Mark Levinson

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
I had the pleasure of hearing the No 53 again at CES 2011. This time out of the truck and in a suite with Salon 2s (their usual mate):



The amount of bass these put out with Salon2's can be startling at times. Something about Salon2's shape makes you think they are not going to have the bass that they have when paired with these amps.

At our shop, we used an AVR with Salon2 and then paired it with pro class D amp (Lab Gruppen) and the improvement in bass and overall response was quite amazing. I keep debating whether we should stock these amps for our showroom. They sure are pretty and with their vertical style, efficient from floor plan point of view.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Hi Amir,

Any ability to make an indicative comparison to the legendary 33H monos from ML? its been more than a few years, but was curious since few have heard the new monos. thanks for any guidance.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Howdy. I have not of course had an opportunity to compare the 33H side by side with the 53. That said, it is easy to see the key advantage of the new amp: incredible amount of power. The 53 is rated at 500 watts into 8 ohms and 1000 into 4 (http://www.marklevinson.com/ProductDetails.aspx?prdid=1). The 33H was rated at 150 and 300 respectively. These are not just numbers. As I noted, the main thing you notice is incredible amount of power that is delivered when needed and the ease with which it does it.

No 53 also regulates its power consumption and temperature so is likely to have a more predictable performance.

We had the Harman truck at our showroom for an event so got to spend quality time listening to it. While I did not care a lot for the environment of the truck when it came to the speaker performance, the amp could not be faulted across wide range of music we listened to. Needless to say, the unit is also gorgeous -- a trait that it shares with the 33H.

I have not lusted at any audio equipment for quite a while but this one has gotten me hooked! :)

Note: we are a dealer for Mark Levinson so please take that into account as you read my comments :).
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Thanks Amir,

sounds pretty amazing. let us know if you end up taking it in-house and spending more time with it.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I had an extended listen to No.53s driving the Eggleston 9s. What I liked most about it was the sense of ease. The 53 seems to have gobs of reserves and should be up to the task of controlling most real world speakers. Tonally I found them to be well balanced and smooth but capable of delivering grunt when needed. They are no longer darkish like my 23s and 332s were and are more close in balance to my 431s while the 432s were a bit dark too partnered with a No.32. If I were to nitpick, it would be in the area of projection. At least with The Nines, sounds did not jump out at you with big blasts from a big band, images just lingering at the speaker plane. This is of course a matter of preference as many actually like their images well behind the speaker plain. All in all, I think it is a marvelous amp that sounds much more than a linear amplifier than a switching one.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Thanks for that...helpful. (Nice custom room, BTW...saw your earlier pictures!!!) Can you make any basic comparison between the 53s and any of the other big SS amps you've heard?...Soulution, FMA, Gryphon, Boulder, etc. Thanks. Just trying to get a sense of this amp which i am going to struggle to hear for myself since there isn't an ML dealer here. thanks.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Sadly I haven't heard the Soulutions, FMs or big Gryphons. I have heard Boulder 2000 series amps and the BaLABO. Problem is I wouldn't know how to compare them since they were all in different systems and in unfamiliar surroundings. The 53s I've heard in a dealer friends showroom that I'm very familiar with and I did get to hear The Nines with tubed VTLs. I'm a long time Levinson owner having gone through 3 generations and I still have my 431. I'm also very familiar with the 33H and the 33 as I have friends that own them. I wish I knew who eventually bought the 53s as I would like to listen to them again.

Sorry I can't be more helpful. All I can say about the Boulders and BaLABOs is, like the 53s, there was no signs of any shortage of power. Any differences in sonics I would, in greatest probability, be attributing more to the differences in the loudspeakers used (Magico V3 and Perfect 8 respectively) than the amps.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
I am trying to decide what amps to carry in the showroom. If you were in the market for Mark Levison, which one would you want to see and listen to? As you can imagine, the No 53 ties up the most cash so before I decide to showcase it, I like to know what the potential customers would want to hear and/or buy. My favorite as I mentioned is the 53 but it is also the most expensive so hate to put that there, only to find out most people want to see the lower end units.

Any feedback would be appreciated. :)
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
IMO, it would be the 532 and 326s for sure Amir. Maybe a 512 but the formats are more than iffy.

I'd leave the 40, 500Hs for indent purposes. I'm thinking of it as ML for primarily audio with or without Video functionality and JBL Synthesis for turnkey theaters.

