Luxman WZ50 (1965)

Name: Luxman WZ50
Brand: Luxman

The Luxman WZ50 is a vacuum-tube FM/AM tuner released in February 1965 at ¥39,000. The unit is described as a "bulb-type" tuner, and the tube count backs that up: seventeen tubes in all, including a 6CW4, four 6BA6s, a 6AQ8, three 6AU6s, a 12AU7, and a 12AX7, among others.

The WZ50 was a fully featured design for its day. It had a relay-controlled muting circuit, an AFC switch, a stereo indicator, and both separation and level controls. The multiplex section used a switching system, and the FM side used a double limiter circuit. The AM section was built around an RF-stage with a three-gang variable capacitor and a ferrite antenna. FM coverage was 76-90 MHz, the Japanese FM band of the period, with a practical sensitivity of 1.2 µV (S/N 30 dB). AM spanned 535-1605 kHz at 25 µV sensitivity. Separation was rated at 30 dB or more from 80 Hz to 10 kHz, and 42 dB or more at 1 kHz, with distortion no greater than 1%. Output was 1 V max, level-adjustable.

Beyond the audio-database.com entry, documentation on the WZ50 is scarce. No period reviews, owner accounts, or production-run details have surfaced in the available record. The unit itself was big: 390 mm wide, 155 mm high, 290 mm deep, and 11.2 kg.