I’ve posted photos of my vintage system before, although I have never shown one of my vintage components, a Luxman L3 integrated amplifier. I purchased it in the late 1970s while in high school (the L3 was made from 1978 to 1981). The sleek-looking solid-state, 42 watts-per-channel L3 is the little brother of the L5. The L3 operates in Class A mode and has excellent sound compared to its age-appropriate competitors. Total harmonic distortion, a high-profile spec back in the day, was 0.05 percent. Featured include dual tape monitoring and dubbing, a loudness control, multiple AC switched and unswitched convenience outlets, and the ability to drive one or two pairs of speakers simultaneously.
The L3 was pretty expensive when it came out. I likely paid more than a few hundred bucks for it at Harvey Electronics in Long Island, New York. No doubt, I was attracted not only to its sound and the then-exotic Luxman name, but its slim, silver aesthetic as well. These are often paired with the company’s T2 tuner, which has a similar look. One unusual thing about this amp is that its RCA connectors are contained in a bay on its chassis’ bottom plate. That might not work in today’s era of think and unwieldy cables.
The Luxman L3's styling was decidedly different than other audio gear of the time, and would be right at home alongside modern components.
The L3 offered a wide variety of control functions and connections, but interestingly, the jacks for the signal cables are at the bottom.
All images courtesy of Howard Kneller. Howard is the co-founder of The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller, a reviewing and news organization for all things audiophile.
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