Luxman E-07: What Owners and Reviewers Say About Its Sound and Features

Luxman Phono Preamplifiers

Luxman E-07: What Owners and Reviewers Say About Its Sound and Features

An all solid state phono preamplifier built for Luxman's centennial year, with four step up transformers and a noise floor that reviewers call inaudible. Here is what the people who own it, and the reviewers who measured their words against it, actually say.

By All Elite Audio, authorized Luxman dealer · Published October 17, 2026

Luxman E-07 MM/MC phono preamplifier with its blasted white front panel
The Luxman E-07 phono preamplifier. Photo via Luxman.

Our price

$7,995

At All Elite Audio, Timonium, Maryland

Type

MM/MC phono preamplifier

All solid state, non feedback RIAA equalizer

Gain

Up to 66 dB

MM 38, MC High 57, MC Low 66

MC loading

Six impedances

4.7 to 1000 ohms, four step up transformers

Signal to noise

88 dB

MM, IHF-A weighted

RIAA accuracy

±0.1 dB

MM, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Weight

13.2 kg

About 29 lb net

Dimensions

440 x 92 x 407 mm

Width x height x depth

The short answer

The Luxman E-07 is an all solid state MM/MC phono preamplifier priced at $7,995. It replaces the tube based EQ-500 with a non feedback RIAA equalizer, four super permalloy step up transformers for moving coil cartridges, and a six position MC load selector on the front panel. Reviewers describe an exceptionally quiet, tonally neutral sound with natural dynamics, and Stereophile's bench measurements rank it among the finest measuring phono stages the magazine has tested.

What is the Luxman E-07?

The E-07 is the phono preamplifier Luxman built for its 100th anniversary in 2025, replacing the EQ-500. Where the EQ-500 used valves, the E-07 is all solid state: a non feedback RIAA phono equalizer whose first stage parallels four individual FETs to average out thermal noise. It sits in a slim full width chassis with a blasted white front panel, sized to match Luxman's separate and integrated amplifiers.

The headline hardware is the moving coil section. Four newly developed step up transformers with super permalloy cores, two per channel, work independently for low and high gain. The front panel six position rotary selector offers 4.7, 10, 40, 100, 300, and 1000 ohms. The three lower settings route through the MC Low transformer at 66 dB of gain, for cartridges down to 0.12 mV, and the three higher settings route through MC High at 57 dB. Moving magnet gets 38 dB of gain with rear panel DIP switches for impedance and capacitance. One balanced XLR input and two unbalanced RCA pairs accept three tonearms at once, each with its own ground terminal.

Specifications

Type MM/MC phono preamplifier, all solid state
Price $7,995 at All Elite Audio
Circuit Non feedback RIAA phono equalizer, first stage four parallel FETs
MC step up transformers Super permalloy core, four total (left/right channels, Low/High gain independent)
Gain MM 38 dB, MC High 57 dB, MC Low 66 dB
Input sensitivity MM 3.2 mV, MC High 0.37 mV, MC Low 0.12 mV
MC load impedance 4.7/10/40/100/300/1000 ohms, six position front panel rotary selector
MM load impedance 34/47/56/100k ohms, rear panel DIP switches
MM load capacitance 0/100/220/320 pF, rear panel DIP switches
Rated output 250 mV
Output impedance 300 ohms unbalanced, 600 ohms balanced
Maximum input MM 120 mV, MC High 15 mV, MC Low 5 mV
RIAA response MM 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±0.1 dB; MC 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±0.3 dB
Total harmonic distortion 0.003%
Signal to noise ratio (IHF-A) MM 88 dB, MC High 81 dB, MC Low 78 dB
Channel separation 80 dB or more
Power transformers OI type, three (left/right independent plus peripheral circuit)
Phono inputs One balanced XLR plus two unbalanced RCA pairs
Special functions Articulator demagnetizer, mono mode, low cut filter, phase inversion
Power consumption 13 W
Dimensions 440 x 92 x 407 mm (width x height x depth)
Weight 13.2 kg

What it sounds like, in owners' words

A straight word on sourcing first. The E-07 is a young product, launched for Luxman's centennial in 2025, and its owner footprint is thin. No dedicated owner threads turned up on Reddit, Audio Science Review, or the Steve Hoffman Forums. What does exist on Audiogon is consistent, and it lines up with the professional reviews, which are uniformly enthusiastic.

