levinson vs proceed


What compromises have been made from levinson to proceed? why would levinson create a cheaper line similar to their own?
samuellaudio
harmon international owns the above mentioned company's as well as lexicon. i had one service issue with harmon and i would never do business with the company. by the way if you have a newer working proceed universal player your are lucky.if your unit needs repair they dont even fix them !!! they offer you a lexicon rt-10 or rt-20 depending on what proceed model you own. not bad for harmon to replace their "one step below levinson" with a MARANTZ REBADGED LEXICON PIECE. the lexicon rt-10 is a marantz dv-8400 with a additional video board with some extra connections. the rt-20 is a marantz dv-9500 with the same thing done to plus a lexicon face plate. when you go to the menu on them for setup it says MARANTZ !!!!

bill
If you're in your 50's, do you remember when Sony had three stereo product lines in the early 1970's: Marantz, Sony and Superscope?

Why do they do it? Ask 'Lincoln, Mercury, Ford', 'Acura, Honda', 'Lexus, Toyota', etc. Gibson guitars has a cheaper line, Epiphone.

What do they say? They try to make your cost no object equipment to see what they can really do. Then they try to develop reduced models so that they can compete in different target markets.

Sometimes they don't want to have their name, like Levinson, associated with lesser than reference quality. They'll create another company, like Proceed, that's not associated with reference quality, just very good quality.
I've owned an Amp 2 and Amp 3 for about 15 years, and they have been in continual use without any problems, first driving KEF 102/2s and 100 C, now driving a pair of KEF 104/2s, a pair of 102/2s, and a 200 C. They're absoletely silent absent signal, and I've never sensed a lack of headroom. I also own a troublefree PAV and PDSD.

db
My Proceed CDD and Levinson 37 was equally unreliable.Needed "gelling and new rubber band " for the sticky drawer,too fequently.In my country the importers service cost were very reasonable,but,it got a bit annoying.
Soundwise the Levinsons were superior to the Proceeds.
Proceed were discontinued as a brand by HSG.
I have no Levinson or Proceed products at the moment and I dont plan to have in the future ....
I don't know. I have a Proceed PCD1 and a PDT3 - the first for 14 years and the second for not quite that long. Both are built great and have never given me a lick of trouble.
I know a non-U.S. distributor for Harmon. He says that the build quality and reliability of the Proceed line is much worse than Levinson (but adds that subsequent to Madrigal closing their Connecticut facility a few years ago, he received three Levinson amps that were, on the inside, half 336 and half 335, so Levinson evidently isn't much of a reference anymore). I suppose I should add that I owned a 360s and 37 for a bit over a year, and both were perfectly reliable.