Luxman C-900u vs C-700u which is a better choice?

The big question you will be asking in this Luxman C-900u and the Luxman C-700u battle is if one is worth that huge amount of extra money over the other. The Luxman C-700u has a fantastic reputation online and from what I have seen, people who have this love it and speak very highly of it. To be fair, I do not think I have seen a Luxman product that has had a negative response to it! Of course, Luxman are not just going to sit back and let the competition improve on what they offer and that is what brings us to the Luxman C-900u which is extremely expensive, but I cannot wait to put it through its paces to see if it really is that much better.  

The Price

When we are dealing with amps like the ones, we have in these two Luxman amplifiers, we have to look at the price first. These are not the kind of things you can just stroll into your local electronics store or Walmart to buy. Premium home audio equipment like this tends to be available from more specific dealers… with a high price tag!

Luxman C-900u:

Product image of C-900u

Ok, so I could be wrong here, but in my research, I found that at one point the Luxman C-900u was priced at just under 20 thousand dollars… 20 thousand dollars! This is the top of the mountain when it comes to stuff like this, hence the high price tag. I mean, with a price like this you cannot think of this as a normal amp that your average guy is going to buy. I did have a look on eBay and I could only find one of these on there and that was a used one from the UK which was over 12 grand and the postage was astronomical. If you want this, you have to come to terms with the fact you are going to have to spend a great deal of money.

 

Luxman C-700u: The little brother the Luxman C-700u can be found for considerably less, actually on another popular music site, I found a guy who said he could get two of these for the price of one Luxman C-900u! Do not get me wrong at over five grand, this is still a very expensive amplifier and out of the price range of someone like yours truly. However, there are more “deals” to be found here. I had a look on eBay and found far more of these on there than the C-900. I found one brand-new that cost $6,000 shipped which I think is more than a fair price. It also puts it at half the price of the 900 that I found on eBay.

 

The Verdict:

Look, I am a Scotsman and there is just no way I can give this to the Luxman C-900u. Look, spoiler alert here folks the C-900u is probably going to win the other two rounds here. However, when it comes to price, I have to give this round to the Luxman C-700u as it is over half the price cheaper. Just think of all the things you could do with all that extra money!!!  

The Design

The design round in these battle of Luxman amplifiers is very interesting in that most people will not see a difference between the two of these. These are very similar in the way that they look on the outside, but we are still going to get in and have a really good look at what a couple of high-end amplifiers look like.

Luxman C-900u:

I love and I mean love the look of the Luxman C-900u. It is made with possibly the stuff that Wolverine is made from, but I am not 100 percent sure. No matter what, this thing feels like a tank and at 19.7kg, it is actually a fair bit heavier than its little brother. The dimensions of this are 17.32” x 5.11” x 16.92” so it is a very impressive size, this thing really is quite the specimen and it will capture your attention. The front has a very clean look and the way it has an LCD vertical display gives it a style that is unlike most other amplifiers on the market. The larger dials on both sides of the display screen are for your volume and input selection. You also have three dials, one for bass, treble, and balance, and a few other buttons for you to.

The Luxman C-900u also comes with a tremendous remote control that gives you complete control over the amp and the style of it fits in with the amp perfectly. The back of the amp is just as clean and stylish as the front! It gives you many different connectivity options so you can have multiple things connected at the same time. Luxman also makes sure each input is clearly labeled for your convenience too. Overall, the Luxman C-900u, is one of the best made pieces of tech (not just counting amps or audio equipment) that I have had the pleasure to hold and play around with.  

Luxman C-700u:

Before I give you my thoughts on the Luxman C-700u, look at this Luxman C-700u & M-700u HIFI Pre & Power Amplifier Review Luxman 700 Ultimate Range video which also shows off the M-700u too. From the front, this is pretty much identical to the C-900u and that is not meant as a bad thing. I can see why Luxman took the design of this and just used it for the 900 as it is pretty much perfect. It comes in at the same dimensions, but it is around 4kg lighter due to not being quite as “premium” made, but do not take that as a hard diss of this amp. I am kind of at a loss for what to say here as what I said about the 900 pretty much rings true here.

It also comes with that same remote control that is made from aluminum and gives you complete control over your amp. It is around the back that you will notice the real differences. You have the same connectivity options with the Luxman C-700u as you have with the Luxman C-900u, but they are laid out a bit differently. To be honest, unless they were side by side most people are not going to notice much of a difference here between the two from the front or from the back.

The Verdict:

While from the photos, you do not notice much of a difference here between the Luxman C-900u and the Luxman C-700u. I have to say if you were to take these out of the box yourself, you would have to say that the C-900u is the winner here. The overall design of these is great, but the 900u does have a slightly more premium feel to it and that is why I am giving that one the round here.  

The Sound

The main event of these amplifiers showdown is the same as it is with all these types of articles and that is looking at the sound these will produce. These are two amazing and I mean really amazing amplifiers, but there is a clear winner here as you have probably already figured out!

Luxman C-900u:

We are starting off with a bang as the Luxman C-900u really is quite amazing. I really like this Luxman C900U VS Audio Research Ref6SE which not only shows this off, but it puts it head to head with another strong amp too. Look, the 900u is just an upgrade in every way you could imagine. The overall sound is just so much more fuller and the way you can play around with the sound really can be quite magical. One album that sounded better thanks to this than I had ever heard it before was Live At The Apollo Cyan by James Brown, so much so that I went through my record collection to get more live albums!

From all of the things that I threw at it, the Luxman C-900u did not disappoint in any regard at all. I really cannot praise the performance of this highly enough. From sounding like you are in a stadium singing along to your favorite band on the stage to being like you are there when they actually recorded it. Within just a few hours, you know why this is one of the best pre-amplifiers that Luxman has ever produced.

Luxman C-700u:

I feel like I probably should have looked at the Luxman C-700u first, to be honest with you. I would bet that anyone who has this would think “how much better can the C-900u really be?” and I 100 percent get that train of thought. Especially when you factor in the massive price increase. However, even if you are not someone who considers themselves to be an “audiophile” if you go from this to the 900, you notice a noticeable step up when it comes to sound performance, It is the kind of thing that is really hard to describe, but I 100 percent can hear and feel that the 900 is better.

Do not get me wrong, the Luxman C-700u is an incredible amp in its own right and if you have one, you probably do not need to spend several thousand dollars on an upgrade. No exaggeration here, but I have probably listened to What’s The Story Morning Glory? by Oasis a thousand times, and when played with this it was fantastic! I feel like I have been kind of down on the C-700u here is harsh as it is great in its own way.

The Verdict:

There is just no way I could not give this round to the Luxman C-900u. It trumps the Luxman C-700u in every regard when it comes to the sound. Even though the 700 is great, the 900 is better!  

What Is The Best?

It has been fun to put together this Luxman comparing article and I wish I had more time to spend with them, to be honest with you. Look, the Luxman C-900u is the clear winner here, even though I did like the Luxman C-700u. It is actually one of, if not the greatest amplifiers I have had the pleasure to test out (so far). However, there is no denying the price tag is insane and I would have a hard time trying to tell anyone to spend that kind of money on an amp, but if you can afford it, more power to you, and rock on!

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