Any feedback on the Levinson no.390s upgrade ??

Hi  Anyone that upgraded your 39 to 390s I would be interested in buying the original 39 board that was replaced by the 390s board
when upgraded
Message me Thanks

I don't know which DAC *sounds* better, but the Burr Brown resistor ladder DAC in the 360 costs 5 times more than the Analog Devices delta-sigma DAC in the 390S.

To mick@yahoo.com. I have a ML 36 that I had upgraded twice. The first was to the 36S. The =
second to the 360S. The way to go in my opinion is to upgrade to the 36S =
and call it a day. You really don't get much if anything at all in the =
360 sonically. You're just able to down load future formats because of =
more computing power capability. SO WHAT! By the time the industry =
settles on something that Madrigal feels it can jump on we'll probably =
all have heads jerked in another direction. The 36S upgrade is =
definitely the way to go. Getting a 390 from where your at will be a =
very disappointing down grade. The upgrade is $2500.00.

I a/b the 39 and 390 at a local store. the 390 is more liquid and more 3d sounding it has more space and air the soundstage just seemed to be wider and deeper. I was considering buying the demo and upgrading it. If I already owned a 39 I would be standing in line to get it upgraded. The difference was similar to what happens when you couple it to a dcs upsampler.

A clarification, I was told by Madrigal the cost to upgrade the 39 to the 390s was $1,800 from the factory with full check out of the player. If you want your local dealer to do the upgrade it is $1,500.

Mick...This comes from a very reliable source ...

"While the No390S uses a newer DAC and one that is very good, remember that implementation is still just about everything and the No360S still outperforms the No390S by a significant margin."

I am also in the same position, I think I will get a 36/360 and upgrade it to a 360S.
Matt

Craig

I have 36 DAC and am wondering if it is worth an upgrade to the 360 and hpw much it costs.

My alternative would be to try and trade it and the transport Micromega Solo to a 390.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I listened to the 390S in my system Saturday.
I thought it sounded significantly better than my 39--more liquid, smoother, less "edgy", more "analog-like".
I didn't even need to A/B to appreciate the difference.
I have signed up to have my 39 upgraded. The cost is $1500 (not $1800 as someone reported). Another $500 if you want the new faceplate too.

One negative--the 390S's digital inputs do *NOT* accept 24/96 signals. Disappointing. Their 360 and 360S DACs can process these higher resolution digital signals, so I'm surprised they didn't incorporate this into the 390S.

For those looking for a new CD player (as opposed to 39 owners), I'd strongly advise listening to the Audio Aero Capitole and the Electrocompaniet 24/192 upgraded EMC-1.
I thought both these were at least as good sounding as the 390S (although the Levinson has a much nicer user interface and several useful convenience features lacking on the others. Plus the Electro lacks a volume control).
But for 39 owners, the upgrade represents a worth-while improvement in sound for the $$.
Craig Zastera

Hi,
As it happens, I've arranged with my local dealer (Definitive Audio) to borrow their 390S tomorrow night to compare in my system vs. my #39. I'll only have a single night to do the comparison, but will let you know what differences I hear (if any!).
Craig Zastera

I called to upgrade my #39 and is $1,800 from the factory and $2,300 with a new face plate. A much higher sample rate and more 3-d type sound, better highs and lows. You can read about it on the WEB site. I have been waiting for a local store to get one in and check it out before I upgrade. From what I read it is a major improvement.