Modifying my Mark Levinson 332 for a unique visual experience


I bought a Mark Levinson 332 in very bad shape. It had some serious internal problems and the exterior was showing 30+ years of neglect. I wanted a Levinson amp since I was a teen but there was no way I could drop that amount of coin on an amplifier. Well after 30+  years this amp has finally found me and we have been friends ever since.

Internally is was a mess. It needed to be fully recapped, needed various components that were exploded and needed a complete voltage gain board that looked like it served a few tours in Iraq. After I made the repairs and dialed in all the adjustments all was good in the world.

An amp of this magnitude is not only an aural experience but there is a visual experience too, right?

Time to tackle the cosmetics. Initially I was going to repaint the covers that were faded from sun or smoke exposure. There were some ugly scratches in the paint too. I decided to strip the paint from the covers with acetone. I didn't realize that the top cover was some top quality aluminum and it was beautiful once the paint was gone. The TIG welds were precise and the surface was smooth. That got my gears going. I was going to take it to the next level and have a unique amp that no one else on the planet has. I was going to polish that high grade aluminum to a mirror finish. The front bezel received the same treatment, as well as the power button, which to my surprise was aluminum as well.

This amp pays tribute to so many other high end amps like Dynas and McIntosh that have some meticulously polished frames and hopefully it is one-of-a-kind. Others suggest that modding it in this manner will drive resale value down. That is not a concern for me. I think this amp is a keeper and now that it is polished I fell in love with it all over again.

Here is a public link to a photo of it:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0yvjhlC62G7SHVJczc2ZUV2OGs/view?usp=sharing  

I welcome comments and thanks for looking!
generatorlabs
Beautiful 332.  I had a 336 which was one of my most cherished amps.  The pride of ownership is off the charts for these amps.  
hi , i am mohit from india . i have mark levinson 333 , i want current gain board and left channel pcb board . unfortunately both burned . harman audio india share the pics with me as well , they contact ml usa but unfortunately they are still waiting for reply. now its already more then 2months still they dont have any proper fix for this. so i need ur help . please help me out. 
thanks .   
@mohit789   You are in a very difficult situation. The ONLY way you are going to get any help from Harmon is by shipping your amp to them. An amp weighing 150lbs is not the easiest thing to safely ship. I don't think they will accept a shipment unless it is in the original box or crated. They will gladly sell you a box though. How nice of them :(   They will not sell parts to anyone except an authorized service center. I think the entire U.S. may have only 3 authorized service centers. Calling any of these service centers for parts support is a waste of time. They are strictly prohibited from selling parts as well. This is the one reason I do not recommend ML to anyone. They make great sounding gear but when the gear goes bad it will cost you ridiculous amounts to get it repaired. If you are willing to pay I am sure they will offer great customer service. If you cannot pay then their support sucks. I do not understand their business model. I would imagine your amp, requiring two PCB's is easily a $1200 repair. You can occasionally find parts on ebay but they are not cheap and they are not common. I had a few PCB's that I sold on ebay very quickly. What boards that remain, I will not sell for any price. If you do find a voltage gain board on ebay but it is for the wrong channel, be aware that the board can be used on both left or right channels BUT skillful de-soldering skills are required to relocate the headers and other connectors to the other side of the board. I would set up an automatic search for the ML parts you need so you can get notifications when they pop up on ebay. I wish I could offer you more help. I feel your frustration. Good luck on your search.