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My Mark Levinson preamp dying - looking for new preamp, sound as good, wont break bank

Hi - When I bought my Mark Levinson I thought I was done with upgrading, but over time the capacitors in it failed (and I had a magician with a soldering gun replace the Chinese capacitors with good tantalum ones).  It sounded better than ever! That rescued the unit for about another 8 years, but it is failing again (volume knob not working, some inputs iffy, etc.)  So I figure within the year, I will need a new preamp. I no longer care about a phono section.   I have a Bryston 4b-SST amp driving Dunlavy SC-IV speakers (yes, more power than I need but I wanted to be prepared for whatever speaker I might get in the future as the Dunlavy's are big and heavy and I would like something more manageable, someday).  I don't want a tube preamp as I don't want to wait for tubes to warm up - hence solid state.  What do people like, say in the under $5k range? (or must I spend a bit more to get Mark Levinson quality sound?)
frije03
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
+ 1 on the rebuild.. Have it done correctly...Mark L, is just tough to beat at any price. Unless there is something you want to add, via a newer pre..
Remote, play through, dac, you know, stuff...The old is just fine, actually BETTER if done right..

Regards
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
Look at Jeff Rowland Capri S2.
yyzsantabarbara
4,802 posts
 
Benchmark LA4 $2500 + $100 remote. They have a 30 day home trial. Only thing is that you will now hear only your source, amp, speakers, not the preamp.

I used to own the 4B-SST so if you want a warmish preamp the LA4 is not for you, it will not add any "tone" to the signal. I actually used the warm SS BAT VK42SE preamp (about $7K) with the 4B-SST but the LA4 is my opinion much better and reference class.

I also used a Bryston BP20 + MPS2 power supply. The BAT was better and the LA4 for me is way better than both.
richopp
760 posts
 
Hard to answer.  ML stuff (from the old days) was terrible.  If yours "sounded" good to you, I would check out other pre-amps that have no "sound" and see what you have been missing.

If ML has improved its products (the parts were always good, the reproduction was horrible), then try a rebuild, I guess.

Cheers!
jg2077
159 posts
 
Pyramid Audio in Austin Texas can rebuild it.  They are certified and have extensive knowledge in all things ML.

No affiliation,  I'm only a satisfied customer. 

Good luck with what you decide, 
Jose
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