Who heard the Mark levinson 53 monos?


Who has heard the big levinson (class D monos) and how do they sound compared to the other great contenders , Levinson stands for absolute high end for me ,although it seems not be in the picture on the web a lot .
Levinson was my atraction into high end , the set up of 390 s , ml 32 , 432 and avalon eidolon was an eyeopener of high end sound to me , a warm /dark seductive sound i dont know if i am happier with the krells actually ,i moved appartments during the amp change so comparing is hard , i might buy back some 436 monos some day.
andromedaaudio
ok, i will write a "review" based on everything i have read, and the fact that i own levinson 33H amplifiers. the new amps are very fast- they respond quickly to the attack of notes no matter how loud and complex the sound might be. they have seemingly limitless power reserves, so your ears will give out before the amplifiers will. i am sure that levinson made sure that the 500W rating is extremely conservative as their amplifiers have ALWAYS been found to be when tested. they should at least match halcro et.al. in their distortion measurements.
they will never get hot.
as for the Great Unknown, that is their ability to express the subtlest nuances in the music and bring out details you've never heard before in material you thought you were familiar with, i expect they will do this with
considerable success, although whether or not they are totally "relaxed" and non-artificial sounding will be something only the most experienced listeners might be able to determine. can they carry a tune like Lamm 1.2's while getting out of the way to the degree that Soulution amplifiers are supposed to do? THAT would indeed be a welcome result after having spent $50K and "keeping the faith" as it were with that welcoming name and logo on the front. i want to be able to say that they are truly musical instruments in every sense of the word. i also would want to know that every pair that leaves the factory gets rigorously tested for a considerable period of time, both listened to and exposed to a sizable load to double check that they meet specs and sound as good as the prototypes. FINALLY, there should be no doubt in the customer's mind that, other than More Watts or external Cosmetics per se, that nothing coming out of europe, australia, or elsewhere, has been better made or better sounding- and that would include tube amplifiers (assuming the listener prefers solid-state overall to begin with).
so would someone like to add something to this admittedly limited synopsis?
wouldn't that fulfill the purpose of having the audiogon forums- instead of simply starting another argument where no one learns anything new, perhaps expanding the knowledge of the readers- most of whom can't shlep to audio shows or fly to new york or "the factory" to get an audition? after all, didn't we "seal our own fate" by letting the internet take the place of local dealerships where we use to be able to audition new gear? so NOW it's time IMHO to share as much constructive information as we can with one another. thanks again...
I see it much the same way, what about one of the big magazines ?
There is a dealer in germany who has them on permanent display and i heard of one in singapore , maybe i ll check it out on a holiday/stopover
A perfect argument as to why we should find reputable, reliable dealers and not only frequent them for their advice, but to purchase from the dealer. I am not a dealer. However, If my favorite Dealer, Stereo Design in San Diego, CA carries equipment that I am looking for, I will negotiate the price with that dealer (everything is negotiable to a point), and purchase from him. They will let me take equipment home for a week and audition. They require a credit card and will not charge the card if you return the item.

The dealers that won't give me the time of day (rare these days) I don't deal with. But, when people use the dealers to listen to equipment only and purchase on-line, then when dealers go out-of-business, the looky loo should not be suprised when they can't find a dealer.

remember, everything is negotiable.

enjoy
The reality is that products made by Harmon ((Levinson, Revel, and others) enjoy so little support from Harmon that many former dealers and custys will never invest their money in these products again . Under Madrigal the products were exceptional and a joy to own. Under Harmon's management service is an abomination and endless money pit, the products and parts are back ordered for months with dealers reducing product that fails out of the box. Not to mention the fact that their new CD player has been discovered to be little other than a modified Oppo in a very expensive box add to this the fact that many failed after a few hours and a new disaster resulted, Levison amps and preamps are now part of the Crown division (are they Crown in disguise?). I used to own a Levinson Reference system but because of Harmon's gross mismanagement dumped it all for other brands. I won't even consider investing in Levinson/Revel again unless Harmon sells the franchises to new investors. What a shame! I believe the above to be the reasons for the lack of interest in Levinson's new products.