Mark Levinson No.383 How good is it ?

You will regret if you don't buy them.
I have no.383 with no.39 which make me always at home and i was thinking about upgrade to no.390.

One more thing,you can save 1 interconnect or 2 interconnects(if you buy CD/DAC combo).

I agree that Mark Levinson stuff are Mercedes-Benz 600 Class.

Simple is the best ! Good Luck !

You may have already seen this if you are researching the 383, but there is a review at www.soundstage.com. They loved it, and gave it a Reviewer's Choice Award. I also remember reading about it in Stereophile, which also gave it a great review. Based on the reviews, and comments from actual owners, it seems to be a serious instrument with serious sound.

For integrateds in this price range, I would also be looking at the Rowland Concentra II, or maybe the new MAC MA6900.

I must remind you that Mercedes 600 is a 600 cc small car, very popular in Europe. If this is the object of your comparison I have to agree. As a Levinson ex owner I must say that I was never happy with the sound produced at first by a 390 383 combo, upgraded later to a 390 380S 334.
There are two types of stereo systems: those that bring music to your room and those who take you to the place where music was played. Levinson is incapable of doing any of the above. If you don't have detail and dynamics you can talk all you want about soundstage etc. and Levinson is known as one of the most non dynamic amplifiers on the market.
I would also like to remind you that Mr. Levinson is now the designer of Cello and Mark Levinson, the company is part of Harman International which also purchased a few years ago Infinity and ruined their reputation on the hi end market.
So, How good is it? Not good! But don't trust me; Go to some live performances then listen to as much equipement as you can, then read the Stereophile reviewers associated equipement apendix and see how many of them are using Levinson and if, in fact, one of them is (JA), see what kind of Levinson is he using. I'm afraid that in order to keep the Mercedes comparison straight you'll have to look accross the ocean for electronics too.

Levinson gear is impeccably well made and throws a huge soundstage in terms of both width and depth. It may not be toe-tapping dynamic (PRAT) but it does have tremendous air for solid state equipment. I think the 383 alone would be a great piece but would consider using a different CD source to avoid over-emphasizing Levinson's sonic traits. It's definitely well made, probably the best in the US (Rowland is up there, too) and competes with Goldmund and Accuphase for build quality (I own/owned this all). 383 may be like a C320 not a CL600 (that would be the Levinson 32).

I owned the 383 for a year and enjoyed it the whole time. I got caught up in reading about audio and convinced myself I needed a change.

The 383 is an absolute joy to use, excellent design; it is a great performer as well. I found it very musical and never fatiguing, a joy to have on all the time.

I had talked with another person that said they found the performance to be nicely improved by upgrading the power cord, his words were something like, "it can sound bigger than it is...". As someone who just purchased his first aftermarket power cord, I can attest to the enhancements they add.

It's well known that separates give the most flexibility, but having the single unit is nice!

Someone above mentioned the Mac MA6900, I read, or rather skimmed, the comments of Sam Telig in Stereophile on this integrated and he was very pleased with it's performance; if possible try to listen to it as well.

I believe with some careful shopping you could meet or exceed the 383's performance at the price, but ask yourself "how you listen". If you spend most of your time between the speakers "critical" listening, you "may" want separates. If you spend a lot of time with it on while doing things, not just sitting between the speakers, the 383 may be perfect.