Levinson 336 vs McCormack 500 vs Bryston 14bsst

Thank you for the replies...

There is nothing specifically I hear that I do not like about my system, but now that I think about it, it may sound slightly dark and not as lively as Bryston 4Bsst with B&W Nautilus 802s (my previous system).

I recently purchased a McCormack DNA-500 to replace a Levinson 331 to drive my Aerial 10Ts. The improvements wrought were substantial. I had the Levinson for quite a few years and really liked it a lot, but always felt that the 10Ts could benefit from more power. I did consider the 336 amp, but had seen so much posted about the McCormack, that I just had to try it. Once I did, there was no turning back.

The DNA-500 took everything to the next level. For me, the biggest improvement was a major step toward creating a greater sense of realism in the music. Far better dynamics, transient response, soundstage and, perhaps most important, it just seems far more musical. Definitely worth a listen!

any dramatic difference is going to come from a change of loudspeakers, but in all honesty, the system you have is great. what is it you don't like?

I don't know if this helps but I got to hear a 336 and McIntosh 501 monoblocks in the same system (McIntosh C200, Oracle cdp, and B&W N801) and found the 501s to be definately better (i.e. more my taste). The 336 sounded a little dark which made timbral color inaccurate IMO. The 501s were more open and had much better timbre and their extra soundstage depth gave the music a beautiful 3D sound quality. Good luck!

Arthur