在真空管放大器的世界，輸出變壓器的質素直接影響放大器的性能發揮與音質。 Luxman 的經典放大器產品採用 OY15 型輸出變壓器，採用壓鑄鋁外殼；形狀跟原型看起來似乎一樣，但其實經過重新設計。電源部分採用高穩定的 El 型電源變壓器，並配有定制設計的隔直電容，可提供穩定的音質和出色的驅動力。
略施脂粉 明豔照人
試聽用 Accustic Arts Drive II、Accustic Arts Tube DAC II Mk2和B&W 802 D3 匹配之。不久前，我才評論過 Luxman的 L-509X，那是一款每聲道120瓦（8歐姆）的 A /B 類合併機；個性跟真空管前後級有別。L-509X 彷彿是透明的，播放任何東西你也不會察覺它的存在。毫無癖性是它的優點。不過，有人會另有想法：我花一筆錢去買嘢玩，怎可以像沒買過似的？！追求個性，也是人之常情。
CL-38uC 和 MQ-88uC 顯然有真空管器材典型的魅力但沒有另一些牌子的重口味（我不想用「音染」啦）。如果胆機的聲音是「甜」的，CL-38uC 和 MQ-88uC 不是蜜餞那麼甜，而是蓮霧（天桃）的清甜。如果 Hi Fi 是女人，這對前後級是淑女而不是放蕩的女人。也許，「霎耳嬌」的擴音機會先下一城，吸引你的注意；但買一對前後級是預備長期使用的，CL-38uC 和 MQ-88uC 那種感性與理性有機地糅合一起的聲音（音樂）展現，更會贏得成熟的你的心。
聽《The Very Best of Clearaudio》24K金CD第一首’Hello’，女聲穩重中帶有女性嫵媚，很有代表性。Bella 唱 ‘Soundtrack’ 和 ‘Things To Do’，微醺的結他之音與嬌柔的女聲後面是豐富的人生經歷；還有第七首’Billy, Can you Hear Me?’，女聲二重唱的一輕一重，CL-38uC 和 MQ-88uC 表現真到位啊。CD 上「唯二」古典曲子：「莫扎特D大調小步舞曲」（小提琴與鋼琴）獨特的堂音給準確呈現；結他獨奏 Romanza d’Amore 的清麗寧謐，又是 show 這套前後級 quali 的時機。
Jocelyn B. Smith《Live in Berlin》第二、三首 ‘You Gotta Know’ 及 ‘We Need Love’ 沒有「考機」的極端元素，不過音樂張力的建築，就「考」Hi Fi 是否「夠音樂感」。CL-38uC 和 MQ-88uC 聽得我津津有味，不自覺地踏腳打拍子。
How petite are the Wharfedale DX-2 speakers? Standing just 19cm tall – they’re roughly the same dimensions as the Sonos One – the four satellite speakers are small enough to fit almost anywhere.
While we’d recommend placing them on dedicated supports where possible, the compact speakers are designed to feel at home on top of shelves, on bookcases, on the TV rack – anywhere you can find a spare spot in your room, really.
Don’t have the space or budget for stands? You can wall-mount them instead, thanks to the brackets at the back of each speaker.
The entire package has been redesigned. The glossy front remains, but the cabinets now have curved edges and the smooth leather-like finish wrapped around the speakers removes the need for spikes or rubber feet – so you can place them directly on surfaces without fear of scratches.
It’s a sleeker, smarter and more luxurious look.
Further cosmetic flourishes, such as the chrome rings surrounding the fixed speaker grilles for each driver – a neat design that protects the drivers without completely covering up the front – and lack of any grille holes make the whole package look even tidier. The DX-2 comes in two colours: the black of our review sample or a white finish.
Build quality is good for the money, although we do have trouble getting our reference cables (with standard 4mm banana plugs) to fit into the speaker terminals. It’s too tight a fit, with the terminals feeling a tad undersized.
Just like its previous iterations, each satellite has a 19mm silk dome tweeter and a 7.5cm mid/bass driver, with the centre channel using two of the mid/bass drivers to flank the same tweeter.
The satellites are all closed-box designs – there’s no port – making it easier to place them closer to walls without affecting sound quality.
The centre channel has an aperiodic bass loading system (a small hole at the back filled with special foam) helping reduce low-frequency distortion and control bass performance from a small cabinet.
The WH-D8 active subwoofer completes the set. Comprising a forward-firing 20cm long-throw driver powered by a 70W amplifier, it’s compact enough to be tucked away in a corner.
If you regularly watch movies, we’d keep the ‘auto sense’ switch toggled on: the sub automatically goes into standby when not in use, switching itself on when a signal is detected.
Sound
Speakers this size often struggle to handle Hans Zimmer’s epic score for Inception, but the Wharfedale DX-2 package delivers a respectable scale of sound – larger and heftier than its diminutive stature would suggest. It sounds punchy, detailed and surprisingly expansive.
The DX-2 may be designed for smaller rooms, but it copes admirably even in our large AV test room. There’s abundant detail, it handles dynamic shifts with ease and not once does it fail to fill the room.
That’s an impressive feat for any small, sub-£500 surround package.
Of course larger speakers will fill a room more easily, but as the dream collapses in the final act of Inception the Wharfedale speakers deliver deep, resonant notes and thunderous crashes with utter composure.
