Mark Levinson No.512 CD Player---Opinions

My turn to weigh in. Upon the advice of my dealer, after reading all of the above, I nonetheless chose to trade in my 390S for a 512, which I got last week. I had some inital misgivings prior to making the decision, because I had been generally happy with the 390S since 2003, but my dealer assured me that the improvement would be substantial, and that the reliability issues had been solved.

I can't comment on the reliability issue yet, but the sound is in a different league than the 390S. The first day I got it I listened to old familiar CD's (don't have any SACD's yet) for several hours. While still lacking some of the sheer emotional energy of a very good turntable and LP, the player has absolutely none of the negatives I have come to associate with digital. Compared to the 390S, it is able to resolve even the most complex, loudest passages without a trace of strain, harshness, or muddiness, something I've never heard from digital. It doesn't "reach out and grab you" immediately, but after a few minutes of listening, I inevitable find myself thinking "I've never enjoyed digital this much!" Even after several hours of listening I have no desire to switch to records, because while a great record would sound better in my system, this player makes an average CD sound better than an average record. Not really surprising, I guess, given that the 512 is over 5 years more current, and twice as expensive.

I need to put out some friendly advice for my friends online who are considering buying a Mark Levinson product. Let me tell you what has happened with my Mark Levinson 502 and 512.

First I had had trouble with my Mark Levinson 40. I live in New York and there are no longer any Mark Levinson dealers in New York or New Jersey. I decided to trade in the Mark Levinson 40 for the 502. I did want the upgrades, I also want to get rid of the problems I had with the 40 that’s a Mark Levinson company was not equipped to fix. They kept promising me resolutions such as a new or refurbished unit and I never got it. The only reason I decided to get the other two products was that a friend of mine worked for Harman Kardon and said that they have straightened things out and that they were moving to New York. Within six months of their move to New York they announced that they were closing down their New York offices. Had I known that….

Mark Levinson 502: the first two units I got would not turn on. The third unit is slightly quirky but works. I do have to reboot it every couple of weeks. It may not be its fault, but I don’t know.

When I first got the Mark Levinson 512, a sacd/cd player it was the best sounding unit I ever heard. However, the first unit did not work the draw would not open or close. It is the second unit that sounded wonderful. Until a month later when it failed completely. I was told that virtually all of those units made had to be recalled. The third unit also failed. in addition to having sound problems the software was not correct for the machine. It had Esoteric software and not Mark Levinson. Let me be clear, the menu functions did not fully relate to the functions of the machine. I do not know if that is what affected the sound. I have waited almost ½ a year for the next unit to be sent to me. They don’t have any in reserve. When they got in new ones in it took about a month for them to be able to ship it.

A poster mentioned that he was informed by his dealer of the grounding problem that took out the machines. He mentioned that the dealer enabled him to get the part and the instructions to put it in. This confirms the universal problem. I used was just not assessable. I couldn’t get a loaner machine, more than that, he had a new machine that worked well but would not give it to me. Eventually he had told me that he was giving up on the Mark Levinson line and he would only help me if I were to buy a Krell unit, which had not been released. If he was local I would have gone in and complained loudly. Sadly, he had speakers that I might have wanted, but I have gone somewhere else.

At any price this is not worth the time the trouble the aggravation and the lack of a CD player. These can be great products but my great suggestion to you is to wait until the company is straightened out, that they get more dealers (which means that they are working with dealerships to get customers) and they have a reservoir of units to replace those that are defective. They are behind, that their own website does not list their current products, like the 512. Many people are surprised that the 512 is out there because it’s not listed anywhere.

But let me be clear: once I got to ML they were professional, friendly, helpful and basically terrific. They were frustrated too. HK is going through reorganization. I am just suggesting that you wait until there are done!

Sorry this is long, but I wanted to share this.

Great to hear back from you Pkancel.

Are you going to be running the 512 directly to the 53s or will you be using a preamp?

What cabling are you using? I have the Studio 2's and will be upgrading soon to the new Stereovox Dragon line of speaker cables and interconnects?

Looking fwd to your findings.

Whew! I am back from my weeks of straight work!
The No.512 was played through Salon 2's as well as Focal Scala Utopia III's. Both sounded great but I assume that it was a combination of the No.53's and the No.512 that made the system sing. I was aware of the failures and I was assured that that ML would stand behind theor products. I am not new to this hobby and I will tell anyone that I would rather buy from a $4 Billion dollar company like Harman that some of the small outfits as i have been repeatedly disappointed by the small guys. Dont get me wrong, I want the underdog to win but I keep being left high and dryby these guys.
UPDATE: I am buying the No.512 tomorrow and I will report as to my findings against my Burmester player.

