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Mark Levinson Sound that Speaks for Itself

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  #11  
Old 08-07-2017, 08:03 PM
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tdelahanty tdelahanty is online now
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I regret selling my 335, I think it'll hold its own quite well against today's offerings. In fact I compared it to some of Pass Labs new amps and it kicked butt.
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  #12  
Old 05-24-2018, 12:24 PM
GreenMtnGringo GreenMtnGringo is offline
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I run a ML326S with the built-in phono stage and love it. I bought it new from a Levinson dealer two years ago and it has been bullet-proof. The sound is spectacular and the features, connections and ergonomics are really well thought-out. I shot out the ML326S against a McIntosh C52 for a month before deciding on the ML326S. At the end of the demo period, the choice was easy.
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  #13  
Old 05-24-2018, 10:30 PM
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I've really enjoyed my 326s but all good things must come to an end ... have an order in now for a No52 Reference but I've really enjoyed the 326s and agree it has been bullet proof and sounds amazing. I have the new No536 amps and I can only imagine how good this combo will sound!

George
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  #14  
Old 05-24-2018, 11:10 PM
rnrmf1971 rnrmf1971 is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gadawg View Post
I've really enjoyed my 326s but all good things must come to an end ... have an order in now for a No52 Reference but I've really enjoyed the 326s and agree it has been bullet proof and sounds amazing. I have the new No536 amps and I can only imagine how good this combo will sound!

George
Congratulations on the No52!
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south: Mark Levinson No. 52 pre, Bricasti M28 amps, Lumin A1, Oppo BDP-205, Pioneer CT-43, Sony SS-AR1 Speakers, Audioquest Dragon PCs, Audioquest speaker cables, Audioquest interconnects, HB Power Design Powerslave Star Galaxy power distributor

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  #15  
Old 05-25-2018, 04:40 PM
gadawg gadawg is offline
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Congratulations on the No52!
Thanks!!! Can't wait!

George
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  #16  
Old 09-27-2018, 06:34 PM
audible1 audible1 is offline
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I had one and it sounded great. If you like the Levinson sound, it's a great pre. I had one with built in phono boards. I didn't compare it to the no52. I sold mine, but at the time I had a Mac C2300 and I thought they were equally resolving and musical.
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  #17  
Old 09-27-2018, 10:32 PM
gadawg gadawg is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by audible1 View Post
I had one and it sounded great. If you like the Levinson sound, it's a great pre. I had one with built in phono boards. I didn't compare it to the no52. I sold mine, but at the time I had a Mac C2300 and I thought they were equally resolving and musical.
The Mac and Levinsons both have different house sounds per se but both awesome for sure. At the time I had my 326s driving a pair of MC601s. I liked that combo but the Mac pre’s are great too! The No52 is a definite improvement but for the price it should be.

George
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  #18  
Old 10-14-2018, 12:04 PM
TOGA TOGA is offline
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Originally Posted by harri009 View Post
So I currently have an Aesthetix calypso pre which I have been enjoying very much but of course one of my audio friends just demo'd the 326s and has gone crazy about it. He compared it to the XP20 and an XP30 and said it was better than either. That's saying a lot since I have previously owned an XP20 and though it was amazing. Have any of you had a chance to demo the 326s preamp? If you hated it or loved it I would like to know.

Ps I have 0 dealers close to me so I generally just buy stuff to demo but your opinions help lead me


I had it in 2007. Also XP20 and Moon P8. I think XP20 sounded better.
ML sound rougher clearly may be due to one chassis design, it sound
Grayer too. Pass had more detail, blacker noise floor, better treble extension. But user interface , until today, ML is the best, and leave Pass, even the XS Pre far far behind. Oh and Ml326s sounded different with each gain mode setting, +18dB was dynamic but rough.
+12dB is the more compromised setting.

Toga
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  #19  
Old 12-26-2018, 06:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TOGA View Post
I had it in 2007. Also XP20 and Moon P8. I think XP20 sounded better.
ML sound rougher clearly may be due to one chassis design, it sound
Grayer too. Pass had more detail, blacker noise floor, better treble extension. But user interface , until today, ML is the best, and leave Pass, even the XS Pre far far behind. Oh and Ml326s sounded different with each gain mode setting, +18dB was dynamic but rough.
+12dB is the more compromised setting.

Toga
Hi Toga, since I am in for a new pre-amp and the 326s is on the short list I wonder what you used (source and power amp) when you compared the two?
My experience is that Pass Labs designs are more influenced by the rest of the components, where an ML isolates the other components more.
The gain mode is interesting, that is the setting of the input (4 op-amp) instrumentation amplifier. I wonder if the 326s uses the same parts as the 32.
Cheers,
Peter
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  #20  
Old 12-28-2018, 12:12 AM
gadawg gadawg is offline
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I can't confirm the Op-Amp gain boards are the same in each but they certainly look very similar(like exactly from internet photos) if they aren't the same. The 326s may be have very correctly described as a single box 32. The 32 definitely had a lower noise floor with the power components in another box and the power regeneration to boot.

George
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