I observed the same sterile and thin sound from the Levinson No.39 vs the Cary 306/200 which by the way, uses 8 Burr-Brown 1704 DAC's vs the less expensive Analog Devices 1853's in the Levinson No.390s. I believe the new Pacific Microsonics PMD-200 digital filter also contributes to the very pleasing and musical sound from the Cary. This filter does double-duty for HDCD as well as regular CD filtering. In the past, Cary used the PMD-100 for HDCD and a Burr-Brown DF1704 filter for regular CD playback.
The Levinson No.390s was not available for auditioning when I chose the Cary over the No.39 but with dealer discounting, the new Cary 306/200 was only slightly more expensive than a USED No.39 that didn't sound as nice. I'd love to audition the new No.390s but the local dealer doesn't have one yet.
The Levinson No.390s was not available for auditioning when I chose the Cary over the No.39 but with dealer discounting, the new Cary 306/200 was only slightly more expensive than a USED No.39 that didn't sound as nice. I'd love to audition the new No.390s but the local dealer doesn't have one yet.