Unlike Lefisc, my experience with Mark Levinson was great. Harold and Richard, in Tech Support, supplied me with a Technical Service Bulletin and modified circuit board to correct a potential grounding problem. Received the part via next day air and the dealer did the installation. Mark Levinson is a great company and the No. 512 is a great sounding player.

First Stereophile has not reviewed the 512.

Bad news about the 512.

The last week in February, I went to play a cd on my 512 and the left channel had failed. Very soon, the left channel for the SACD playback would fail too.

My dealer did everything right and everything a dealer should do! And more! He kept pestering ML and they did not respond with an answer nor with a “RA” for over a month, but krept promising they’d get right back to him

Finally, I also called ML. Three weeks after I called I got a RA but learned that virtually all of the 512s had failed! The failure was so complete that all the units were being replaced, not repaired. I was told that something was failing on the grounding, the electronics that made it so silent on playback was shorting out.

I got back a new unit on Thursday. It is interesting that the items on the 512's display have changed. When you turn it on it says "Esoteric" not "Mark Levenson 512". It also says SACD 2 Ch instead of just SACD when an SACD was being played. ML assured me that that was just due to a software update, they use Esoteric transport, and will not affect their sound.

It’s just not what a company wants, advertising the competitor, I bet.

It sounds fine, but now I will have to wait some time to make sure.

Pkancel, what music do you listen to? Could you give me some specifics? What speakers do you use primarly?

Does anybody know if Stereophile magazine reviewed Mark Levinsons Super Audio CD/cd player No512?

I have this player running through a pair of Mark LEvinson No.53's. A lot of the reviews listed above are spot on and I am absolutely in love with this CDP. Conversely, and for a bit more money ($8k) I do prefer the other setup I have which is the Burmester 001 in its latest form running through the Burmester 911's. I have not been able to find anything to de-throne the Burmester setup but I keep trying. I believe the No.512 to be the best out there at the $15k price point. I have also recently A/B'ed this with the Meridian 808.2 and can see why there is so much credit being given to that player but it is simply not quite for me.

Has anyone compared this player to the top offerings from Meridian, Ayre, ARC, DCS ?? It seems to me that at this price range, the players from those companies are the ones to beat, especially the one from Meridian since ST declared the SOTA for digital playback.

For $15K it should weigh 60lbs, be machined from a solid biilet of aluminum and be hand crafted with custom designed and tested parts. Oh, the remote should be made of solid gold as well:O)

i have to save the 15 k so i can get a couple dig.amps for 50 k.

I finally heard this player at a store just to see what some of the hype was & having owned some levinson players in the past.
Now I would have loved to have done a a/b with some players I have & others in our small group. Sorry to say the store would never allow that. I heard enough to render a opinion. This player although good, does not rate up there with some of the better players in the price ranges below, equal & more expensive. Styling has taken a step back also. Sound wise, yes improved over the 390s, but no where near the performance of some of the newer players. Still more of a darker colder sound than I prefer.
With the levinson recent track record of service I could not justify the 15k price tag.

I've had a chance to audition the 512 against the Boulder 1021, Meridian 808.2 and the DCS Puccini and I had a preference for the 512 overall, although all 4 are excellent machines. The Levinson may certainly be the "best buy" of the lot, being "only" 15K!

It’s two weeks later and I have reached my conclusions about the ML 512. First, it is very sturdy and uses a different remote than I have associated with ML.
After two weeks, some of the sounds are startling. First, the quiet is so quiet when it is quiet that I first thought something was wrong. There is no shrillness whatsoever; the highs are wonderful and believable. I heard instruments, not speakers or equipment. The strings were startling real. I loved the “bass strings” and certainly heard things I never heard before. I even felt the piano keys being hit.
My comparisons are with the ML 31.5/30.6 and Krell DVD players. I have trouble, I think, expressing this, but the ML combo gave me great detail, the new combo gives better fidelity. It not so much detail it is realism. It did take me a while to get used to that. I hope that makes sense. The soundstage was superb. I listened to classical music, opera, jazz and movie soundtracks.
I found it took ten days to two weeks to really warm up and play well. I left it on overnight and the music got better and better. We are certainly are in grade A territory, perhaps A plus.
I know it sounds silly, but I haven’t had the time yet to go through a lot of discs, that may take a while. The CD sound is so wonderful that the distance between that and the SACD is not humongous. Again, that is because it is playing the regular CDs so well, NOT because the SACD part is lacking anything. Again, it actually sound is taking me a while to get used to. It is so uncolored and natural (and quiet).

