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At a Levinson crossroads .... need advice.

I need a little advice folks ...

About two years ago I purchased a Mark Levinson No.360S DAC and was very pleased with how it fit into my system. To this I added a No. 37 transport to match the 360S and was initially happy with that as well.

Here is a breakdown of what I put together :

Modwright SWL 9.0 Linestage
Mark Levinson No. 23.5 Amplifier (Summer)
McIntosh MC275 Amplifier (Winter)
Mark Levinson No.360S DAC
Mark Levinson No.37 transport
Proac Response D Two
Velodyne DD-10

Cardas Crosslink ICs
Acoustic Zen ICs
Signal Cable Silver ICs
Cobalt Cable 10 GA copper speaker cable

Like I stated before; I am very, very pleased with the sound. I have the system in a medium sized bedroom converted into a listening space. Everything was wonderful for about 3-4 months and then the transport started to skip. After a month or two of occasional skipping it started skipping all the time. I took it in locally to a trusted tech and he did the best he could but it didn’t help. I purchased the No. 37 from a seller on Audiogon but I felt enough time had gone by that it wasn’t fair to ask for assistance. I had only put 15-20 hours on the unit but I feel you have a fairly short time after the purchase of an item to report a problem. Six months after a purchase is just too far down the road for me. I have my PC plugged into the 360S as well and listen to FLAC files more than CDs but I do like to spin a CD every now and then. I paid close to $2K for the 37 and not it sits on the rack covered and silent.

My question is "What to do?" I found out the only place to get the unit repaired is Pyramid audio in Texas and I have read mixed reviews on their service. I called and talked to a technician and repairs could easily run over $1000. I have emailed a few members selling units and asked about the No. 37's reliability. Most people I talk to were pretty happy with the units. I was wondering who else out there has gone though this experience and how did it work out? Anyone out there happy with their No. 37 repairs from Pyramid? Any estimate on what this will do to me financially? I am wondering if I have a defective unit and should sell it as is for a fair price and move on or maybe it just needs a new laser assembly and it will be good as new. I'm not all that familiar with this unit but it's a big turn off when Harmon bows out of repairing vintage ML gear and will only supply parts to one or two repair shops in the world. Certainly there are gifted techs out there that could do the work if they could only get the parts. I certainly don’t want to play "tennis" with this unit shipping it back and forth to Texas if the repairs are not complete. If I put another $1000 into this thing and have more problems I'm going to be less than happy.

As always you input is appreciated.

Mike
128x128horseface
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Mike, I don't know who the "most people I talked to" were, but I recall that ML had a lot of problems with the transport mechanism in those units. If they were still supporting their products, i'd say fix it because if i remember correctly, they had an 'improved' upgrade for them.

However, with ML out of the picture, I'd say cut your losses ;-( You might see what you could get for it as a parts unit from one of the independent ML repair people, or by offering it on eBay.

Those units had great performance when they worked, but an unfortunate large majority of them developed transport problems. Right now you're standing in a shallow hole. Don't start digging ;-)
davehrab's avatar
davehrab
380 posts
 
Give this a try ...

The factory lubricant on the rails that the laser sled travels on dries up and cakes ... when the laser sled hits the dry deposite it binds monentarily and looses lock with the CD data stream and it skips

Once the laser is past the dry spot, it locks back on the CD and continues to play until it hits another dry deposit and skips

If you can clean and lubricate ( with White Lith. ) the rails that the laser rides on you should be able to save a trip to the repair shop

If you feel uncomfortable ... take it to a reputable tech and tell him you want it cleaned and lubed as a preventative maintance ... don't tell him it skips or he'll try to sell you the whole drive ... when chances are it just needs a cleaning and Lube
ikarus
113 posts
 
Agree with nsgarch. I had a 37 which had problems as well (which I eventually replaced with 31.5 - no problems whatsoever with that one). I have now totally abandoned ML. Cut your costs and look for another transport.
Post removed 
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Mike, referring to Viridian's remarks, I noticed your dual amp strategy too. Not only that, but I had those same two amps! And for the same reason ;-) However, much as I loved my 23.5, I like tubes with my electrostats, so I sold my ML and devised this solution:
http://members.cox.net/nsgarch/cooling_fans_top.jpg

Neil
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