The most direct owner style voice comes from an Audiogon poster advising a fellow member on an external phono stage:

"That Luxman E-07 is very highly regarded and extremely flexible offering adjustments for both MC and a rarity, MM cartridges. It is not a question of whether the Luxman is better than the Mac, it is a question of how much better."

Owner post, Audiogon Discussion Forum, thread: "Should I use an external phono preamp"

Another Audiogon poster lists the E-07 as the phono stage in a reference analog chain, a Clearaudio Jubilee Reference table and arm with a VdH Crimson cartridge running into the Luxman, in a thread comparing high end digital and analog systems. Placement at the end of that chain says plenty about where its owner ranks it.

And Stereophile's Herb Reichert, after weeks of living with the E-07 across a stable of cartridges, wrote the sentence every prospective owner wants to read:

"The E-07 is the first phono stage I've used that made me feel like I was wringing every drop of performance out of moving coil and moving magnet cartridges. The E-07 presented each cartridge and vinyl disc in its best possible light."

Herb Reichert, Stereophile, "Luxman E-07 phono preamplifier"

He closed by calling it "an heirloom quality product that should please the most discriminating phonophiles."

Five things owners and reviewers praise

  1. 1 A noise floor that reads as silence

    Every review leads with the quiet. Soundnews puts it in the strongest possible terms:

    "The noise floor is, in the most practical sense, inaudible."

    Soundnews, Luxman E-07 review

    What Hi-Fi noticed it first too, "just how quiet this phono stage is," and Tracking Angle summed up with "above all else the E-07 was quiet."

  2. 2 It disappears and lets the recording speak

    Soundnews places the E-07 in the rare category of components that impose nothing of their own:

    "The Luxman E-07 belongs firmly to the second category. It does not impose a character on the music that passes through it... And then it steps aside."

    Soundnews, Luxman E-07 review

    What Hi-Fi heard the same honesty, calling it "transparent" and "tonally neutral," a stage that "refuses to stamp too much of its own character onto the sound."

  3. 3 Dynamics that feel natural, not mechanical

    Playing Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8, Soundnews heard contrasts handled the way live music behaves:

    "The fortissimos arrive without mechanical exaggeration, and the pianissimos recede to a genuine, intimate quietness."

    Soundnews, Luxman E-07 review

    Tracking Angle heard the same ease at the other end of the scale, noting "macro dynamic slam" and "dramatic bass authority."

  4. 4 MC loading that fits nearly any cartridge

    The six impedance settings through two independent transformer pairs are the feature reviewers keep coming back to. Soundnews calls the E-07 "one of the very few phono stages at its price point" to offer true 4.7 ohm loading through a dedicated step up transformer. Herb Reichert found the transformer coupled taps musically transformative, writing that switching to the 40 ohm tap made a dense, difficult record "sound like a different album," with reverb tails "dramatically longer."

  5. 5 Measurements that back up the listening

    John Atkinson's bench testing at Stereophile found extremely accurate RIAA equalization, vanishingly low noise and distortion, and overload proof stages:

    "The E-07 is one of the best measuring phono preamplifiers I have encountered."

    John Atkinson, Stereophile measurements

The features, named by name

Owners and reviewers keep returning to the same hardware. These are the features they call out by name:

  • Articulator. A demagnetizer that uses the music signal to demagnetize the cartridge and the internal MC step up transformers. Switch it on for about 30 seconds while a record plays; playback mutes during the cycle. Reichert: "Demagnetization cleaned up and woke up the XX2A."
  • Four super permalloy MC step up transformers, two per channel, with Low and High gain fully independent of each other.
  • Six position MC load impedance selector on the front panel: 4.7, 10, 40, 100, 300, and 1000 ohms. The selector doubles as the transformer selector: the lower three settings engage the MC Low transformer at 66 dB of gain, the upper three the MC High transformer at 57 dB.
  • Rear panel MM DIP switches for load impedance (34/47/56/100k ohms) and capacitance (0/100/220/320 pF), a degree of moving magnet adjustability reviewers call rare.
  • Three phono inputs: one balanced XLR for moving coil plus two unbalanced RCA pairs, each with its own ground terminal, so three tonearm and cartridge combinations can stay connected and properly grounded at once.
  • Phase inversion toggle for the balanced output, mono mode, and a low cut filter at 6 dB per octave below 30 Hz for warp induced subsonic energy.
  • Petal Shaped Grounding Structure (PGS), Luxman's term for its star grounding layout, consolidating every circuit's signal reference point into one location on ultra thick steel plates, with rounded pattern PCB traces for smooth current flow.
  • Loopless chassis with three OI type power transformers, twin stacked copper base plates totaling 3.6 mm, and density gradient cast iron insulator feet.
  • Non feedback RIAA equalizer with four parallel FETs in the first stage, for a total harmonic distortion figure of 0.003 percent.
  • Slim status display window with LEDs showing every switch and selection, set into the blasted white front panel.

