Stunning Amp!
Modifying my Mark Levinson 332 for a unique visual experience
I bought a Mark Levinson 332 in very bad shape. It had some serious internal problems and the exterior was showing 30+ years of neglect. I wanted a Levinson amp since I was a teen but there was no way I could drop that amount of coin on an amplifier. Well after 30+ years this amp has finally found me and we have been friends ever since.
Internally is was a mess. It needed to be fully recapped, needed various components that were exploded and needed a complete voltage gain board that looked like it served a few tours in Iraq. After I made the repairs and dialed in all the adjustments all was good in the world.
An amp of this magnitude is not only an aural experience but there is a visual experience too, right?
Time to tackle the cosmetics. Initially I was going to repaint the covers that were faded from sun or smoke exposure. There were some ugly scratches in the paint too. I decided to strip the paint from the covers with acetone. I didn't realize that the top cover was some top quality aluminum and it was beautiful once the paint was gone. The TIG welds were precise and the surface was smooth. That got my gears going. I was going to take it to the next level and have a unique amp that no one else on the planet has. I was going to polish that high grade aluminum to a mirror finish. The front bezel received the same treatment, as well as the power button, which to my surprise was aluminum as well.
This amp pays tribute to so many other high end amps like Dynas and McIntosh that have some meticulously polished frames and hopefully it is one-of-a-kind. Others suggest that modding it in this manner will drive resale value down. That is not a concern for me. I think this amp is a keeper and now that it is polished I fell in love with it all over again.
Here is a public link to a photo of it:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0yvjhlC62G7SHVJczc2ZUV2OGs/view?usp=sharing
I welcome comments and thanks for looking!
Internally is was a mess. It needed to be fully recapped, needed various components that were exploded and needed a complete voltage gain board that looked like it served a few tours in Iraq. After I made the repairs and dialed in all the adjustments all was good in the world.
An amp of this magnitude is not only an aural experience but there is a visual experience too, right?
Time to tackle the cosmetics. Initially I was going to repaint the covers that were faded from sun or smoke exposure. There were some ugly scratches in the paint too. I decided to strip the paint from the covers with acetone. I didn't realize that the top cover was some top quality aluminum and it was beautiful once the paint was gone. The TIG welds were precise and the surface was smooth. That got my gears going. I was going to take it to the next level and have a unique amp that no one else on the planet has. I was going to polish that high grade aluminum to a mirror finish. The front bezel received the same treatment, as well as the power button, which to my surprise was aluminum as well.
This amp pays tribute to so many other high end amps like Dynas and McIntosh that have some meticulously polished frames and hopefully it is one-of-a-kind. Others suggest that modding it in this manner will drive resale value down. That is not a concern for me. I think this amp is a keeper and now that it is polished I fell in love with it all over again.
Here is a public link to a photo of it:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0yvjhlC62G7SHVJczc2ZUV2OGs/view?usp=sharing
I welcome comments and thanks for looking!
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- 36 posts total
@generatorlabs thanks for the quick response . i already send the amp to india harman audio service centre and they send part inquiry to harman audio usa ,but harman audio usa aka mark levinson service team said that to me , they dont have the board right now , but when it will available then they let me know and also inform to india harman luxury line service team. i just want to show you the pics of the voltage gain board and left pcb board, but i dont know how to post pics on audiogon page. i am new member . thanks |
Pyramid Audio, TX is a certified Mark Levinson service center. They also service many other brands as well. http://www.pyramid-audio.com/ N |
Pyramid is one of the 3 or 4 authorized U.S. based ML centers. However mohit789 is in India so shipping a 150lb amp from India to Texas is a little silly. Pyramid does not sell any ML parts, not even a speaker binding post :( @mohit789...you cannot post pictures directly in this forum. The best you can do is upload the photos to GoogleDrive, give the photos share permission and post the shared links here, just like I did with my opening post at the beginning of this thread. As for the availability of parts, these amps are getting old. Someone correct me if I am wrong but I think the 333 has totally different output devices compared to the 332. I have seen photos of failed 333 boards. They are not pretty and they die a violent death. This may be partially due to the way the MOSFETs are internally mounted and flash up, carbonizing everything around them. The 332 uses external TO-3 can-type output devices. With that being said, I don't imagine there are a lot of failed boards that can be re-worked in the service channel. I don't know if Harmon still makes new boards for this model. They may be refurbishing boards at this point and you may be waiting on a good donor board. I am making assumptions though. |
Harman luxry audio said “Referring to the pictures that you provided on 6/5/18, I have confirmed that one of the boards that are needed for the repair, the No. 333 Current Gain (aka 'main') board is no longer available.” then i asked to repair my board then “Unfortunately our technician at our US service center United Radio has advised me that the CG board has been damaged beyond repair. Now what? Seriously i am stuck on that. Ill post the pics and update the link . Now please help me . If any one can do. I recently bought it , after two days of use it suddenly died. |
- 36 posts total