Levinson 390s vs Mephisto II

From what others have told me is the mephisto II sounds better then the levinson but not by much. However the Levinson is very user-friendly; that is not saying the mephisto is complicated but the levinson has some great simple features that make it worth it to some folks. You may also want to try an audition the acclaimed Audio Aero Capitole MkI or MkII, anyone who listens to it and is able to afford it buys it-well perhaps that is a bold statement to make but most do ;)

~Tim

I like my 390s, but I haven't listened to the Mephisto.

The Mephisto II is a better sounding CD player, especially with the drawer open. The benefit of the 390S is the ability to bypass the volume control.

I am a dealer for Audiomeca and have spent quite a bit of time with both players. I would save the 4 hours and not bother. As far as build quality, the Mephisto is a beautiful player, but not quite the build quality of the Levinson. Levinson equipment is always exceptional in that regard.

What if you already are using a ml amp, would this tip the balance twards the ML cd player? In other words the ML can be used in place of a preamp, although their is not an output for a tuner. The ML calbes will allow one to use the cd player & remote to control the ML amp. This may be a benifit worth considering, comments.

Jtinn, what do you mean by sounding better with the drawer open?

By the way, whatever CD player I buy will be used with Rowland Model 10 and Synergy IIi and Soliloquy 6.5s.

If you keep the cover on the player open, it sounds much more transparent.

Thanks, Jtinn. I didn't know it would operate with the cover open.

I tried this simple tweak last night and was very impressed. Particularly with less than great recordings the cover being open made the music much more life like and open. Thanks for the tweak. Do you have any others? Any chance of doing any damage to the player this way? Thanks again.

Gajmusic: No damage that I am aware of. I am glad it made a difference for you.

Jtinn,
why would leaving the cover open improve the sound? (I also own the Mephisto player)

Thanks,
Christian

Christian: I cannot tell you why, I can just share with you that it does. It had the same effect for the Audio Aero Capitole. Give it a try and let me know what you hear.