I agree w/ Larry. There is a stable of Madrigal/Levinson "Golden Age" components. I've had my 23.5 amp for 14 years and more recently nailed a 26s preamp and a 25s phono preamp. They are all in a class by themselves, which I would say is best described by the word "invisible." And if you're used to describing quality audio components, that's not a description you hear very often.
Oh, and a word about service. If a Levinson, Krell, ARC, Rowland, McIntosh, CJ, Crown or any quality component from a manufacturer of similar longstanding reputation fails (other than from user torture) it is going to be in the first 100 hours +/- and will most likely be due to a small circuit board device like a resistor, capacitor, or diode, which was just too costly to use the military grade version, and over which the manufacturer had no direct control. After that first 100 hours though, these manufacturers products can last a lifetime with little more than retubing in the case of valve gear. They are over-engineered and built like tanks, which is why they are so hard to find used, and carry high resale values. It's also a good reason not to bitch when one does occaisionally require repair. At least what comes back is a Levinson, not an Aiwa!
