Mark Levinson Amps startup & shutdown operation. Specifically 532H but really any ML amp

Own  the 532H. It's never had a issue and the Sonics are superb for any amp and I have been in this hobby a long time. Truth is any  piece of electronic gear can have issues, no matter how well it is made. Sometimes they fall, it a pain when it happens but it is a fact of electronics of any type not just audio.

Not had any Mark Levinson amps, but doesn't sound normal to me. I always turn the power amps on last.

I have moved on and am in therapy to forget about the whole fiasco (JK). I sent it in for repair, after being told by ML that they would cover it under wtty, then they changed their mind. They literally had to replace every cap in it and a large number of output transistors. Cost me $1,500+ but I couldn't sell it as is. Then when I got it back it sounded better, but still sounded worse than the Proceed... So I sold it for ~$500 less than I paid for it, + out the $1,500+ on repair. It still had the odd startup/shutdown issue as well.

I was soured so much by the experience, I don’t think I could ever trust ML again.

I am quite happy with an Odyssey Candela Preamp and Odyssey Kismet amp now. Levinson can go F themselves.

But I am not bitter... ;)

That said, I would have like to hear my Moabs with a properly functioning ML Amp, I loved the #331 I had in the past.

I sent it in for repair, after being told by ML that they would cover it under wtty, then they changed their mind.

It's amazing how short-sighted companies can be, and this is a fine illustration. When, not if they lose a mere one or two sales as a result of this anecdote, the $1500 that they pocketed will be gone. Not to mention that they lost the original customer.

And, of course, it works the other way around. I worked for decades in the Thoroughbred racing industry, and used high-end, expensive binoculars. My brand of choice for the final ~25 years of my career were Swarovski. I paid around $1800 for a pair at the time. They were knocked off of a ledge a couple of years after I bought them, and the alignment of the lenses was affected. I sent them to Swarovski for repair, fully expecting to pay a stiff price, as I had under similar circumstances with a previous pair of Leica. A couple of weeks later, though, I received a call, and was told that they were on their way back to me via FedEx. They didn't charge me a penny, and replaced the rubber eye-cups to top it off.

Needless to say, I was a loyal customer from that time on, and helped them to sell a number of other pairs through word-of-mouth advertising.

Two sides of the same coin.