On a slightly different note, I was wondering if anyone has heard the 512 compared to either the previous flagship model, the #51 or the famed Meridian 808.2. No one I've queried, including reps with Levinson or Meridian seem to have ever done either one of these comparisons, so I'm hoping someone out there has to aid me in my purchasing decision. Anyone out there heard the 512 compared to these other flagship models? If so, what did you think?

@Forbushman - as you already purchased it, may I ask what the price was?
Cheers

Well, I just got my ML 512. Let me open with a joke. Two men meet on the street and one says, “How’s your wife?” The other man responds, “Compared to what?”
The player is heavy and solid, but I haven’t had the time to a great deal and I can only really compare it with a ML 31.5/30.6 combination. While I have heard the Esoteric and the Krell, I have not heard those in my system.
The 512 sounds very good, I am NOT yet ready to say great. It has to be broken in and I need time to just enjoy it. My surprise is how well the CDs sound. The ML 31.5/30.6 sounded a bit darker, meaning the bass was not as refined as it here. There is great detail, but the high end is what prevents me from saying great. But that may come when it is on for a few more days, it has in the past. New machines always sound a bit shrill to me.
The SACDs sound fine also, with a somewhat deeper sound with better placement coming from the ability to hear each instrument more individually. The bass is also better. When I first turned it on I would give it a B-. Now it is a B+. In time (just a day or two) it could certainly be an A.

I hope it's more reliable than the 390S. I had two of them, both horribly problematic.But I did like the sound when they worked!!$15k seems a crazy price for a front end, but then again Levinson must know their market. Paradoxically I suppose it will eventually whittle down to the rest of us poor mortals via Audiogon for a reasonable price, so there is justice after all.

I believe it's $15K

@Pkancel - I heard some rumours regarding the retail price, it it $22,000 or $15,000 or?

Noticeably better in the midrange.

Anyone know how the CD performance of the 512 stacks up against the 390S?

Looks like Yamaha 70/80s styling. Perhaps it sounds great, but the beautiful design of the 390 is gone to a boring box. At this price level I would have to set this up next to a number units before acquisition. I am suspicious and would have to place it first next to a few Esoterics.

Economy is bad but music is soooo good. I just spent 3.5 hours listening to the No.512 and I cut a check for it! When it will arrive, I don't know but that is an AMAZING piece of machinery. I can't wait to get it. I already have the Burmester unit and so this is going to be a part of a secondary system in SF.

Azmoon's right.

It sounds terrific.

Great player if you have the dough.

I have also heard the new Levinson player and it is very nice. For those that can afford it, it is one of the best in class.

>>I'm the largest dealer for Levinson.<<

In height and weight?

Doesn't seem to matter in any case.

Who is this unnamed dealer?

I'm the largest dealer for Levinson.

For reference, the dealer has also already delivered several pieces of the 532 and the 53 to his customers. It sounds like Levinson is telling you what you want to hear to keep you happy (they've done a lot to piss off their dealers in recent years regarding product availability and I'm sure they don't want to lose any more dealers). It's not surprising, bigger customers always get priority. I know of other Levinson dealers that, like you, have yet to receive a single piece of any of the above.

LOL @ Bar81

here are some pics from Tokyo presentation...

ML SACD pic1

ML SACD pic2

ML SACD pic3

ML SACD pic4

The 532 , the 512 , and the 53 monos are scheduled for release in the upcoming weeks. I was contacted today by my rep and one of the cd players is almost ready to ship to me . I'll report when it arrives and send some photos from the system it's playing through. Maybe we can get some photos from the dealer in California. I would be interested to know his name, to call and to discuss the unit with him.

Mark Levinson doesn't even have 512 on its website yet, it was just recently premiered at Tokyo International Audio Show with new SACD players from Luxman D-08 , Denon DCD-SX , Accuphase DP-600 , McIntosh MCD500 , Marantz...

You must be right. I'm sure my dealer just happened to machine a 512 badge, a new enclosure, jam a VOSP mechanism in there and solder on some electronics just to pull one over on me.

