Mark Levinson is coming out with some new pieces in early 2013 as well including a reference preamp, cdp, etc. I am not a salesperson for ML per se, but
the company has been rendered as "over and done with" by many people contributing their "thumbs down" in these forums. i have always thought of Rowland and Mark Levinson as two companies you could always depend on to
make components that met a very high standard. and yet that standard was never created to compete with an FM Acoustics, a Goldmund, Vitus, etc. in trying to see just how expensive you could market hi end audio and still attract customers.
Of course the 326S preamp- Levinson's present best for a few more weeks, has been reviewed as being as noiseless as anyone within reason could hope for, and has a lot of features including optional internal phono boards. sadly it is all built into one chassis, which everyone knows (!) is simply not good enough to acheive the best sound. so the beat goes on.
Rowland has to overcome another hurdle- the nice aluminum facia that adds thousands of dollars to the price of each piece they market. It is supposed to lower resonances although no one has offered any real proof that the added expense is worth it sound wise- but it sure looks spectacular just the same.
i for one have always longed big time for a criterion preamp. but that desire has waned somewhat over time. maybe someday... but in the meantime, i wish success
to both companies (as well as Krell even without you-know-who at the head).
there are several others i could mention here, but as long as they're around i believe there is a standard by which to judge a whole range of component manufacturers who either come very close or even offer more value for the dollar.
the company has been rendered as "over and done with" by many people contributing their "thumbs down" in these forums. i have always thought of Rowland and Mark Levinson as two companies you could always depend on to
make components that met a very high standard. and yet that standard was never created to compete with an FM Acoustics, a Goldmund, Vitus, etc. in trying to see just how expensive you could market hi end audio and still attract customers.
Of course the 326S preamp- Levinson's present best for a few more weeks, has been reviewed as being as noiseless as anyone within reason could hope for, and has a lot of features including optional internal phono boards. sadly it is all built into one chassis, which everyone knows (!) is simply not good enough to acheive the best sound. so the beat goes on.
Rowland has to overcome another hurdle- the nice aluminum facia that adds thousands of dollars to the price of each piece they market. It is supposed to lower resonances although no one has offered any real proof that the added expense is worth it sound wise- but it sure looks spectacular just the same.
i for one have always longed big time for a criterion preamp. but that desire has waned somewhat over time. maybe someday... but in the meantime, i wish success
to both companies (as well as Krell even without you-know-who at the head).
there are several others i could mention here, but as long as they're around i believe there is a standard by which to judge a whole range of component manufacturers who either come very close or even offer more value for the dollar.