Mark Levinson Audio Systems' 40th Anniversary Amps

In response to Mark Levinson Audio Systems' 40th Anniversary, the company has announced a new line of products for the two-channel audiophile, the 40th Anniversary Collection at CES 2012, which includes the $25,000 No.52 Reference dual-mono preamplifier, the $10,000 No.585 integrated amplifier, the $6000 No.519 SACD player and the $6000 No.560 digital processor.

Jim Garrett, Senior Manager, Marketing Harman Luxury Audio Group, walked me through the static display of these four products, which are all scheduled to be shipping in the fourth quarter of 2012. Each of the four products has a similar front-panel user interface with a volume control on the right and a selector control on the left, as well as an identical rear control panel control interface that includes Ethernet, IR input, 12V trigger connector, RS-232, ML-Net, and a USB connector for firmware upgrades.

I was most intrigued by the $10,000 No.585 integrated amplifier shown in the photo, which is rated at 225Wpc into 8 ohms, and provides a dedicated subwoofer output. This replaces the No.383 integrated amplifier. The No.585 offers three analog line-level audio inputs plus an MC/MM phono input — the No.383 had only an optional phono section—and six digital audio inputs, to accommodate a wide array of music sources, and can be operated via its remote control. It features HDM 1.3, USB, AES/EBU, and coaxial S/PDIF inputs, and provides USB and S/PDIF digital outputs. It will have an onboard DAC. A host of onboard sonic tailoring facilities are provided including full bass management with high-pass filtering, low-pass crossover controls for the subwoofer output and more. The No.585's unity gain SSP mode enables easy integration with home theater systems, and the amplifier offers a full complement of system control ports.

COMMENTS
Dan Moroboshi's picture

I hope that you could consider reviewing the 585. Specially, if it is comparable to the previous No. 383.

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