Levinson Amps: What do they really sound like?

There is much good advice here. The synergy with the speakers cannot be understated. In my case the VT 100mk2 I had simply wasn't up to my Wilson 5.1's. The 335 was clearly a better match, but it took about three days for all the votes to come in. The superior bass control was very obvious immediately but it took a few days for the 335 to open up and reproduce the air around the instruments I was used to. After many months there is no doubt the 335 is a great match with my Wilson's. The comments about the 335 being polite may simply be saying it depends on the speaker. With the 5.1's polite is good.

I agree that the Levinson's sound clinical. Like a guy in a white lab coat with an oscilloscope. There is the high end argument of adding nothing to the sound, the system will play exactly what is on the recording. Well, that may be, but I am just a yuppie with a CD collection. I would hate to spend $$$$$$$$$$$$ on a system, and have half my CD collection sound dissappointing, or unbearable. I have
been looking over the used high end listings all over the internet, and I see an awful lot of levinson gear....

I had a 336 and replaced with Halcros, the Levinson gear are sensitive to up/down stream components. I found that the 336 was a pretty good match with my gear but a tad bright due to the Wilson Watt/puppy 6 I own. Mythtrip has a point that he raises that all high end gear should not color music in any way..To some of us that is the ultimate goal, well, mine at least and if you listen to metal and hard core rock...uncolored music has little impact compared to lets say Bill Evans at the Vangard (Jazz), I found that the Lev did that for me better then any other amp I had owned/tested....for Jazz, Pass Labs X350 was a close second in taste but I found the amp a little too mellow and warm compared to the Lev. The Halcros, a few notches above and, well, unbelievable detail and sound.

Matt

I heard a pair of 33h,s and BW 801,s Never so dissapointed, I didn,t look at the source or cables, I just wanted to get out of there.
I would like to here a proper Levinson system. I sold my Pass X350 and went back to tubes. SS can,t compare to tubes.Ya there picky but so is a Shelby Cobra SC.
Like the above post, If you want high end, buy SS. If you want music GO TUBES.
Steve

IMO, you cannot generically say Levinson amps sound like XXX. Levinson has been around a very long time and my guess is that they have evolved over time, therefore the current amps will not sound like older ones.

From what I have read from users, it appears the current 300 line, 334/335/336, is a great improvement over the prior 300 series.

One thing is sure about Levinson, it is very popular, which causes a couple things:
1) Allows for the possibility of a lot available on the used market. (To answer Mythtrip.)
2) The popularity evokes some negative reactions from some, whether they have heard any Levinson gear or not. Some people just like to take shots at those at the top. More than once I have read someones glowing review of a product and they state, "it blows the Levinson XX away". Depending on the situation, I find this a compliment to Levinson, as they singled out Levinson.

Like any company that makes a lot of products and/or has been around for years, a product they produce may be outperformed by another company. Basing your opinions off one product may not always be fair.

It seems to me that Levinson has earned it's reputation for making great equipment.