The DX-2 speakers are well-integrated too. Surround effects ping around the room, engulfing you in an articulate cocoon of sound. The haunting whispers on the island in Star Wars: The Last Jediare clear, precise and evoke a chilling atmosphere as they echo across the surround speakers.
The package does a grand job of going quiet, too: echoes in a cave die abruptly, plunging you into silence. The edges of notes are precise and clean, allowing the Wharfedale to keep a snappy, agile sense of timing. It’s a hugely listenable speaker package.
Dialogue cuts through the busy special effects clutter, although we would prefer more texture and depth to voices. Rey’s hopeful entreaties contrast nicely against an elderly Luke’s grumbles, but more solidity and low-frequency detail would flesh out the emotion in their voices.
More subtlety in the lower frequencies would help overall, but that shouldn’t take away from the rumble to punches, explosions and soundtrack crescendos. It’s a satisfying amount of grunt and weight – especially at this price – to keep us hooked to the action.
Push the volume too high and the Wharfedale package starts to struggle. But the DX-2 holds our attention at lower volumes – a sure sign of subtle and expressive dynamics.
Verdict
Go up the price scale and you’ll find speaker packages (such as the Q Acoustics 3010i 5.1 Cinema Pack) that are more articulate, more precise and bigger-sounding. But they cost double what the Wharfedale does.
The entertaining performance, the compact-yet-stylish build and appealing price tag – it’s impressive how much Wharfedale has bundled into the petite DX-2 package. It’s a great solution for AV fans tight on budget and space.
Luxman 保留了木箱型機殼，因為它代表了38系列的傳統。不過底座已悄悄擴展到440mm 的寬度，這是目前 Luxman 產品的標準尺寸，有足夠的內部空間去安裝各支真空管；內部機箱充當全方位屏蔽金屬外殼。為了防止漏磁和消除噪聲，環形電源變壓器和扼流圈變壓器都有一體化的屏蔽外殼。
CL-38uC 包含一個真正的唱放均衡器，MC 低阻抗和 MC 高阻抗（增益）輸入都有獨立的 MC 升壓器，藉 MC 阻抗槓桿掣進行選擇。日本機另一得人喜歡之處，是有音品控制（tone control）設施，使用家能夠微調音質，而不是被動「硬哽」個別軟件的不良音質。高音與低音的音品控制，不單是「多/少」的旋鈕調節；有三個crossover 頻率檔位可供切換，讓用家能將信號微調到所需的聲音個性。（高三檔：1.5K, 3K 和 6KHz；低三檔：150, 300和 600Hz）
為追求最高音質，CL-38Uc 每一級都用分流調節推挽電路（SRPP circuitry）。這電路確保了平直的頻率響應，並具有低輸出阻抗（300歐姆）、低失真和延長的真空管壽命等多項優點。由於目前許多 high-end 器材都有平衡式輸出，CL-38uC 具備平衡輸入端子；而且廠方為它們配備專用 transformers。
Jocelyn B. Smith《Live in Berlin》第二、三首 ‘You Gotta Know’ 及 ‘We Need Love’ 沒有「考機」的極端元素，不過音樂張力的建築，就「考」Hi Fi 是否「夠音樂感」。CL-38uC 和 MQ-88uC 聽得我津津有味，不自覺地踏腳打拍子。
近來愛聽 Patricia Petibon 的《French Touch》，上月試喇叭我也有用。今次喇叭與擴音機轉了，我坦承聽這CD今次滿足感更大。也許是「胆」的功勞，Petibon 飆到最高的音時，聲音還是十足飽滿滋潤的！
《inakustik Great Voices Vol.1》採用了 UHQ-CD 方式去生產，效果美滿。裏面發燒友最熟一曲，應該是 Chris Jones 的 ‘No Sanctuary Here’。這錄音有朋友說「靚是靚，但低音多了一點」。不在此討論這個錄音低音是否「多了一點」，這可能關乎「個人口味」但更多是關乎你套傢生播出來是如何。想講的是，如果你對低音有甚麼意見/要求，又如果你用的是 CL38Uc 前級，一切迎刃而解——運用音品控制調整：分別試試150, 300 和 600Hz 三個檔，扭高扭低，包你找到最啱心水的低頻質量。
應該輪到用廣東歌試音了。我播放「新寵」《一屋寶貝音樂廳》，無論男聲女聲、獨唱合唱，都「美聲」（Bel canto）得讓人不知時光流逝，一聽到尾！管弦樂伴奏也交待得毫不含糊。《環球高歌陳百強》有不同年代歌手向Danny致敬，老一輩歌手最寶刀未老的是盧冠廷（唱「突破」），最有驚喜有二：蘇永康唱「從今以後」（碟上流行度較低的一首），關淑怡唱「漣漪」。我家中Hi Fi也是「胆前胆後」，但講到「冧」的感覺，是在公司聽這一套系統時更強、較享受呢。
最後要用古典CD試。聽的是 Vilde Frang 拉巴托第一小提琴協奏曲與 Enescu 的弦樂八重奏。CL-38uC 和 MQ-88uC 交待小提琴協奏曲的場面與氣勢固然不錯，然而Octet裏八把弦樂器的「七嘴八舌」對話，更引人入勝；可以說表現盡這套系統的分析力與「音樂感」。
關於 Classic2/3 揚聲器，這時要給Classic 2/3播放音樂，小編選擇了菲律賓Chlara的《In A Different Light》，這是一張她挑選心水的幾首流行曲經過重新編曲后，灌錄的一張高保真唱片。
