Opinions on Mark Levinson 23.5 Amp

Hello: I owned a 23.5 for about a year and sold it almost a year ago. I also owned and sold their newer 332, but prefer the 23.5. In my context it was a pleasing amplifier, in fact the best solid state that I've heard. But all Levinson products lack the high end response which Audio Research tube amps have. This gives the sound vitality and much more localization of instruments. But if you are willing to do without that the 23.5 is a superb solid state amp. It is also very well and conservatively constructed and should be very reliable. Just don't listen to a good tube amplifier and you will be happy. (By the way, I auditioned all the Levinson amplifiers with a number of their preamps to be sure I wasn't short changing their amps. David N.

Dbeker, Thanks for the reply. Which AR tube amp do you have? I've heard alot of people rave about the VT-100MKII. What is the maintanence on a good quality tube amp? Also, my dealer is recommending Audio Quest cables for my Vandersteen 3A's. Do you have any experience with them? Thanks!

The 23.5 is a great amp. It was one of the best solid state amps (If not the best) that I ever owned (and I've owned alot). it's not really fair to compare it directly with a great tube amp without taking into contex speakers and personal taste. Tube amps tend to have warm, natural midranges and do wonderful things to vocals. Solid State tend to have great dynamics, sounding very powerful and offering great bass. These are just generalizations though and any amp's sound will rely on many factors. While as a general rule I prefer tube amps, right now I am using a Bryston 4B ST. This is a good solid state amp that better suits my current speakers the the tube amp I had last. The ML 23.5 is great!