Curious about ML23.5/336


Curious about the difference in quality and sound characteristics.Some say 23.5 was the best amp ML has ever built.
Nev
nreddy
I had the 27.5 and the 23.5 and just went up to the 432s for more power. However, the difference between the 23.5 and the 432s were small, at least to my ears. The 432s sound a little dryer or neutral may be a better word. The 23.5s a little more musical. Just my two cents.
The 23.5 was clearly one of the best ever, and for the 20.x, you can arc weld with them if you want to.

loon
I've been using a 23.5 for the last year and a-half to drive a pair of Thiel CS3.6 speakers. These speakers have a nominal impedence of 4 ohms. The amp has no problem playing these speakers as loud as you would ever want. If you can find one on the A-gon, you won't be disappointed. I'm not sure it is worth spending so much money (probably twice as much cash) to go with the 336.
i had a ml-23.5- great bass, A+ musical textures. but it didn't throw a 3-D stage- it seemed to lack "depth" using b&w801's. i eventually replaced it with a krell fpb-300 which was much more "holographic". both amps had excellent sound quality. staging can be important at times, but other sound characteristics-realism/inner detail/dynamics are often more important. of course, now i have ml-33h's, and for my tastes, these amps sound wonderful, AND i'm "swimming" in a 3-d pool of sound that comes from everywhere.
I have to agree with French fries about the soundstage and imaging as well. With the 432s imaging is way better which makes the sound stage more 3D, at least to my ears.