Mark Levinson 532H gets reviewed by Stereophile Magazine

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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Seattle, WA
Harman tells me that the amp is proving exceptionally reliable. They have sound thousands of channels with just a handful of returns. The 532H is the bread and butter ML amplifier scaling up from 1 to 5 channel. Our demo unit has been a great soldier. Having put myself through college fixing mostly audio amplifiers, I think people pay too little attention to the reliability aspects of what amounts to a high current welder. :D

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http://www.stereophile.com/content/mark-levinson-no532h-power-amplifier



"Conclusion
The Mark Levinson No.532H may not be strikingly beautiful to the eye, but its sound won me over time after time. Its superior bass slam, soundstaging, treble detailing, midrange pitch definition, and jaw-dropping dynamic range equaled or exceeded that of my other ML amplifiers.

The No.532H's price of $8500 makes its purchase a serious decision. One must consider this amplifier's superb build quality and impressive dynamic range playing hi-rez digital files. The No.532H made my Snell A7 Illusion and Phantom B7 dynamic speakers sound more alive and more authoritative than ever before, with bass slam galore, while coaxing dynamic musical contrasts and subtle timbral textures from my more sensitive, electrostatic Quad ESL-989s.

Perhaps it's time to add another Mark Levinson amplifier to my collection. Meanwhile, I'm recommending we give this relatively affordable stereo amplifier with the plain-Jane exterior and stunning inner beauty a Class A rating in Stereophile's "Recommended Components.

...

With its high power output and very low levels of noise and distortion, the Mark Levinson No.532H offers textbook measured performance.—John Atkinson"
 

flez007

Member Sponsor
Aug 31, 2010
2,915
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435
Mexico City
My life with ML gear has been short in the past, I had the earlier 27.5, 23 and 20.5 amps, 12 years later I am back again using an ML333 that keeps a smile on my face every time I listen to it. Agree with you on the reliability issue...

Looking at the internal pictures, it looks quite empty compared to the ML333, they both have the same power output, but mine is full of cards and discrete devices.... 10 years old shows!

http://lh6.ggpht.com/-9SDkK5NZyNI/S0hzC-e2ZII/AAAAAAAAQB4/f8yuX5IQACU/IMG_3070.jpg
http://www.stereophile.com/images/811levin.bac.jpg
 
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Phillyb

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2012
152
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The 532H was a different design, it was designed so they could ad 1,2,3 channel in the same case. So smart design and cost savings to the customer, how they set up the outputs and caps are different and how they mounted the 2 transformers on the front panel, instead of on the bottom of the amp which then would have filled in the bottom better, but then they could not have added more channels. In the end, it is how the amp sounds and it sounds superb.
 

Phillyb

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2012
152
112
948
I owned the 532H and the 326S preamp and I just put them together back in my system. They are so fluid, balanced from top to bottom, music just flows not highlighting any range of reproduction. Each recording and each instrument sound so different, color and tone and shading, and the noise floor is so low that acoustics of the room or hall come through as you hear on only a real good tube system but with dynamics. Brass as the bite, but not the glare, a sax has a golden tone, and color, along with fingering and the sound coming from sax opening, in other words not just notes and 1st attack, the whole instrument. Vocal recorded well are holographic, the piano has wooden overtone from the keys not just notes and sharpness, you hear the Ivory. My Mcintosh system which I love had more grunt, more upfront, heavier sounding, big bass, yet in the mix was more glare, I always felt it was warm and bright at the same time and the noise floor cannot compete against the ML.

The ML compared to upfront gear would sound more laid back due to it being more natural, but once you relax and listen to it, it hits you how well these two ML units are reproducing the recording and again each recording stands on its own, while McIntosh and Krell and other leave their imprint on every recording. My 532H has been boxed up for several years as well as the 326S so this is the sound I am getting after 2 days of being turned back on, it will take a few more weeks to come into their own.

I also must say those who say it looks lacking internally, well that is only because of how they placed the parts and transformer. This is not a cheaply built amp.

How good is this power supply? you turn the amp off and keep right on playing as if it was still on at the same volume, that tells you how much storage the power supply has, my McIntosh gear amp turns right off with no sound coming from it.

Who has the most storage the ML and my McIntosh is 100 watts more? 300 vs 400 McIntosh, both sound good but different, ML is the accurate one of the 2, the McIntosh is more forward with a heavy sound to it, the ML is more depth, width, and placement, in place of the closer sound field of the McIntosh. 2 amps with a different perspective of sound reproduction. ML are keepers and I am glad I hung on to them.
 

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Phillyb

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2012
152
112
948
Thank you. I've downsized a bit, gone was my Esoteric K-01, SACD player replaced by the wonderful Marantz SA10, it was the better player overall, I then sold my Luxman C800F preamp after I reinserted the ML 326S. Lastly sold my McIntosh after reinserting the ML 532H. More natural and better imaging and highs are sweeter and natural and the noise floor is night and day better in comparison.
 
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