hayakawa’s shoppers and listeners, and inspired him and his brother and eventual partner, Kinji Yoshikawa, to experiment with circuits of their own design. Their research resulted in audio treasures that found favor far outside Japan, and that even challenged Marantz and McIntosh for tube-amp supremacy.
The above two paragraphs are from Stereophile’s recent review of the amazing new L-509x Integrated.