[gadawg]

Peter,

Great write up and I certainly agree on many points but one thing that I'm a little confused about is that you mention the discrete Class A output of the 32? What output transistors are in the 32 and where are they? I notice what appears to be the same Op-Amp board in the 32 that was in the 326 is why I'm confused. Also, ML I believe does bias the Op-Amp section of the 52 to Class A operation. I don't see any heatsinks for the discrete transistors in the 32 output section. Not arguing for sure as I'm not an engineer but when I look at the inards of the 32 I can't find the discrete transistors like I can in the new 523 with its associated heatsinks. Let me know where to look as I'ld love to check it out. Also ... the 52 sounds amazing for sure as did the 32 just different. I would imagine that depending on other system components, synergy could determine which preamp any particular user might prefer. In my system the 52 is the clear choice but I can imagine someone else liking the 32 better in a different system. I agree that the 52 seems to be much higher priced for no real apparent reason.

All the above said I'm guessing we will see a new Ref product range in the next year or two and I'm guessing it might combine the 2 box preamp approach with the discrete approach similar to the new 523 but with fewer compromises made. I'm hoping the 53 goes away and they bring back a monster pure class A ref amp. That would be fun for sure!

Really enjoying some conversation about Levinson again! Always interested in learning more about our hobby!

George

Update:

another reason I thought the 32 was using the op-amp output section is the review in stereophile from the day ... "Fully balanced instrumentation amplifiers are used in the gain stages, and each input can be separately adjusted for 0, 6, 12, or 18dB of gain." This would mirror the 326 and the 52.