Luxman D-N150/SQ-N150

Luxman has re-introduced what just may be the dream desktop rig, comprising the new NeoClassico CD player and tube integrated amplifier – or is it much more?

Can we agree that it’s possible to love more than one system, as you would savour more than one type of whisky or wine? Masseto and Tignanello are simply not mutually exclusive. Luxman’s re-imagined NeoClassico series is appropriately costly but not saddled with a ‘high-end’ price, so at £2500 for the D-N150 CD/DAC and £3000 for the SQ-N150 integrated amp, it is not an alternative to, nor a substitute for a high-end, high-power system. It is not out to usurp the role of your D’Agostino.

Rather, this revives Luxman’s role in a peculiarly Japanese genre, what I once called ‘Bonsai Hi-Fi,’ exemplified by the late, lamented Toshiba Aurex gear. It must be said that Japanese makers were not the first to issue serious-yet-compact components (and not to be confused with the risible mini/midi-systems of the 1970s). As a precedent, Quad’s 33/303 wasn’t exactly gigantic, and it still packs more punch for its size than many others can muster. Luxman’s NeoClassico resuscitates a compact system last offered a dozen years ago, down-sized valve amplification and a CD player which manifested all of the brand’s virtues.

POWER OF TEN

First released in 2007, the SQ-N100 integrated and D-N100 CD player, with A4 footprints, have been sorely missed by fastidious audiophiles wanting something beautifully-appointed, fully-equipped and delivering sound quality not associated with bijou dimensions. After the passing of a decade-plus, Luxman says the SQ-N150 and DN-150 are a response to requests ‘to bring them up to date’.