New Mark Levinson gear: Amp, Pre-amp, Turntable and Streaming Player

[Chrispy]

Yamaha founded 1887. Denon 1910.

 

[anmpr1]

Levinson gear has only been available sporadically here and never had an importer who did a particularly good job.

I'm of mixed opinion about him and his products. First, the man was a marketeer, but I can appreciate his 'vision' and his goals. That is, a desire to build the best, cost being no object. Obviously there is always excess in that sort of endeavor, and excess will always turn some people off.

From what I've read, Mark's customer support was always first rate when he was at the helm. Not an engineer, he hired competent designers (John Curl, Tom Colangelo, Dick Burwen). He was not afraid to buck trends (his embrace of equalization--the Cello Audio Palette), and in fact created trends (his movement away from flimsy RCA connectors, mono block layouts for both amp and preamp circuitry, high current capability into low loads, the importance of adequate power supplies).

At the same time, he couldn't tell you why his preamp 'sounded' better than anything else. All that was built on an edifice of sham. But he wasn't alone in that, for sure. Almost everyone believed in it, back then. From that historical standpoint, David Hafler was more 'right' than Mark. But in long term 'value'? An LNP-2 is probably more likely to be working at spec today, than the switches on a PAT-5 which have long since corroded away.

The question one has to ask is whether any of it (other than equalization) made any difference in sonics? The answer is clear. In fact, in the case of his ML-2 amp, its lack of voltage could be a huge limiting factor in sonics, depending.

A man who owned his gear (ML-6a preamps, ML-2 amps, Mark's modified Studer A-80) told me that if he matched levels and hid the brands he couldn't tell a difference between it, and any other decently designed gear. That said, he told me he'd rather own ML items for long term reliability and aesthetics.

In this particular instance, that is, the 5302 amp...? Why anyone would buy it over a Benchmark would be a mystery to me. But if one needs more power than that, into low impedance loads, the bigger Levinson amps might be a starting point to consider. But there are a lot of other choices, too.

 

[Wes]

It's groovey lookin' and best of all does NOT have the volume knob in the center.

 

[pavuol]

“The exceptional audio quality delivered by our systems allows listeners to discover subtle nuances and intimate details they’ve never heard before on songs that they truly love.”

Mmmm, I really like this kind of talk.. but first, someone at ML please send a sample to Amir so he can get really intimate with the device and reveal for us some subtle nuances with the APx analyzer.

 

[FrantzM]

Who is us?

At least 51% of the people active on this site ... I presume ...

 

[anmpr1]

At least 51% of the people active on this site ... I presume ...

Actually, it's probably closer to 91%, here. It's like that old Boston Audio Society joke: the BAS are people who are looking to find sonic nirvana for five hundred dollars. In 1977 it was a joke. Today, at least in DACs, you can have it, with enough left over in your pocket for a dinner.

With electronics so advanced these days, my question is whether it's better to buy a Benchmark (for example) that will probably last a very long time, or a Topping which might not last as long, but at its price point you can buy a handful over the years for the same absolute dollars, if the one you own goes south?

PS: I'm looking forward to their AHB2 'killer' which is promised. Until then, I'm siding with the guys in Syracuse. All that said, I'd like an LNP-2, if I could find one cheap! LOL