Mark Levinson No.23 vs McIntosh MC7300


Please help and a description of the sound differences of the two amplifiers, I do not know which to choose. Thank you
savitar7
I owned the Levinson 23.5 amp. This baby was one of the best amps I've ever had. Tight fast bass response. This amp will wake up your speakers and give them more detail. Plus this amp has endless power reserves. Its like you can keep turning up the volume forever without any distortion. A very under rated amplifier. I feel Levinson was at their peak with the 23.5

I dont know what the differences are between the Levinson 23 and 23.5 so you may want to investigate that a little further.

As for the Mcintosh you cant go wrong. A warmer east coast sound with lots of power but I feel the Levinson 23.5 was just a tighter amp sound wise. It was like the amp showed the speakers who has the authority in the food chain of audio equipment.

So it will depend a bit on your speakers characteristics. If your speakers a little more on the brighter side of sound like a Theil the Mcintosh will bring that warmth and tone them down slightly.

If the speakers are warmer or a little bass heavy the Levinson will bring a balance to the speakers and tighten things up.
Stereophile said they had a problem with matching the No.23. Its been a while.The MAC seems a little lacking of detail from my memory.Link>>[http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/991ml23/index1.html]