Mark Levinson 39

I owned an No.39 for 3 years, during which time I went back and forth on the issue of running it direct vs. using a separate pre-amp. There is a clarity and purity and image stability you get by running direct, which is mighty appealing. But when I would add a pre-amp, I always appreciated the extra ooomph I got out my system. With a high-gain amp or highly efficient speakers, it might have been a different story.

The Levinson is a great product, but it may be getting a little long in the tooth when it comes purely to the sonics of CD playback. In order to get it all in one box, including volume control, I don't think you will be getting the best CD playback available for $6K. The No. 37 transport in it is superb, but the No. 36 DAC is fair to middling by today's high-end standards, I think. -Dan

thats right

thats right,plus the39 is being updated to implement24/96 hence360-360s technology.but the39 killsthemiles , if you really need a39 for now buy a used one for half price. when running direct you lose a little dynamic punch compared to using a pre of high caliber,minimum of 380 s or 32 in a levinson only system or a art pre for superb sound. mike

My advice: Find some ether.

I also owned a #39 run direct thru a ML#331. The noteworthy improvement being increased resolution and detail. However, the #331 being a little dry to begin with, the loss of my tubed pre's (AI M3A) bloom and warmth, was not worth the trade for higher rez. I think the Meridian CD might be a more suitable match for a Levinson amp. I do understand that you would like to stay within brand, pride of ownership and such. One caution, however. I bought the #39 based on the advertised flexibility of having three components on one chassis. I did this with an eye toward adding digital room compensation in the loop between the digital output and the DAC input of the #39. This can not be accomplised with the #39. It will not accept it's transports output back into it's DAC. When I explained this to Madrigal I was greeted with a bad attitude and a rude representative. I understand that you would like to stay within brand, pride of ownership etc. and they do make good equipment, but be wary. there is better out there. As for me I sold all my Levinson and won't buy again. GOOD LUCK