Is Levinson 33 still a reference standard today???

Richard Hardesty, in his Audio Pefectionist Journal, went from the ML33's to the Theta Dreadnaught I's stating they were better. The Levinson's were sold. Later, he went to the Theta Citadel's as his reference. He is the only reviewer that I have seen really make a definitive statement to the point of actually stating a preference and his reason why.
He has become a fan of no negative feedback amps used with tube preamps. He currently uses a VTL 7.5 preamp.

Hey Guys,
I have this same question and since this thread did not seem to get much attention when it was created I figured I would bring it back up for another try. If you have had the 33's and went to something else, tell us what and why.

Not alot of 33 guys here mainly because of price and no logical support from Harman Int.,the beaners that bought out Levinson.In response to Big,the cat who preferred Theta to Levinson will in 2 years no doubt prefer Brand XYZ to Theta and on it goes down the line.Human nature doesnt deviate much after 5 or so.Happy Memorial Day men,Bob

Still very impressive amplification by any standard but given the complete lack of support from Levinson (now Harman International and formerly Madrigal Labs) I expect you will end up seeing more of these on the market and the resale gradually dropping.

Having taken a chance on Levinson and paid the price I will stick with the product, but knowing what I do now, I would not do so again, nor would I recommend Levinson product past or current. If I was to go in a different direction I would likely go with Pass Labs.

Windriver. You are right on the mark! I paid the price too. But after learning that I would most likely have to continue to shell out cash every few years just so I could keep the amp going, I decided it was time to cut the ties with Levinson. I traded my #333 for a Pass X350.5 and never looked back.

FrankC

Levinson 33 and 33H are still statement products, and it's really unfair to bring the crappy support for 3xx series capacitor issue to 33 and 33H that do NOT have that issue.

However, being a previous owner of 335 that ended up in landfill due to the dreaded capacitor issue, I share the same sentiment. I'll never recommend another Levinson product to anyone. I've also replaced the dead 335 with Pass design, First Watt F5. I'm very pleased with the result.

The No.33 are still a reference amp. Ask JA at stereophile as I think he still has his 33H. The 3XX sound nothing like the 33 and the 4XX sound more like solid state amps. The 33 needs a ton of amps to preform at it's best that is why the 33H works for most people better. I miss my 33H and will own one again. You will never hear real bass until you hear the 33. Levinson reference products like the No.32, 40 30.6 and the 33 the real deal and worth the money. But you can have there 3 digit products.

Hardesty uses Vandy 5A so I can see why the Theta would sound better. They also work better with the crossovers.