Luxman L-5 not working anymore

[Gugu89]

Hello everyone,

I have a Luxman L-5 that I used with Celestion ditton 44s until a few years ago when the amp broke.
The problem is that it goes into protection after a short time it's on, making quite a loud noise on the right speaker, after which it stays with the red light flashing endlessly, or until it's switched off and on again after a pause. This happens even if I unplug all the cables, including those of the speakers.
I took it to a nearby electronics repair centre, but after many months of trying, during which they told me they tried changing capacitors and even replaced the power amps (I don't know the correct name in english, in italian they are "Finali di potenza". Literally: "Power finals"), they gave up, saying they couldn't figure out what the problem was.
As there aren't many repair shops where I am and looking on the internet I haven't found much about it, I'm asking if there is anyone who is an expert in vintage hifi repairs or has had more or less the same problems with the amplifier.
I would really hate to have to retire my luxman. I know it's not one of the best amps around and I'm not an audio expert, but I always liked the very clear and defined sound it produced.

Thank you!

 

[Another Johnson]

Hello everyone,

I have a Luxman L-5 that I used with Celestion ditton 44s until a few years ago when the amp broke.
The problem is that it goes into protection after a short time it's on, making quite a loud noise on the right speaker, after which it stays with the red light flashing endlessly, or until it's switched off and on again after a pause. This happens even if I unplug all the cables, including those of the speakers.
I took it to a nearby electronics repair centre, but after many months of trying, during which they told me they tried changing capacitors and even replaced the power amps (I don't know the correct name in english, in italian they are "Finali di potenza". Literally: "Power finals"), they gave up, saying they couldn't figure out what the problem was.
As there aren't many repair shops where I am and looking on the internet I haven't found much about it, I'm asking if there is anyone who is an expert in vintage hifi repairs or has had more or less the same problems with the amplifier.
I would really hate to have to retire my luxman. I know it's not one of the best amps around and I'm not an audio expert, but I always liked the very clear and defined sound it produced.

Thank you!

The fellows in the US who have the history and skill to do a good restoration of vintage gear are generally old, or have passed. A very famous much loved fellow who did this sort of work (Bill Thalmann) just died last month … but he had stopped taking new work quite some time ago. Another (Tom Brucker) literally closed his shop and retired early in the COVID fiasco. Another old guy near me specializes in vintage McIntosh, but he’s not taking new work either.

My point is that the problem is widespread.., you might try making direct contact with the Luxman importer for Italy. Or try directly with Luxman.

FWIW, my thoughts are

1. that a good restoration might cost more than makes sense (unless there is sentimental value), and

2. that the fellow who has just failed to fix it likely took it further from original, making it less valuable as a restored survivor, bringing greater truth to my first thought above.

As an example of my second thought above, Conrad Johnson will restore their own vintage gear, but not if someone else has already modified or repaired it.

Good luck with your quest. My best advice is to move on.

For those who don’t know the L-5, here’s a link

https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/luxman/l-5.shtml

 

[Gugu89]

Thank a lot for your thoughts and advices. I was already thinking about contact Luxman, but in fact maybe the repair will cost too much. I'll try contact them and see what they suggest me to do. Or maybe better, I'll think of some other amplifier so replace the Luxman.
Thanks again.