Mark Levinson 432 vs 532 vs 532H

Just today brought home my No 532 to replace my 532H.

The 532H is a great amplifier. I would have been happy to have it in my system for the long-term. However, an opportunity to purchase a 532 came up and I made the leap.

The 532 is brand new out of box, not broken in. The differences that I can hear so are:
1. better separation of every sound - highs are a bit clearer, background singers more distinct, highs have more "air" around them.

2. Lows are more well defined. Not that the 532H was a slouch at this, but bass is more defined and forceful.

3. Big picture: Some HD downloads from HD Tracks that were disappointing before sound better already, in the first hour of amplifier use - before any real break-in.

To be clear, I HIGHLY recommend the 532H as it was noticeably better than my Chord CPM 2600 integrated (no slacker on its own). I emphasize that I LOVED my Chord CPM 2600. It was easily livable and the 532H was better yet. Now, the 532 bests that.

I just think that 1 hour in, the No 532 is a noticeable step up from the 532H. Each individual should decide if the upgrade cost is worth the sonic improvement.

The No. 532H is a great amp. Don't worry about the chassis seeming sparse. The Chassis is designed to hold up to 5 channels of their newer compact design using numerous smaller capacitors instead of a couple large one's in the center. They're using two of their amplifiers for the 523H and two torrodial transformers for dual mono operation mounted vertically in the front, so it looks a bit sparse, but don't worry it's all about the sound. If anything it'll give more cooling space. The amp sounds like a good pair of monoblocks built into one chassis. It is fully differential balanced, so that can explain a bit of the price increase. It is a top notch stereo amplifier with an iron grip on the bass and exceptional soundstaging.   

My 532H arrived today. I switched out my Rogue Stereo 100 (which I really like) and installed the 532H into my rack. The preamp is a Sonic Frontiers Line 2 SE and the speakers are KEF Blade 2's.

It was one of those holy Mother Of God experiences!!! It was the best I have heard in my home in so many ways! Effortless power and dynamics, deep tight tuneful bass, pinpoint sound staging that was also deep and wide...

Compared to my more recent amplifiers (Rogue Stereo 100, Muse Model 160, Parasound Halo A21, & Sonic Frontiers Power 1), There was no contest! I think I may have found my "forever" amplifier!

Congratulations on your new No. 532. I know there are probably a lot of great or maybe even better power amplifiers out there but No. 532 is absolutely my holy grail amplifier. Enjoy.  

Those of you who have heard or have the 532H or 533H, are you still loving it? I am debating on the 532H vs the new Krell Duo 300 with Aerial Acoustics 7B's