2. amps-preamps
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Fremer lays an Ostrich egg...

From the start, let us say i am a little biased. i read with particular interest the review about the Levinson 53 Amplifiers in the current Stereophile, amps i currently own of course. i also have a Levinson 326S preamp, an EMM Lab CDP, and Von Schweikert VR9SE speakers, all linked up with transparent wire.
my previous amps btw were Levinson 33H mono's which i loved.
According to Mikey, the amps basically suck. no life. no harmonics. uninvolving. flat. they measure great for the most part, except for some anomilies outside of stuff the human ear can detect anyway. they are put together nicely too. But... they have a (dreaded) switch-mode power supply which i get the distinct impression MF decided ahead of time was going to screw up the sound. and so it did (i guess- who really knows what goes on in his head?) so every OTHER sentence in the review emphasizes transparency and dead quiet, neutral sound while the "meat" of the article states the amplifier doesn't have "heart and soul". the Absolute Sound did not reach the same conclusion, but did intimate the amps had an austere quality.
AND THIS is MY review- the ML#53's are not for everybody. they are DEAD NEUTRAL. they are DYNAMIC. DETAILED. my system COOKS when i put on a really good recording of a really good performance. if however the signal lacks in significant areas then I HAVE TO EXTRACT THE MUSIC out of the sound my speakers are making. if i love the performance this is easy for me to do. if i don't care that much about the CD, then it gets sold or just not played that much. other good attributes- the amps never get HOT, they are not impossible to move around (with a little help), they have protection circuitry that kicks in whenever the power goes out. AND FINALLY there is a pair of speakers they won't power up somewhere on the planet. i would like
to see them so i can warn people not to match them up. this could take awhile however.
it floored me when Fremer sold his SF Amati Homage speakers and got Watt Puppy 7's instead. He couldn't say enough good things about the Sonus Fabers, and yet he traded them for a much more analytical sounding speaker, probably for the super-detailed, super focused sound. His reviews of $$,$$$ phono stages are hilarious- what a set of ears he possesses!
when it comes to VPI turntables, he disliked the Aries but LOVED the less-accomplished Scoutmaster. I would guess the Classic-3 is pretty good as well, but i have 0.01% confidence
in M.Fremers' opinion of it. BUT i would welcome anyone ELSE'S professional opinion. At $6,000 it's not an inexpensive investment. add an SDS and a cartridge (and a record cleaning machine) and you're looking at $8500. If in fact VPI (and SO MANY OTHER TURNTABLES) have long engineered an OUTBOARD MOTOR UNIT to isolate noise and enhance the sound, wouldn't you want to know EXACTLY what the deal is with the Classic line? i sure would, and i am a HUGE fan of SOME of VPI's products and i own several.
OTOH, i am a mere peon, peasant, ignorant on the subject of SOTA Analog, and whatever other descripion you might want to label me with. But i think i can say my opinions are consistent and follow a logical pattern.
trying to detect that quality from M.F.'s writings is difficult and at times impossible. and yes, even laughable. i myself have owned (over a long period of time) Levinson, Krell, S. Faber, Pass, and Rowland amplifiers and listened to them in my own home. the ML#53's are very accomplished amps and represent some of the best solid state available, cleaner and faster than the ML-33H's that Stereophile liked so much. Yes they are probably better suited for classical and jazz, and hi-rez recordings are invaluable to bring out the best in them.
but they do not "sound flat and uninvolving". amps don't generally do that anyway- speakers do. Put on a Rachel Podger SACD on Pentatone of Mozart and/or Haydn (or Julia Fisher) and bathe in the warmth of
the sound flowing out of your speakers. Everyone (including ordinary people with ordinary hearing) who have heard my system thinks it sounds "really nice". That's good enough for me. I also think it sounds "really nice".
And i can be pretty picky.
french_fries
rx8man's avatar
rx8man
1,484 posts
 
"For all the negativity audiophiles give for their dissatisfaction with switching amplifiers I find makes them outstanding in the studio. There is no mistake you're hearing it all without embellishment or softening."

Agree totally, my modded NuForce were proof of this to a friend of mine after his big tube monos took a dump for the 4th time, we put my amps on top of his and commenced listening, he began thinking another way.

I don't think it's necessary to spend 20-50K on this technology, no matter what big-brand name graces the faceplates.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Frenchfries I read the review, I thought it was informative and fair. Whether or not you agree with it or not is fair game but your reaction seems a bit too defensive. The area of tonal texture, nuance and decay, which is a general cavaet I've noticed over the years for many "fast" amps seems to be the issue with Fremer with the MLs and I really get what he is trying to convey without ever having heard the amps. I don't think he has any objections to the use of a switching power supply at all and I don't read into what he said regarding it as negative. The review is IMHO what an informative review should be, conveying the general characteristics in an objective meaningful way that the reader can understand. I think he did that well as he usually does. I can imagine many folks that would probably be interested in hearing it for the positive attributes stated in the review. If you don't agree with the aspects of the presentation Fremer found objectionable thats ok too, don't try to over think it because of what he said. You purchased the amps, you have to live with them and ultimately your taste is the only thing that matters, besides, you have different systems as well. It isn't necessary to shoot the messenger because he doesn't agree with you, it really isn't relevant to what you hear and value so why bother? There is one good thing from this thread, you have opened up a really good discussion with some excellent comments and observations. Cheers and Happy Listening!

dave_72
1,399 posts
 
Well, then there's the Bryston 7B debacle which turned out that Fremer had an impedance mismatch between his preamp (DartZeel if I remember correctly) and the Bryston amps.

Stereophile has yet to do a follow up even after I heard from a Bryston rep that they were going to.

So, maybe just maybe, another impedance mismatch regarding these Levinson amps?

I appreciate subjective reviewing, but there is in fact a technical side which is not good to avoid. Especially being a reviewer, imo. If one isn't technical, then hire someone who is, or get a friend who is.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Atkinson measured the amp and noted an unusual anomaly otherwise it measured very well. His subjective impressions were the same as Fremer's and he seemed bewildered based on the overall measurements, an "enigma" as he noted. Is there an impedance issue between amp and pre-amp? Good question which it would seem overlooked by two seasoned reviewers if the case but certainly a possibility that can't be ruled out. If French Fries doesn't hear it, it doesn't exist, thats all that matters. If he continually thinks about the review when listening then thats a different story. But then again I'll bet we all do this from time to time when all thing in our brains are not aligned to permit enjoyment over analysis, one of the banes of this hobby.
dave_72
1,399 posts
 
Regarding the Bryston thing: Yes, I remember that, however it says right in the measurements section that there was an impedance mismatch. Game over. It shows a lack of tech knowledge on the part of Fremer, imo.

Anyway, to me it's just a review, an opinion. Take it with a grain of salt and enjoy your system as it is.
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