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Levinson 23.5 - I think I need a new toy.

Being a die-hard tube guy, I haven't used a ss amp in my main system for many years; except a brief stint with Meitner 101's which are now in a weekend home system. A friend wants to sell his Levinson 23.5 for what seems like a very very good price (cheap!). It is in terrific shape, hasn't been used nor abused much, and is one of the few ss amps that really picqued by interest (based on reviews) back when I was still on the fence re the tubes vs ss thing. I figure, what the hell; I can always sell it if I can't stand the ss-itis. It would be powering one of two sets of speakers; either Paragon Regents (easy load transmission line), or Stax electrostats (brutal load).

I welcome any thoughts re this amp. Reliability, desirability, resale, sonic experiences, etc. Thanks.
frogman
frogman OP
7,437 posts
 
Steveaudio, $1400; is that cheap for this amp? Does it have ss-itis? I don't know, but I have never heard a ss amp that didn't ; to varying degrees. Yes, I drive the Stax's with 200 tube watts successfully. My Meitner mono's also did a surprisingly good job of "driving" them, but did not sound nearly as good tonally and spatially.
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
If you liked the early Rowland design I think you would like the sound of the Levinson, it is closer in tonal balance to the Rowland sound than any Krells I can recall. It, along with the 20.6 and the old ML2, are the best of the Levinson designs, in my view. I'd suggest you try it in your system, though--I think you'll find it more open spacially than the Meitners, not as closed-in or dark sounding. I still think you'll find something missing that you only get from tubes.
dave_72
1,399 posts
 
Well, fair enough. The Levinson does have its fans as evidenced here, as far as being as good as today's amps, I disagree. I would say the same about the old Krells.
electroslacker
375 posts
 
At the time, the 23.5 seemed like a perfect match for Maggie 3's, and probably would still be spectacular with the new ones.
opus111
58 posts
 
If it ever requires a service, it won't be so cheap anymore.
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