Mark Levinson 333.5 vs Emotiva XPR-1 Monoblocks

It is very simple why. Depth, focus, resolution you can hear and compare. Even sound you can compare. I never heard a ML can make a violin sound likt it should. But I Always say: sound is a matter of taste. Let's say I have my doubts about the sound. But.....individual focus and even depth and how wide a stage is you easilly can compare. ML Always looses in tests for this part. I even did it with ML owners. I like to open people eyes and ears. They never said: Bobby your amp is less good in depth, resolution and individual focus than mine. They did hear the same. The bought this amp from people with less knowdledge. And they did not have this knowledge either. This is not about insulting. This is about speaking the truth. Why? Because I would love to give every single audio lover the same level in sound I have. In all these years I went to many audio shows the level of knowledge is very poor. Customers do not get the best info and certainly not the most honnest information. And yessss I see it as my job to change this. I want people to hear and explain the differences in sound. And also in brands. I visit many people at home with expensive audio systems. Seldom I hear a good balanced audio system. There is a lot to do to change this. Cause of the low level in knowledge people often with expensive sets have not a level what should be there for the money they did spend.

I had a client who bought Pl-300 speakers from me. later he bought on my advice the 800D from B&W. Wenn he bought them he played with the No33 mono's. I was amazed that there was almost no depth. I used the cd of Yacintha with the number; light my fire; the crossflute was at the same line as her voice was ( at the recording the crossflute is about 4 metres behind her voice). Even the individual focus was very poor. A few weeks later he said: I am still not happy. I did understand why; mannnnn I would not want it even for free in my room. He asked what to do. I said: buy Pass labs. a few weeks later he send an email. He bought the X600.5 and XP-20. He had to admit that it was superior in every part. ML was not that good to be honnest he said. He still own's this power and pre amp set and he loves his set these days.

Hello Everyone;

You all have great thoughts. Maximizing the audio attributes means working with the system in areas of acoustics, power and signal cabling, power cleansing, etc. Something as simple as furniture placement can reek havoc on depth and width. Vibration control is vital.

In response to Tonyangel, I went right to the manufacturer for the unlisted specs:

Hello,



Thank you for your interest in Emotiva. 4 ohms is not the minimum impedance that the XPR-1 monoblocks are able to support. That is just the lowest power rating that we provide. Customers are using the XPR-1 monoblocks to support Martin Logan speakers such as the Montis which drop to 0.52 ohms at their minimum impedance and the XPR-1 handles them with ease. The XPR-1 monoblocks have a 2.5 kVA toroidal transformer and 240,000µF of secondary capacitance in order to support current swing of demanding speakers. Yes, Thiel speakers do like a lot of current but there are certainly more current demanding speakers on the market and the XPR-1 monoblocks will be able to power them. Since you already have the 20 amp circuits installed there will not be an issue to operate these amplifiers to their full potential. I disagree with this person’s comment about being a lower class product as I have personally replaced Krell, Bryston, and McIntosh amplifiers in our customers’ systems with our amplifier of both the XPR and XPA line of amplifiers. The XPR-1 monoblocks is a fully balanced, fully differential design that is going to compete with other monoblocks 10x their cost. If you have any further questions please let us know. Thank you for your consideration.



Nick Kaumeyer

Sales Representative

Emotiva Audio Corporation

Well, it looks that the Emotivas are, at least, a viable alternative. Still, I would take what they say with a grain of salt, as I would the word of any manufacturer's representative.

If you have the wild hair to try them out, let us know how it goes. I just wouldn't sell the Levinson until after I heard the Emotivas. That way, all you're risking is the price of shipping on 200+lbs of amplifier.