YouTube reviews

No verified YouTube review of this exact model turned up in our research. One dealer product page embeds a YouTube video we could not confirm as an E-07 review, so we are not listing it here. If verified reviews appear, we will add them in the same format.

Honest criticisms

Nobody in print had a bad word for the E-07's sound, but the reviewers did note real caveats, and they are worth knowing before you listen.

The MM adjustments live on the rear panel

The MC controls get the front panel, but moving magnet impedance and capacitance are set with DIP switches on the back. What Hi-Fi found that an odd choice for the target buyer:

"The E-07 is aimed at enthusiasts, the kind of people likely to have a whole collection of cartridges of all types, so why make things harder than they should be?"

What Hi-Fi, Luxman E-07 review

The bass cut veils the sound

The low cut filter does its stated job on warped records, but What Hi-Fi would leave it off otherwise:

"The sound also becomes more veiled and less clear. This is something we would avoid using unless we really had to."

What Hi-Fi, Luxman E-07 review

A consistent emphasis where vocal sibilants live

Tracking Angle heard one repeatable timbral signature across all vocals, male and female, and called it a minor matter against an otherwise neutral presentation:

"The only consistent timbral tick was where vocal sibilants reside."

Tracking Angle, Luxman E-07 review

The Articulator's effect is subtle

What Hi-Fi heard "a slight improvement in clarity and definition" from a demagnetizing cycle, but added "you will need a revealing system to hear the benefits." Tracking Angle put it plainly: the Articulator is "neither a deal maker or a deal breaker."

A clean break from the model it replaces

What Hi-Fi notes the E-07 is "no mere tweak of its predecessor, using a solid state circuit rather than valves." Owners of the tube based EQ-500 coming for a straight replacement should expect a different circuit philosophy, not a refined version of the old one.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Luxman E-07 cost?

The Luxman E-07 is $7,995 at All Elite Audio, an authorized Luxman dealer in Timonium, Maryland.

What did the Luxman E-07 replace?

The E-07 replaces the tube based Luxman EQ-500. The E-07 is an all solid state design, released for Luxman's centennial in 2025.

Is the Luxman E-07 a tube or solid state phono stage?

All solid state. The E-07 uses a non feedback RIAA phono equalizer with four individual FETs paralleled in the first stage for low noise.

What cartridges can the Luxman E-07 handle?

Moving magnet and moving coil. Six MC impedance settings from 4.7 to 1000 ohms run through dual super permalloy step up transformers, with 38 dB of gain for MM, 57 dB for MC High, and 66 dB for MC Low.

What is the Articulator on the Luxman E-07?

A demagnetizer that uses the music signal to demagnetize the cartridge and the internal MC step up transformers. Run it about 30 seconds while a record plays; playback mutes during the cycle.

Does the Luxman E-07 have balanced connections?

Yes. One balanced XLR moving coil input plus two unbalanced RCA inputs, with balanced and unbalanced outputs and phase inversion on the balanced output.

How quiet is the Luxman E-07?

Signal to noise ratio is 88 dB for MM, 81 dB for MC High, and 78 dB for MC Low, IHF-A weighted. Reviewers call it exceptionally quiet, and Soundnews calls the noise floor inaudible in practical terms.

Where can I hear the Luxman E-07?

At the All Elite Audio showroom in Timonium, Maryland. All Elite Audio is an authorized Luxman dealer. Call 443-402-5055 to set up a listen.

Hear the E-07 at All Elite Audio

Luxman E-07: $7,995

All Elite Audio is an authorized Luxman dealer with a showroom in Timonium, Maryland, and multiple listening rooms. Walk ins are welcome during showroom hours, and trade ins are welcome toward the E-07. Shipping is free, and no sales tax is charged on shipments outside Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Call 443-402-5055 Visit alleliteaudio.com

Sources

Every quote, specification, and criticism in this post comes from the published sources below, read in full in October 2026.

Published by All Elite Audio, Timonium, Maryland. Prices and specifications are as published by the sources above and are subject to change. Owner quotes are reproduced from the public forum threads linked in the sources.

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