Luxman CL-1000 (circa 1982–1985)
The CL-1000 was Luxman's flagship preamplifier of the early 1980s. It belonged to the Reference Series and was designed to pair with the M-1000 power amplifier. It's a heavy piece at 12.4 kg, built dual-mono. The toroidal transformer has separate secondary windings per channel, each side gets its own rectification and filtering, and a separate small transformer runs the control logic. The signal path is direct-coupled with no coupling capacitors. When the defeat switch is engaged, the tone control stage is physically removed from the circuit.
The phono section is where this unit earns its reputation. Both MM and MC inputs are built in. The MC stage has adjustable gain via internal jumpers and a default 100-ohm load. MM sensitivity is rated at 2.5 mV with a 90 dB S/N ratio (IEC-A). The MC input steps down to 0.15 mV sensitivity at 75 dB S/N. RIAA accuracy is ±0.3 dB. The line stage is rated at 150 mV sensitivity, 105 dB S/N, and ≤0.005% THD. Owners consistently describe the MC stage as exceptionally quiet and the line stage as transparent. Audio (November 1980, p.102) ran classified ads of the period showing the high-end separates market the CL-1000 competed in, though no full review of the unit appeared in that issue.
Input selection uses relay switching with gold-plated contacts. It's silent in operation, unlike the mechanical switches that crackle on lesser units. The volume control is a motor-driven Alps potentiometer, operated by the wired HRA-1 remote. The remote is often missing from secondhand units today and is no longer available from Luxman. A front-panel headphone jack is present. There are no balanced inputs. Everything is single-ended RCA.
Known weaknesses are modest and age-related. The power switch is a known weak point after three decades, the volume control can become noisy, and the phono input selector relay may need re-soldering. The RM-1 remote cable is also too short for practical use, per owner complaints. Current pricing runs roughly ¥180,000-¥250,000 in Japan and $1,200-$2,500 in the U.S. depending on condition. Original list price is conflicting across sources (¥380,000 versus ¥450,000 in Japan, or $4,500 USD).
Known Specs
- Dimensions: 440 × 152 × 405 mm (W×H×D)
- Weight: 12.4 kg
- Phono MM sensitivity: 2.5 mV / 47 kOhms
- Phono MC sensitivity: 0.15 mV / 100 ohms (default)
- Line sensitivity: 150 mV
- Line S/N: 105 dB (IEC-A); phono MM 90 dB; phono MC 75 dB
- RIAA accuracy: ±0.3 dB
- THD (line): ≤0.005%
- Output impedance: 600 ohms
- Power consumption: 45 watts
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