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Mark Levinson No.383 How good is it ?

How musical is the Mark Levinson No.383,and how well does it mate with the Magnepan 1.6QR's. Would I regret this purchase down the road. I also would purchase the ML 390S CD player along with their No. 25S phono and power supply. All feedback before I make this purchase would be appreciated.

--- Clennon
cvasser
nicolae
9 posts
 
Mr. Sdcampbell, I was just beeing sarcastic: there is a Mercedes 600, a very small car, as I said 600 cc, half the size of a Renault 5, and I see no mistake in the comparison between the M.L. 383 and a motorized rain coat. It's cool to have one now, it has good reviews, but by May you'd wish you were smart enough to have purchased a motorcycle.
Mr. Clennon, don't waste your money on technology without style. Listen to live music and then find the system who can most accurately reproduce it. The "investment" of a 383 can almost buy you an active Linn system or a Nu Vista 3D and Nu Vista Integrated by Musical Fidelity. You were asking how musical is the 383... Try Naim if you want a truly musical system.
Looks are deciving, what you hear matters!
jpsulliv
5 posts
 
It's not bad, but there's something about the No. 383 that has been puzzling me for some time.. A lot of them show up on auctions, and of course the unit could not be very old.

I think what happens a lot is that people buy the No. 383 as it represent a good value for what it offers, but they're expecting more than what it's intended to deliver. This is not unlike the situation with the No. 390S CD player. If you want excellent performance (but not the best), it's a steal.

But if you want the best - and the best that the brand is able to deliver - you need separates. The devil is in the details, and a No. 390S does NOT sound as open as a No. 37 / No. 360S / No. 380S / No. . I think a lot of folks who buy the No. 383 are ultimately disappointed, but I think they're just expecting too much.

As my dealer would say: "What do you expect for $6,000?"

I myself seriously considered the unit - it's still quite a bargain, and I wasn't shooting for the best performance, just "very, very good". I had to pass on the No. 383 as my speaker choice (Aerial 7B) really needs more power than what the No. 383 delivers.

For the money (and this is just my opinion, of course), I think you would be better off with a used No. 300 series amp and a used No. 36/No. 38 combo. Yes, the DAC and pre are quite a bit older, but they perform much better, and they can both be completely upgraded to a 360S/380S, respectively, and you'll get a new five-year warranty when you do so. The prices I've been quoted for upgrades still makes them cheaper than new units, and with a new warranty, there's no investment to lose.

As for the complaints I've seen regarding the sound, the Mark Levinson brand is known for sounding like there's nothing there. I've noticed that a lot of owners don't even take advantage of its fully balanced operation.

Personally, I would probably be disappointed if I chose a very accurate loudspeaker rather than my beloved and very musical Aerials.
chef2
4 posts
 
Allmost bought the Levinson . I was 1 inch away from doing it . I heard the new Rowland Intergrate 11 smoother more power, transparent,biult like a Tomb give it a try .I went with the Rowland and also can be pre out .
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,730 posts
 
Any of you guys upgraded to the new No. 585 ML integrated?
robert11
2 posts
 

Hallo Clennon,

Here are your votes/points from the Netherlands.

My brother has a Levinson 383. It is a great amp. It sounds realy good. He had it paired with a sony scd 555 es, revel performa speakers and nordost cabling.

It sounds great. But with all audio  alwys try to keep all the components at the same level.

But off course the source is the most important one.

There is a new one the 585 with dac etc.

It sounds great. I myself bought the T+A PDP 3000HV cd-player/sacd-player/pcm-dac/dsd-dac all in one. It sounds great.

Your cabling is allso important. The NBS black label interc/speaker/power cables. Amazing improvement. I can recommend them to you (i have no company shares (yet)).

May i ask you a question: i am looking for a  100/110v Sharp sm-sx300 amplifier (marketed 2005 ). Any idea where i could buy/find  this in the US?

Hope to hear from you.

Robert






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