This is the strangest thread I've ever read. It is typical of the information that circulates on the net. I am a Levinson dealer and know that no 512's have been shipped in the US to this date. They are expected sometime in November. I confirmed this with my sales rep at Levinson who assures me none exist to audition.

>Utlover

no problem

BTW, I was greatly surprised to see Mark Levinson finally joins the audiophile high resoulution SACD format, as until now they were only supporting 15bit CDs

@Audioholik: thanks for this - this provides a better view of the player.

here's more information on Mark Levinson first SACD player
http://195.69.129.26/webshop/documents/e5d9689eebb04e4ad913e3c15f413305/ML_512.pdf

Wow, you would think they could do better than that.
Perhaps Levinson should start hiring some of their old engineers.

And yes, every manufacturer should burn power cords, interconnects, components, speaker wire, etc. It is a real pain to have to break in everything and sometimes takes weeks. It really is in the manufacturer's best interest. I'll bet many components get a bad rap, because people listen to the components and make evaluations what the unit sounds like then, not what it sounds like a month from now.

Actually, the 001 was straight out of the box with zero hours (although I understand that Burmester does burn in the units at the factory, which, if true, every manufacturer should do imo). The Levinson had been out on the floor for about three weeks. The X-01 Ltd. obviously was well broken in. The PC used was Shunyata along with a 948 power conditioner and Transparent cabling.

btw, the Levinson wasn't changing, it sounded the same the second day as the first, it was just that I took some time to listen the second day even though it was dynamically compromised.

I've not heard the 512, but I'd be curious to find out if the one Bar81 is auditioning has been broken in, power cord used, dealer setup, etc. I know from experience Levinson digital doesn't like sharing circuits with other components, and breakin does take a while. I doubt if many dealers, do more than switch the equipment on (maybe) and only play the equipment when someone's auditioning it. This may be why the Levinson's sound may be changing. The Burmester and Esoteric pieces may have been in the store and played for longer. Anyway I'm not disputing BAR81s experience at all. The 512 may sound exactly as described. The Esoteric, does have a great grip on the low end in my experience. Keep posting Bar81, I'm curious how things turn out.

I think I was a little too harsh on the 512 earlier. In comparison to the Burmester 001 I found the 512 less dynamic; it was very midrange focused with a sweet, lush and slower sound that may be conducive to female vocals and small ensemble performances. The 512 simply didn't have the speed, resolution or low end to compete with either the 001 or the Esoteric X-01 Ltd. (the X-01 in particular separating itself out with its vice grip on the low end).

The Esoteric VRDS-NEO drives spin at a 4x rate and reads data into a buffer (see the Teac USA Esoteric website. The control over the disc is very accurate given the mechanical design. Not sure whether ML is in trouble financially- but Harman does have a contract with Lexus and compared to other high end manufacturers, one would imagine that Harman should be able to distribute the cost of its boutique brand or afford to have it only break even or even be a status and loss leader.

To see the 512 player on the link was very dissapointed on the design side comapre to the 15K price. Mark Levinson had always a strong character, as the look of a player. Now the Chinese will have an easy job to copy this player look.:)

On the other hand, I'm a bit surprised that they use the Neo VRDS. I belive the 390S was built on a completly different way. ML used a pro CD drive in the past, read the data fast in advance, stored and played the sound from memory.
Esoteric went on the ols shcol way, built a very precise drive and an expensive DAC, just like Sony and Accupase. Now I'm just wondering how this player works.

I belive there must be financial problems behind. I heared that HK wanted to sell ML. Probably they have less mone on research.

But of course these things are not important, the most important thing is the sound.

The stylish black metal machine is massive and has ll of the Levinson styling aspects. I think that it sounded far superior to the 390S but as Bar81 points out, the Burmester 001 is just better in every way. $15k versus $23k for the Burmester. Also, I have owned/do own other less expensive CDP's and none of them do the music any justice. I am glad that my pocket can afford my ear otherwise I would be miserbale with my hearing versus buying comparison.

Just some CDs my dealer had (Dave Matthews, Kind of Blue, classical, etc.); I don't really pay attention to SACD performance as the selection of titles isn't nearly broad enough for my tastes. I'm going back with my own CDs next week for a proper demo with gear I know and in a room I'm familiar with; that will allow me to make a proper judgment.

I'm disappointed with the styling compared to ML's previous disk players. It now looks like every other box styled player. I am glad to see the Esoteric transport in there however.

Bar81, what material (CD / SACD)? If you don't like the 390s I think it's obvious you won't like the 512.