The 40, 53 and 500Hs can be for those interested in a balls to the wall Wisdom or Revel system.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Amir,

One of the great things about an audio store (in my personal experience) is variety...the ability to try many different things in one store. Learn, experiment...plus its' just plain fun. If you're tying up working capital in a single piece of equipment, then i would suggest caution and the following considerations: 1) who is your market in Seattle? if it's guy's who just cashed their latest options and come in drop $50K+ on a stereo system, that is obviously different than regular customers who come in to hear the ML integrated; 2) how quickly can you get a 53 if someone wants to audition? if quickly, then problem pretty much solved; 3) finally, if you had this one piece of equipment as representing ML...do you think you get introduce people to ML via this piece of equipment...and when they say they love it and wish to hear the more affordable version, then you get that piece of equipment in quickly? if so, and you already have lots of variety in the store...that is the only condition under which it seems to make sense to tie up that much cash.

By way of example, here i know the owner of a store who bought the Dartzeel reference pre...and cannot move it. and furhter, most of his customers seem to buy ARC or Krell...so its not like they even wish to audition the Dartzeel...problem. that is a lot of cash tied up for him. good luck.
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,806
4,698
2,790
Portugal
Amir,

I have no experience with current ML models, but one the best systems I have heard included the ML31, 30.5 , 380 and the 20.5 class A amplifiers (with Martin Logan monolith III speakers).

I owned the ML 23.5 and several other ML pieces and got the feeling that mixing with components of other brands was not an easy job. The ML was a closed system in equilibrium, any change could kill its harmony.

BTW, even at that time, the choice of speaker and interconnect cables was critical to get the maximum from a ML system. Transparent Audio was one of my preferred, XLO signature was also excellent.

Good luck!
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Thanks guys. Pretty useful feedback. FYI the time to get a unit is only 2-3 days so we are OK as far as someone wanting to hear equipment we do not have. That said, we need to stock something and hence my question.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Depends on how good the 532 is...and what level you think your potential ML customers are going to come in at. i would have suggested that if you've got the clientele for whom this is not just a scratch and save hobby...but a full-on disposable income toy where (for the right product) money is no object...then make sure the 532 dual-mono really impresses. if it does, then for those who "always want the better one, the flagship model", you can always gets one in for them to hear in a couple of days. If the 532 does not really have the flagship magic, then it may be neither here nor there, and therefore having something even more entrylevel (and less cash-intensive for your business) may attract the guy who is just stepping up into the high end and is happy owning any entrylevel from ML. Just a thought. good luck. and if you do end up with the flagships in your store where you can really run them...would be great to get your more detailed feedback. BRgds.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
No we haven't. Part of the reason we like Harman products is that our relationship with them is quite deep, giving us ability to solve customer problems quickly and good channel for future product improvements. And of course, stability of the company in this tough economy.

That said, I love to carry whatever our potential customers would want to buy :). So keep the feedback coming.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
as a consumer, while it might be nice to have one store which has, say, Classe/ML/Rowland...i suspect dealers would prefer to spread their working capital to a wider spread of products...in your case, ML/Cary Audio/ARC or something. For smooth, slightly warm/natural SS, i think ML is a very good brand to stick with...and with your kind of corporate relationship which is super-valuable from a customer-service perspective, i understand why you are sticking with them. I guess the question is...is your customer likely to stay "mainstream" (Krell, ML, ARC, CJ)...or do you think you find a segment to corner in your market...such as those who (with a trusted dealer who provided depth of product/knowledge) could be tempted to stray a little more out of bounds...Cary/, or Zanden/Shindo or FM Acoustics/Soulution/Dartzeel? Only you could answer that question...i only ask because such dealers are difficult to find...but i have noted that in some cases, those dealers end up with a very loyal following. If you think you have the working capital/knowledge base to capture a "fair mkt share" of the maintstream and also corner the market on esoterics...that might be an interesting point of differentiaion. Even for those dedicated to the mainstream might come see you because you offer both for them to compare. Just 2 cents as a consumer. Good luck and pls keep us posted.
 

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
3,947
306
1,670
Monument, CO
Unfortunately, there's a wide gulf between and betwixt what I want, what I need, and what I can afford... Amir, what processors are you offering? How does ML handle room correction (or does it)? Is Mark still involved?
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
I hear you on the first point Don :).

On Processors, we have the Mark Levinson No 502 processor:



It does have room EQ although I have not tested it. We currently use JBL Synthesis and Harman's Sound Field Management (Sub equalization and full room EQ with 8 mics).

When I was at Microsoft, we built an entire room using Mark Levinson mono blocks and Revel speakers. Not sure what the interest is these days: whether people look to ML for stereo in which case, the processor is not used or multi-channel.

As to Mark being with them, he is not. He left long, long time ago. Having met Mark, I am not sure he is still the focused genius he once was :).
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
BTW, one cool thing about the above processor. I built a music server and hooked it up to it using HDMI. To navigate the PC, I used the screen on the processor itself! it was nice seeing the media center UI and not having to put a monitor in the rack.
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
To put it succinctly "White elephants" don't sell. But they draw a lot of attention. My dealer draws em' in with a Wilson MAXX, then sells a SASHA or a SOphia 3.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing