2. digital
  3. 136738-86984

Mark Levinson pre-amplifiers compared

On advice from Audiogon discussants...and I thank them....I purchased a ML 523 and have
posted my ML 326-s for sale.

A review of the four ML pre-amplifiers I have owned may interest some.

1. ML 10 pre-amplifier....purchased around 1983 (and returned two weeks later) following a dealer's assertion that it incorporated the characteristics of that brand's more expensive pre-amplifiers, at a much lower price.
False !  It was dull and flat.
2. ML-7, purchased around 1983.  Narrowly chosen over the Spectral DMC-10 (I believe the alpha version).
The Spectral had the ethereal high end which the ML-7 entirely lacked, but at the sonic cost of a 'thin and
watery' mid-range and base.  The ML-7 within its frequency confines was magnificent.
I attempted 12 or so years ago to improve on it, borrowing the top-of-the line CJ solid state
pre-amp for comparison.  The ML-7 easily won.
3. ML 326-s, purchased two years ago.  Finally a conclusive improvement over the ML-7.
The high frequencies were extended and euphonic, the sound more detailed throughout the
sonic range, the tonal balance as accurate as my 'live' music listening experience allowed me to judge.
This is a wonderful pre-amplifier, its tonal neutrality, sweet high frequencies and sonic detail such that if I had not committed to the ML 523 I could forever be happy with it.
4. ML 523.    The sound is immediately distinguishable from that of the 326s.  The 523 offers an 'air transparency' and 'articulate transients' (to quote the Stereophile reviewer) that the 326s cannot match.  This was, to date, most obvious when listening to a choir performance, on vinyl.  The complex tonal characteristics of the different choir sections required no effort of imagination to differentiate, the spatial positioning was equally bold and 'observable', the 'air' around the voices and their high frequency transients a sonic treat.  ML 523 brought something new and irrepressibly enticing to my living room.
I must at the same time comment on the overall tonal balance of the ML 523 which in one sense...and perhaps I am wrong about this.. hewed closer to that of the ML-7 than to that of the ML 326s.   While the ML-7 more or less lacked a top 'top end', it has been described (accurately, I believe) as having 'slam and midrange punch'. The 523 has an overall fuller sound than that of the 326-s. and maintains what one might still call 'slam and punch' throughout the frequency spectrum.

Regarding loudspeakers, the ML 523 makes more evident the high frequency 'ring' and midrange 'bogginess' which render the B&W 802D2's less accurate than their 802D3 successors.  Those faults of the 802 D2's in particular respect of reproducing piano music
bring into perspective an aesthetic dilemma.  The D2's are gorgeous sculpted loudspeakers, D3's close to being eyesores.  Purchase of D2's 'upgraded' with the D3's high and mid-frequency sections, but retaining the woofer cabinetry of the D2, would for me be a no-brainer.  I said as much to B&W in an e-mail, but of course they did not reply.

Would replacing my 532h amplifier with a ML 534 make much difference ?

Thanks to all,
'seventies'

seventies
seventies OP
67 posts
 
Hi, mayoradamwest.
I enjoy opinions such as you just provided, and trust you do as well.
Regarding B&W, a recently retired high end hi-fi store owner elaborated to me the history of B&W, noting that they'd spent a small fortune on researching and initiating production of the d3 line and that the most recent owners of that 'name' were less likely to
consecrate similar amounts to R&D.  My own audition of the 802d3's confirmed their sonic excellence.
Regarding aesthetics, and of course degustibus non est disputandum, I wish the announced price for the forthcoming 'prestige' version of the 802d3's were less. I wonder how the current rosenut d2's would look with a coat of French polish applied.  Your comment on mid-century modern furniture brings a chuckle insofar as 55 years ago a college friend who acceded to directorship of a British bank showed off the reproduction antique furniture in his Manhattan apartment and then a room whose furniture he described as 'early Eisenhower'.  As I write I ascertain that the ML 534 can be had for below list price, am attempting to sell both my 326s and 532h towards that purchase....after which I shall give further thought to a d3 purchase.  mmceylea's comments regarding the 534's treble was the mainspring for this effort.

Ag insider logo xs@2x
mayoradamwest
430 posts
 
@seventies for what it's worth, I'm planning on buying 802 D3s to replace my 805 D3s as my main 2 channel in the next year. They show up here on Audiogon fairly regularly for at least 30% off MSRP, which seems like a pretty good deal. At their $22k list price, it's a bit out of my comfort zone, but 14-16k I can somehow justify (especially given the resale value). Good luck on the pre-amps! They all sound excellent, and you plan seems sound.
seventies OP
67 posts
 
mayoradamwest,
I await your opinion of the 802d3's.  I note that mmcelyea is using
sopra 3's with the Levinson 534 amp and is very pleased.  The sopra 3's. which I'd not previously know of, have a similar retail price to that of the 802d3's.
As I considered purchasing the 802d3's I could not decide between the black and the rosenut....black seems to sell for less.
Many years ago I took home a pair of B&W bookshelf speakers, the
nautilus series, hoping to save space and mate them with a subwoofer.
Within a few days I'd returned them and purchased the nautilus 802's,
the immediate predecessor to the 802D, and happily lived with those for
over a decade.
I will report my own experience with the ml 534 if I succeed in selling my 532h for a decent price.
mmcelyea
60 posts
 
I was able to sell my 532h fairly easily. The sopras and the 802 are priced similar and both have high end tweeters. Since you are most interested in that part I'll give more detail. 

The 534 treble is more extended and detailed but not bright. There is less hash with the 534 less digital sounding treble is how I describe it. Smoother over all with more ambiance. It's a very quiet amp.

It's not just the topend  that's better, every area is but I was most surprised by the treble
seventies OP
67 posts
 
mmcelyea,
You have persuaded me to purchase a 534 as soon as I have sold
my 532h and hopefully my 326s, both of which I just advertised on Audiogon, US Audiomart, and Craigs list but to date without
viable response.  I have not previously sold on Audiogon so am 'learning the ropes' Advice in that area would be welcome, as you are to call me at 978-4756987. 
On another 'note', the 802d2, 523 and 532h combination reveals certain virtues and defects of digital sources that I could not previously appreciate.  For instance, I just received box sets on Decca of Chopin and Schubert solo piano music, excellent artists but poor recordings, the piano sound coarse and tinny, and inferior that on CD's of the old Anni Fischer Beethoven sonata recordings.  So a question that may go unanswered is whether recordings companies such as Decca's 'bargain' offerings are inferior to the (same) recordings sold earlier as individual CD's or part of more expensive collections. 
More to discover