Levinson 333 Upgrad to 436 Monoblock


Guys,

I have a dilemma, my system comprise of

- Levinson 380s
- Levinson 360s
- Levinson 37
- Levinson 333
- Speakers are Totem “The One” Limited

- I’m contemplating on upgrading the 333 to 436 Monos, where I’ve got a trade up deal from a local HIFI store for a pair of used 436

- Considering my speakers & room size, 436 is a complete overkill (Even 333 can be seen as such)
- The trade value I’ve got is approx 57% (Of the 436 pair) for my 333 and I will have to pay the remaining 43% IN cash.

Arguments for moving forward:
- New technology, extended life time and their wiliness for a trade in at an OK ratio

Arguments against:
- Its such an over kill I wont feel much difference for my Totems

Please let me have your thoughts

Thanks in advance,

Kris
chantank
I would think the performance gain from upgrading your amps would be less than if you traded the 380S for a 326S preamp. Something to consider.
Go for it! If you decide to upgrade to a larger speaker in the future you know that you will not have to worry about enough power to drive them.

Pepe
Thanks everyone for your kind inputs! I shall make a decision soon re this

Best,
Kris
I dumped that 333 in a heartbeat. How long have you had the 333? I had mine for 8 years. Bought it from a dealer as an open box demo unit. In that 8 year period I had sent it back twice to replace blown capacitors. And I found out that the dealer had sent it back once already with the same issue. During this last repair, I asked the tech about the problem, and he told me that it was due to a design flaw common with all ML 33x amps. It's expensive to replace these if your amp is out of warranty. I had to shell out over $1200. My understanding is that the Harmon has since extended the warranty. The amp sounded better with the new caps though. Harmon said they switched supplier. I ended up trading mine in for a Pass X350.5. A friend of mine came over to listen a few days after I received my brand new X350.5, not even broken in yet. He went home and traded in his 433 for the 350.5. So I agree with that there are better amps out there. But I understand the benefits and some people's desire to use all components from the same company. In that case, trade in the 333 for the 43x series before you have to shell out money to fix capacitors.

FrankC
I have the 436 paired with Totem Sig Mani 2's. The combination is amazing and I've tried some other amps like Ayre V1-Xe. The Mani 2's share the same drivers as the Totem 1 so they should sound similar.