Mark Levinson pre-amplifiers

I have compared the 326s to the 523 then went to a 52 Ref. In short the 523 is much more detailed than the 326s and has a much larger soundstage. 523 won for me. The 52 Ref is better yet but I’ll give the 523 high marks as much closer to the 52 than the 326s. I bought the 52. Driving the 536s for all comparisons. 

George

George,
Many thanks for the response.
If you have similar insight into loudspeakers, I invite you to share it.
I have B&W D2's, have not upgraded to the D3's because the latter are so physically unattractive, and have avoided
Magico and similar speakers due to their cost, weight, and aesthetic inferiority to the D2's.

I have a 523 and find it amazing in all respects. I preferred it to one of the legendary 40k preamps.
Its intensely musical with all the audiophile boxes checked. It’s a beauty. I owned a 326s a few years ago and loved it too but doubt it would be a fair comparison now. Tube guys need to hear the musicality available in top flight ss these days with generally far better user interface/features etc. FWIW

The speakers are so personal I’d hate to lead you astray. First time I heard the d3s I liked the older d2s better but the d3s weren’t broken in at all. Next time I heard d3s they were really very good. That said ... I’m a wilson guy and I really like my Sasha’s quite a bit but again ... totally personal. I think the d3s really are great performers. Thought the focals are really good too at various price points. 

My my best recommendation is take your time and listen to a lot of different speakers until you fall in love! Good luck

George