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Good upgrade from Levinson 33H's

I have been reading discussions on here and in audio reviews, looking for a good upgrade from my Levinson 33H's. First off, these are the best amps I have heard, but I have not heard many of the new wonder amps discussed on many threads here. I am running all Stealth cable, with the Genesis 4 tower speakers.....so the amp I choose to upgrade to, will be running only my Mids / Tweeters. Some, but not all, that I have interest in are, BAT, Joule, Lamm, MBL,CAT,Atma-sphere, Soulution......generally the usual suspects. Each seems to have it's good and bad points, or rather, supporters and critiques, probably depending on many occassions to what supporting equipment people may be using. I guess the bottom line here for me is, which amps in this list or not, would be a substantial upgrade from my Levinson 33H's.......I don't want a lateral move! To all those that will say.....you have to audition....and what do you like or what are you looking for....yes of course. However, without traveling the continent to audition them all in someone elses system, what should my short list be? Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.
bullot
bullot OP
130 posts
 
Thanks Lloydelee21..........some questions you had!!
1. The Stealth Dream I really like. I had Shunyata Orion prior to the Stealth. I have not really tried very many speaker cables compared to other components and wire! I essentially hooked it up and forgot about it! To me it's one of those things that I am going to have to spend huge money on to improve, so I just accepted that it was a great cable and forgot about chasing any other models.
2. The only other power conditioner I have had is the Shunyata VRay. I had the same experience with the Dmitri as the Stealth Dream.......great product, plug it in and forget about it! Sure there may be something better, I don't know if there is.......but I can't see anything working much better for me so that was the end of my search. Compared to the VRay it just seems smoother, more natural and really invisible, seems like it's not there!
3. The Bybees I have on my speakers and ic's are really nice. Difficult to explain what they do! If you have or have heard the Tripoint Troy, I think they do the same thing, only not to nearly as great an affect. Things are more natural more at ease more real. I like the Bybee and can't see ever selling them, but unless you get a deal on them the cost is prohibitive! Better putting that money towards the Troy, unless you get a deal.
lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
Thanks! Great advice and very detailed. I will also share this with a friend who is considering Dmitri. Enjoy your great system!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
I noticed that John Atkinson said the Classe' CT-M 600's were the best amps he had used at home . I found that interesting since he used the 33H's for about ten years as his main evaluation amp's .
There a bargain at $13,000 .
bullot OP
130 posts
 
Hey there Tmsorosk........yes that is interesting! I loved my 33H's. My first real "high end" amp was a classe DR9. I ended up with a pair of them and ran them mono! Loved them, and loved the classic look Classe had back then! I also had a Classe DR5L preamp, so I know the brand well and enjoyed my time with them very much! I have not heard the "newer" models for years, might be time to give them a chance again as I continue to hear lots good about them.
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