That's a good point Reg. I sold a lot of 4SRs by having the 9s around. It only works however if Amir or any of his partners wants the 53 for themselves in the event they should they not sell. They ARE keepers so that might not be a problem at all.
Mark Levinson
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Amir,
Can you comment on the sound quality of the 502 and also whether the lack of HDMI 1.3 in a home setting is really a problem? I once had the Levinson 51 Media Console and what it could do with plain old DVD was incredible. My install is a JVC projector and a 100 inch Supernova screen with Blu Ray and DirecTV HD as video sources. I'm curious what your thoughts are on the video, the analog quality (as a preamp) and the DA conversion. Thanks,
William
Can you comment on the sound quality of the 502 and also whether the lack of HDMI 1.3 in a home setting is really a problem? I once had the Levinson 51 Media Console and what it could do with plain old DVD was incredible. My install is a JVC projector and a 100 inch Supernova screen with Blu Ray and DirecTV HD as video sources. I'm curious what your thoughts are on the video, the analog quality (as a preamp) and the DA conversion. Thanks,
William
I do not have a firm opinion of the 502 audio quality as we immediately put it to service in one of our theater systems before I could do any comparative testing. Its output was also going through the Audessey Pro Room EQ which I am not fond of (it is disabled now). Our main source for music was from a PC I had built which out of necessity, was connected via Toslink. I did not like that option much. So we paired it up with the Audiophilleo Async USB and that noticeably improved fidelity. So subjectively I would say it sounds very good if you drive it right.
On the HDMI front, I was concerned going in. But that worry was for not. The machine has proven itself very compatible, easily mating with whatever sources I have thrown at it from the PC which can be notoriously difficult to PS3. The adjustments on this machine are quite nice such as the multiple crossover filter settings.
Speaking of the PC, the front 1080p LCD is wonderful as we have both the PC and 502 rack mounted and I am able to view the output of the PC there for maintenance and such, eliminating the need for a separate monitory.
We have taken the machine apart and I have to say, this is one complex machine. Lot of PC boards with a ton of parts on them. It is in an entirely different class than any other AV product I have seen. The others look like empty boxes compared to this beast!
Misses so far are the very granular volume control which steps in 0.1 db values. Not a problem if you are using the knob but for automation control, where you are hitting up/down buttons, it can be very slow. There is supposed to be a way to get it to jump in larger units but we haven't figured out how. Been too busy to call them and find out if there is a solution.
The machine just oozes quality. You don't feel like you spent a ton of money and you got a hair more bits than the mass market products.
BTW, there is a special going on with B stock units that have been refurbished. It brings the cost down substantially. So much so that I have heard people buying them as DACs for their PCs! Given the built-in display, it makes for a nice unit in that application per above. So if you are interested, be sure to go and check this option out before the sell out the inventory.
On the HDMI front, I was concerned going in. But that worry was for not. The machine has proven itself very compatible, easily mating with whatever sources I have thrown at it from the PC which can be notoriously difficult to PS3. The adjustments on this machine are quite nice such as the multiple crossover filter settings.
Speaking of the PC, the front 1080p LCD is wonderful as we have both the PC and 502 rack mounted and I am able to view the output of the PC there for maintenance and such, eliminating the need for a separate monitory.
We have taken the machine apart and I have to say, this is one complex machine. Lot of PC boards with a ton of parts on them. It is in an entirely different class than any other AV product I have seen. The others look like empty boxes compared to this beast!
Misses so far are the very granular volume control which steps in 0.1 db values. Not a problem if you are using the knob but for automation control, where you are hitting up/down buttons, it can be very slow. There is supposed to be a way to get it to jump in larger units but we haven't figured out how. Been too busy to call them and find out if there is a solution.
The machine just oozes quality. You don't feel like you spent a ton of money and you got a hair more bits than the mass market products.
BTW, there is a special going on with B stock units that have been refurbished. It brings the cost down substantially. So much so that I have heard people buying them as DACs for their PCs! Given the built-in display, it makes for a nice unit in that application per above. So if you are interested, be sure to go and check this option out before the sell out the inventory.
Thanks for the swift and comprehensive reply!
I was actually thinking of it as a kind of DAC with monitor. Also, I do have a Denon AVP-A1 that I find useful for my purposes but I sometimes toy with the idea of going crazy and minimizing my overblown setup (transport, DAC, clock, digital room EQ, preamp, phono stage, BD player, AV processor). On the HDMI and video, do you need to set the player to decode TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio since the 502 won't do it?
I will definitely look into the B-stock units and pricing.
William
I was actually thinking of it as a kind of DAC with monitor. Also, I do have a Denon AVP-A1 that I find useful for my purposes but I sometimes toy with the idea of going crazy and minimizing my overblown setup (transport, DAC, clock, digital room EQ, preamp, phono stage, BD player, AV processor). On the HDMI and video, do you need to set the player to decode TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio since the 502 won't do it?
I will definitely look into the B-stock units and pricing.
William
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