Luxman D-105u (1985–1987)

The Luxman D-105u holds a genuine place in the company's history: it was Luxman's first CD player, launched in 1985 at ¥128,000 in Japan. The Compact Disc format was still young — Sony's CDP-101 had only arrived three years earlier — and Luxman entered the digital arena as part of a strategy to pair a proper source with their high-end amplifiers.

Technically, the D-105u was notable for being the first Luxman CD player to use a 16-bit DAC without a separate external converter. It ran twin PCM56P 16-bit DACs through an SM5803P digital filter with 8-times oversampling, with a quartz PLL stabilizing the clock. The transport mechanism was sourced from Sanyo. The specification sheet reads well even today: frequency response of 5Hz–20kHz ±0.5dB, total harmonic distortion of 0.003%, a signal-to-noise ratio of 100dB, dynamic range of 95dB, and channel separation of 100dB at 1kHz. Output was 2V at 1kHz into a 50Ω impedance. The unit measured 438W × 88H × 283D mm and weighed 5.2kg.

Luxman's own advertising of the period framed its CD technology in careful terms. Audio (October 1991, p.72) described the D-105u as the flagship of a line that took CD technology very seriously, highlighting the BRID hybrid circuit design. The company also promoted its precision-molded laser housings — said to never warp and to increase light output from the pickup — and its STAR Circuit Topology, which provided independent circuit paths to reduce interference, claims echoed across Luxman's CD lineup of the era.

In the family hierarchy, the D-105u sat above the earlier D-103u (which used a 14-bit DAC) and was succeeded in 1987 by the D-107u. Beyond that positioning, the documentary record is thin — no period reviews with bench measurements, no owner commentary, and no current market data have surfaced in the archive's research. What is documented comes from a single Japanese database, so independent corroboration is lacking. Still, the essential facts are secure: this was Luxman's first stab at CD, and it was a serious, well-specified one.

Known specifications:

• DAC: 16-bit linear, PCM56P × 2
• Digital filter: SM5803P, 8-times oversampling
• Frequency response: 5Hz–20kHz ±0.5dB
• THD: 0.003%
• S/N ratio: 100dB
• Dynamic range: 95dB
• Channel separation: 100dB (1kHz)
• Output: 2V (1kHz, 0dB), 50Ω
• Dimensions: 438W × 88H × 283D mm
• Weight: 5.2kg
• Original price: ¥128,000 (Japan, 1985)

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