Mark Levinson preamp no. 38 vs 38s vs 380 vs 380s

The 38s has teflon circuit boards and sounds better than the 38. Same thing with the 380 and 380s. The 380s is the best sounding of the four models.

I owned a 38s and upgraded to the 380s, by far it was one of the most astonishing upgrades I've made. The 380s transparency is exceptional, on par with ARC higher end pre-amps, but has far more bass authority, and the ergonomics can't be beat.

I have owned Krell KRC-3, ML 380s, ML 39 (uses 38 pre), ARC LS25mkII and now I have a Hovland HP-100. These last three pres are all the sam $$$(used). Look into the Hovland or another good tube device. Looks like you've given SF Stereo some good biz. (I bought all my first hi-end gear there.)

I know your thread is about the diffs in ML pres. Fine. The 380s is the best, and most expensive, of the lot. Now go look at the Hovland. It will do musical wonders to your Krell. Will take its edge off a bit.

Now, if you want to get crafty......dump your pre and buy a ML 390 cd. In it you get a 39 cd and 380 pre. You could run your Sony SACD (and all those Spyro Gyra SACDs)thru the DAC on the 390. Or dump that thing and just get a Sony SACD transport. A 390 DAC just sounds better than a Sony.

SACD? I just don't get it.

On that last point, don't sell your preamp so fast. I have a 380 and a 39 that I just had upgraded to a 390s. I too was considering selling my 380 and running the 390 direct. I have run it through the 380 to my 332 using balanced cables and compared it to the 390 driving the 332 solo.

Depth of detail and dynamics were significantly better running through the preamp compared to running the 390s direct. The 390 direct sounded good but the 390/380 combo was far and away more engaging.

Just my .02

Alan