Joeycalda, i do have a comment on the Levinson #32. i was a Levinson guy for quite a few years (1995-2001) and loved every minute of it. i owned the #37, #36S, #38S, #335, #33H.....and my final Levinson system was the #32 and #33 monoblocks.....which i had for 2 years with the Wilson WP6's.
i had decieded to switch to a different approach for amplification so i purchased a Tenor OTL amp, the 75Wi, which included a passive volume attenuator. at that point i felt as you currently do; that the #32 was a clearly superior preamp. at that point i was using the Linn CD-12 and Marantz SA-1 as my digital sources. i tried these sources directly into the Tenors (bypassing the #32)....WOW!! i was not prepared for the improvement. this modest passive volume attenuator in the Tenors exposed the #32 as congested, lacking dynmamic snap, and lacking detail.....at least that was what my ears told me. i was conflicted by my love of the Levinson gear and specifically the #32 but clearly i was onto something.
since the Tenors didn't have a remote volume control i looked around and settled on the Placette RVC as a passive solution....which i also compared to the #32.....same result.
my conclusion.....in preamps less CAN be more. i remain a fan of the #32.....among active solid state preamps it is one of the best. it is certainly my favorite for functionality, build quality and beauty. but it is not the last word in performance. i have had maybe 15 preamps in my system since; one of which was the emmlabs Switchman. while i still prefer the Placette to the Switchman by a small margin (in my particular system), the Switchman (to my ears in my system) performs better than the #32.
i have not heard the DCC2.....but feedback i have received from listeners i respect is that the DCC2 is a little better than the combo of the DAC6 and Switchman.
my impressions only pertain to my system and personal sonic priorities. but based on my experience of owning the #32 and time with the emmlabs gear my conclusion would be that the DCC2 will outperform the #32 with any digital source you can name.....inluding the emmlabs DAC6.
the Levinson is an awesome piece of gear and you should feel great about owning it. but there are other excellent performing choices that may make sense too. i would also add that system synergy and context can be very significant.....as well as personal taste. what may work for me in my system.....or appeal to me....could very well be different for you.
YMMV
i had decieded to switch to a different approach for amplification so i purchased a Tenor OTL amp, the 75Wi, which included a passive volume attenuator. at that point i felt as you currently do; that the #32 was a clearly superior preamp. at that point i was using the Linn CD-12 and Marantz SA-1 as my digital sources. i tried these sources directly into the Tenors (bypassing the #32)....WOW!! i was not prepared for the improvement. this modest passive volume attenuator in the Tenors exposed the #32 as congested, lacking dynmamic snap, and lacking detail.....at least that was what my ears told me. i was conflicted by my love of the Levinson gear and specifically the #32 but clearly i was onto something.
since the Tenors didn't have a remote volume control i looked around and settled on the Placette RVC as a passive solution....which i also compared to the #32.....same result.
my conclusion.....in preamps less CAN be more. i remain a fan of the #32.....among active solid state preamps it is one of the best. it is certainly my favorite for functionality, build quality and beauty. but it is not the last word in performance. i have had maybe 15 preamps in my system since; one of which was the emmlabs Switchman. while i still prefer the Placette to the Switchman by a small margin (in my particular system), the Switchman (to my ears in my system) performs better than the #32.
i have not heard the DCC2.....but feedback i have received from listeners i respect is that the DCC2 is a little better than the combo of the DAC6 and Switchman.
my impressions only pertain to my system and personal sonic priorities. but based on my experience of owning the #32 and time with the emmlabs gear my conclusion would be that the DCC2 will outperform the #32 with any digital source you can name.....inluding the emmlabs DAC6.
the Levinson is an awesome piece of gear and you should feel great about owning it. but there are other excellent performing choices that may make sense too. i would also add that system synergy and context can be very significant.....as well as personal taste. what may work for me in my system.....or appeal to me....could very well be different for you.
YMMV