Levinson 33H vs Boulder 1060/2060??

i agree with Raquel and Kurt. i've owned three Mark Levinson amps; the #335, #33H and the #33. i enjoyed them all, likely the most musical was the #33H.....which while short of the effortlessness of the monster #33, was a bit less 'processed' sounding.....always listenable.

i've only listened to the Boulder (both 1060 and 2060) in unfamiliar systems....but i've heard them quite a few times on familiar speakers. they really do nothing wrong and have low distortion and are not sterile sounding. OTOH i have never been drawn into the music with Boulder and always get that processed sense more like the big #33 Levinson....maybe all those circuts and output devices.

for me the darTZeel is the one; but i agree it does need a reasonable load to be fully dynamic. on my 93db Evolution Accoustics MM3's they do everything one could ask in my very large well damped room. the MM3's do have powered subwoofer/woofers so the dart only powers the mids and tweeters. i've heard the dart on full range speakers in normal sized rooms and they do just fine.

the dart does not sound like ss or tubes; it sounds like music...sweet, detailed, natural, low noise floor, great micro-dynamics, very articulate bass, and a texturally rich and pure mid-range.

the Lamms are different from the dart but also are quite good (i prefer the dart personally).

i have yet to hear a mega-watt ss amp that i could live with long term.

YMMV

I would also add to your listening list the ASR Emitter Exclusive along with the Darts. I have listened to the Darts at Mike L house and they truely are fantastic. My ASR is also in the same league. Either of these amps will give you tremendous listing pleasure. It really depends on your speakers and the rest of your equipment/enviroment.
I own both 33s and 33h's. I prefer the 33 to the 33h but over all the ASR is more musical.
Good luck.

well, to turn the coin over for a moment, the dartzeel amp offers a reportedly lovely voice, but only comes in one color (i mean one size of course). one preamp also, which is prohibitively expensive (10-15 grand oughta distinguish between two strad violins made 3 years apart). but i'm just as big a phool as anyone, and truly great sound is what it is.
so get a tivoli radio and get 92% of the 33h's performance or 90% of the dart's. i'll keep reading and learning from these discussions nonetheless. thanks to all.

Mikelavigne have you heard Gryphon Antileon Signature?
It's sound is SEDUCTIVE and effortless!

George

Amen George - Gryphon is great sounding gear.