I have owned several ML amps and also the commonly recommended Pass amps (by others on this thread). Personally, I much prefer the Levinson amps! I have owned the 331.5 and now a 334. I have never had any issues with either one and the 334 is powerful enough to drive any of the speakers I presently own (Wilson W/P, Thiel CS6, Gemme Audio, Magnepans) in a medium sized room to more than satisfying levels.
Should you ever need service, you can have caps replaced for a fraction of the cost charged by Harmon/Levinson/whoever is now owning them. Typically about $500 will re-cap the entire amp with better sounding, performing and reliable caps.
I would recommend considering a 334/6 or the 43X series.
I have owned 3 Pass Labs amps 150, 150.5, Aleph 5 and recognize their strengths, but was never that crazy about any of them in comparison to other amps. I prefer all class A (which the Aleph 5 offered - but not enough total power). I find the Pass amps when reaching into Class B really suffer (150(.5)/250(.5)/350(.5)) and no longer perform to the levels that are acceptable to me. Though when you get to the 350.5 you have a lot more room to operate in Class A before the SQ drops off.
By your (OP's) comments on alternative ML amps being the 333, 335, 336 my question is what type of speaker/room size he needs to address. You can get the 334 for right around your $3K level and it sounds better than the 333 (though without as much power).
Should you ever need service, you can have caps replaced for a fraction of the cost charged by Harmon/Levinson/whoever is now owning them. Typically about $500 will re-cap the entire amp with better sounding, performing and reliable caps.
I would recommend considering a 334/6 or the 43X series.
I have owned 3 Pass Labs amps 150, 150.5, Aleph 5 and recognize their strengths, but was never that crazy about any of them in comparison to other amps. I prefer all class A (which the Aleph 5 offered - but not enough total power). I find the Pass amps when reaching into Class B really suffer (150(.5)/250(.5)/350(.5)) and no longer perform to the levels that are acceptable to me. Though when you get to the 350.5 you have a lot more room to operate in Class A before the SQ drops off.
By your (OP's) comments on alternative ML amps being the 333, 335, 336 my question is what type of speaker/room size he needs to address. You can get the 334 for right around your $3K level and it sounds better than the 333 (though without as much power).
