Mark Levinson 39

I don't know what replies you've got in your posting. In my opinion, run 39 direct to 335. Every additional equipment in the signal path is cause for detoriation. Being an ML posterboy myself, I'll stick to ML. I used to own a 37 which was one of the finest. As for Theta, somehow I did not care for the Theta sound too much.

Lev, what the heck do you want? Why are you even asking the questions? You've said you're gonna get the Levinson, period. That being the case, all the rest of this is just mental masturbation, and that's probably why the respondees have been less than excited about it. But if you need your preferences validated, okay, here goes - The sonic improvement you'll experience with the all Levinson setup over that Theta hodgepodge will be stunning. Shocking. Absolutely amazing. Then, when you run the 39 direct, it will be even more shocking, stunning and amazing. It will absolutely blow away every combination of gear you have ever heard or imagined. And you are an absolute genius for marrying all this up to the sl3s. It's incredible. Bravo.

Feel good about it all now? Wonderful. Our job here is done.

chas

Whoa, chas, what scintillating wit and repartee!

Sure put that pesky, agressive question asker in his place dincha?

Very impressive indeed. Nothing like the internet to take out your misplaced angst and venom risk free. The net is a virtual playground for insecure jerks

Problem is, with posts like that, you come off sounding like a moron with a chip on his shoulder. Chill, or go take some prozac. See a thread or post you don't like? Ignore it, or is that too difficult for a feller like you?

As for the question asked... The 39 run direct will afford greater resoltion across the frequency band, more dimensional imaging and a blacker background than the combination you mention, IMO.

I was using the 39 and the $7k Thor TA-1000 together. One day I became curious what direct would sound like and the next day the TA-1000 went up for sale. I lost a little tube bloom and air, but the heightened rez, slam and spatial characteristics were worth the trade off. If I were to make a suggestion, I would recommend you experiment with some tubed amplification downstream from that combo. Could be the best of both worlds. Good luck with your purchase.

Sorry Lev, but I'm with Chas. I'm pretty much a newbie when it comes to audio, and I have come to rely on much of the information shared on this site. There are many experienced, intelligent, and giving individuals here. Sure, many are biased to a certain brand, for whatever reason. Yet it seems most approach other's opinions and comments with an open mind. However, in your case, you are so single-minded that I need not even read any of your replies, they all say the same thing, ML is great, anything else sucks! That type of attitude detracts from the actual purpose of these forums. If I've been too harsh I apologize. I believe your experience and love of this hobby makes you a very important addition here, but without flexibility and an open mind your opinions regarding anything but comparing Levinson products head to head is useless. I'm sorry I don't feel qualified to comment on your technical questions. Continued good listening.