Luxman E-250 Phono Stage

The E-250 has been in Luxman's range since 2017 and remains the sensible way to add a serious phono stage to a system that does not have one. It is a negative-feedback RIAA equalizer with a parallel FET first stage for low noise, and, unusually at the price, it handles moving-coil cartridges through built-in step-up transformers with super permalloy cores, independent for left and right, rather than through additional active gain. Two gain settings cover high-output MC at 40 Ω and low-output MC at 2.5 Ω, and MM cartridges see 38 dB with a choice of 34, 47, 56 or 100 kΩ load and 0 to 320 pF of capacitance.

Two inputs are provided, each with its own cartridge type setting, so an owner with two turntables, or one deck with two arms, can switch between them from the front panel. A mono switch sums the channels for mono records, a low-cut switch tames the subsonic output of warped discs, and the articulator demagnetizes the cartridge and the transformer cores using the music signal current, a function Luxman says restores lost sound quality. The power supply uses a large low-profile block capacitor and a discrete regulator, and the circuit board uses Luxman's rounded trace pattern.

At 364 mm wide and 81 mm tall the E-250 is a compact unit with a blasted-white aluminum front panel and lever switches, and it has collected a number of awards in Japan and elsewhere since launch. Its 300 Ω output drives any line input. In Luxman's range it is the alternative to the built-in phono stages of the L-505Z, L-507Z and L-509Z for listeners who want more loading options or a second input, and the natural phono stage for the line-only C-10X on a budget. The E-07 is the step up, with a non-feedback circuit, balanced input and output, and six MC loads.