Mark Levinson 27.5 versus modern day amps

There is something to be said for a beefy or brawny amp that exhibits eye candy, power and finesse.  The older Levinson amps are hard to beat in this regard IMO. 

I’ve just purchased this 27.5 second hand (traded some Mission 782, 782 SE towers, 78C center and 78ds surrounds plus $500) and couldn’t be happier.  This Levinson replaced a Rotel RM1080 which I swore was one of the best amps I’d heard.  I’m hearing things in music I hadn’t heard previously. This amp is paired with my B&W 804 Matrix speakers and does it make them sing.  I think it’ll stay with me for quite some time. 

Just purchased a 23.5 last week. Whoah!!!! 30 yrs old!? No way. This amp is STILL WORLD CLASS!!!! Vocals float grainless in space. The bass is beyond comprehension. You find yourself following the backup instruments and their melody line that you have never heard before. 23.5 and 27.5 were the best amplifiers of ALL TIME. A MADRIGAL tech noted in Audiogon that they built those amps to last a lifetime. To clarify he went on to say 100 years!!! LEVINSON IS GOD!!!! HAIL TO THE 23.5 AND 27.5!!!

@porschefanatic99 

 

Nice setup. I still have the 27.5, but my son has the B&Ws. If you know how to solder, bypassing any electrolytic capacitors in series with the drivers with say ODAM caps won't kill the house sound of the 801Ms, but it will open them up, and the house sound will be diminished. Granted, the house sound is seductive as heck, but it's not gone, and you'll almost certainly love the improvements. If you really want to nail it, get a DS2 preamp before Don Sachs stops making them, he's semi retired now, and the best Lampizator DAC. Don't buy the DS2 used as he has made important upgrades lately, the Lampizator due to supply and other issues I would buy used, but only ones made after 2020. If you get a Lampizator, I intend to bypass the splendid o/p caps with ODAM and V-Caps, so let me know and I'll tell you if it's worth it. I won't go into what I replaced, but 2 very well reviewed, and actually impressive DACs were slaughtered by an inexpensive, relatively speaking, Amber 3, unmodified but with a very expensive Maxda cap in the output.

This is an old thread, but I would like to add to this since I contributed earlier to this thread and recently purchased a new integrated amp.  This was not to replace current electronics but just to add to it.  Current system consists of all vintage electronics.

My vintage system has an extremely euphoric, holographic sound with beautiful overtones and depth. It includes

 - Audio research LS5 II all tube and all balanced preamp with all NOS Amperex 7308 NOS tubes. 

 -  Levinson 27.5 power amp.

- PS Audit Digital Link DAC with Cullen Mod.

- Audio Research PH3 Phono preamp.

- Oracle Delphi III with Oracle SME 335 tonearm.

I recently picked up a near new Levinson 5805 Integrated amp for a good price.

I hooked up my PS Audio DAC since the Levinson internal DAC was not at all comparable to the sound of the PS Audio.

I was immediately blown away after firing it up.  The sound was completely transparent and very high quality and detailed.  The sound was completely different than my vintage setup.  It revealed that my vintage setup had distortions in the sound reproduction making the sound euphoric and very inviting.   I'm almost preferring the new levinson sound since the sound is absolutely pure and linear with no detectable distortions...good or bad. 

So if anyone is in the market for a great integrated amp, look no further than the Mark Levinson 5805!

By the way, my PS Audit Digital Link with Cullen Mod is by far the finest sounding DAC that I've ever owned. It easily beats the current PS Audio Direct Steam DAC.  It seems the old PS Audio has at least double the resolution compared to the Direct Stream.  I quickly sold the Direct Stream after purchase.