Mark Levinson ML-5A Half-Inch Stereo Master Recorder

c1ferrari

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 15, 2010
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Well, I haven't been to Fred's website in awhile, but I must state the recent visit was thoroughly enjoyable :p
 

jdza

Well-Known Member
May 3, 2010
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MMMM

Mechanically one of the 2 finest tape machines ever built. A machine with a legacy second to none,proclaimed by the most fastidious,pain in the arse ,impossible to deal with Studer expert that ever existed(so fanatical about these machines is he that even Studer themselves would not allow him in the factory) to be in an as new condition for $44 000 or a pro am glorified Teac with tape transport befitting only a 1970s domestic machine,garishly decorated,crammed full of "audiophile" parts for $ 26 000?

Each to his own but I know which one I would choose.

Studer A80s are plentiful, most of them are trashed,some are beyond trashed and the worst of the worst are for sale. ML 5s are very special,mint ones are very,very rare. $44 000 rare. ? Maybe.
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
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Fred's 8 month refurbish of my A-820 back in 2007-2008 has turned out to be a wonderful thing for me. it's been flawless since that time.....and never made a wrong move.

and i'll not soon forget my 'day with Fred' when I drove down from Seattle to pick up my pristine A-820 from Fred when he lived in Ukiah.

Fred is an acquired taste I would say. he does not suffer 'fools' gladly. and he taught me the term 'TRQ's. (tape recorder queers). which is what he calls us audiophile tape deck owners. his mission on earth is to protect Studer Master Recorders from the non-pro marketplace so to preserve their highest use of mastering.

he is obviously very proud of his babies.....
 
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Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
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www.pugetsoundstudios.com
his mission on earth is to protect Studer Master Recorders from the non-pro marketplace so to preserve their highest use of mastering.
.....

well only the well-heeled audiophile could afford his prices, which keeps them out the hands of the mastering engineer. kind of puts a big question mark on top of my head... what is he thinking??
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
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well only the well-heeled audiophile could afford his prices, which keeps them out the hands of the mastering engineer. kind of puts a big question mark on top of my head... what is he thinking??

How is the ML modded Studer A80 any better than a well sorted regular Studer A80 RC ? Different repro amp ?
 

stellavox

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2010
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The ML5 was Levinson's attempt to produce the best sounding tape recorder at the time. The "story" I heard was that he originally wanted to use the Stellavox TD88 transport (the predecessor to the TD9) but ran into some trouble - perhaps reliability, so he went with the Studer A80. The 5 ended up with 3 new "cards" - power supply; record and reproduce amp (pic attached) that replaced the stock units in the 80's audio electronics rack. Only other ML "addition" (that I am aware of) was the ML5 "badge" on the front panel.

The potted amplifier modules on the R/PB cards were slight variations of the modules used in the "revised" ML1 and LNP2 (and LNC crossover for that matter) designed by either Tom Coelangelo and or Dick Burwen (info murky here). After ML left to form Cello, the circuitry "evolved" into what became the P101 Phono and P603 Tape Repro "cards" that plugged into the Audio Suite - with the 603 "adapted" to tape transports by "wiring out" the PB head - like today. They did also adapt an Audio Suite to produce full record/PB electronics (at least for a Nagra T).

Charles ML5 Boards - original PB.JPG
 
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jdza

Well-Known Member
May 3, 2010
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From Levinson:

ml-52.jpg

As an optional extra the internal Studer based power supply can be substituted with an external Mark Levinson PL151 supply.This is somewhat lacking by todays standards.Substituting the outboard supply with a dedicated supply based on more modern components is in my experience a massive step forwards in the ML5 performance. I also own 13 other fully functional machines including 3 other A80s ,one of which has had all its passive audio components replaced with modern ultra high quality parts. The ML5 sees use 99% of the time. The other 1%? Why it is a lowly Ampex 440C. Sound quality wise probably the most underrated machine of all time.
 
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jdza

Well-Known Member
May 3, 2010
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A few other random observations if I may:

1. Although the ML5 uses the European standard Butterfly heads it is optimised for NAB eq. Although it has a switch for IEC the aligning process requires NAB first then using a deeply buried pot to align the highs for IEC. Mine has been modified to be flat for IEC.

2. The ML5 is a single ended design although it does have XLR outputs ,superior results can be obtained using the Camac or with a slight mod RCA outputs.Outputs are phase inverting.

3. The operating level of the ML5 is significantly lower than studio standard. It runs at -6dbm (387mV) for 200nW. Forget about turning it up to standard-it won't get there. This can be real pain if used in conjunction with other studio machines.

4. IME the ML5 has one advantage that no other outboard electronics has-it uses the existing mother machine structure and takes advantage of Studer's fastidious wiring/grounding architecture.

5. The ML 5 may be old and I dread the day those sealed little Mark Levinson black boxes blow but until then it remains a fantastic machine if used as intended.
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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