Who heard the Mark levinson 53 monos?

The reality is that products made by Harmon ((Levinson, Revel, and others) enjoy so little support from Harmon that many former dealers and custys will never invest their money in these products again . Under Madrigal the products were exceptional and a joy to own. Under Harmon's management service is an abomination and endless money pit, the products and parts are back ordered for months with dealers reducing product that fails out of the box. Not to mention the fact that their new CD player has been discovered to be little other than a modified Oppo in a very expensive box add to this the fact that many failed after a few hours and a new disaster resulted, Levison amps and preamps are now part of the Crown division (are they Crown in disguise?). I used to own a Levinson Reference system but because of Harmon's gross mismanagement dumped it all for other brands. I won't even consider investing in Levinson/Revel again unless Harmon sells the franchises to new investors. What a shame! I believe the above to be the reasons for the lack of interest in Levinson's new products.

French Fries,
I did hear the 53 monoblocks briefly this summer in the Harmon traveling trailer that demos Levinson, Revel, and JBL. The sound was good, but voiced to impress. The technology used inside the trailer and the ability to move it all around across the country was SOTA I'm sure. It sure looked slick.

I'm certainly not going to knock the sound of the 33h. It is a great amplifier I and many others agree. A Madrigal design. I would hope that the 53 is incredibly better for the price. I've never said I didn't like the sound of the Levinson equipment made by Madrigal, (sorry I can't speak for equipment designed by Mark Levinson himself, I've never heard any). I invested thousands at the time and probably would again if the franchieses were renewed and supported again, like some other companies that have been revived, Marantz and McIntosh come to mind. I think the build quality and engineering were second to none in the industry under Madrigal. As for sound quality, my investments in Madrigal equipment(31.5 transport, 30.6 DAC, 360s DAC, #39 CD Player, #380 Preamp, #32 Preamp, #336 amplifier, two pair of #436 amplifiers, Revel Salons, and Revel Sub30 Subwoofers) make me a more than casual fan.

But the wait of over six months for a Salon midrange, a Salon returned from service with what appeared like and smelled like dog urine on the grill, my amps held captive for almost 9 months while Harmon employees were first locating my equipment, then "fixing" it, having the same amps shipped back and forth across the country multiple times only to be dead in the box on arrival, and then factor in the exorbinant amounts of money charged to repair the Levinson electronics if out of warranty by the only three (now only 2 service centers I believe) Levinson repair stations in the country is a road I will not take again. Let's not mention the termination of almost all the engineers and service techs employed by Madrigal who were working one day and unemployed the next.
Levinson has only been retructured and combined with other Harmon companies at least 3 times in the past since the demise of Madrigal. This was all caused because Harmon claims that Madrigal's companies were losing money. I'd sure like to see the balance sheets before Harmon raped Madrigal and were shipping fine products around the world compared to today's profit margin.

My advice, enjoy your 33hs and 326s preamp (both designed and voiced by Madrigal). They are both beautiful and excellent sounding gear. Find someone who can repair the the equipment locally if possible. And remember you're at Harmon's mercy for support and parts.

French Fries,
I believe the reasons above are why there are few dealers. They got so discouraged with not being able to get any new product and the service issues they found other lines to replace the Levinson/Revel products. A good friend of mine worked for the largest Levinson dealer in the country and they begged Harman to change their ways to no avail so they were forced to drop the line.
I'll always be a Levinson fan, just not a Harman fan.
Have fun!
Sgr

If you need service on Levinson products contact Alpha Tech on St. Louis, MO. (314) 645-5250
Mike can fix just about anything.
Happy listening,
Steve