ML doesn't make a No. 526A Preamp, the preamp in this set up was the No.326s. I think the dark character you heard came mostly from the No. 512 SACD player. Their new No. 532 AMP is not dark by any means, very detailed and relaxed w/o sounding dark. I would go as far as to say that other than SOTA tube amplifiers this amp has the cleanest, purest midrange than any other amplifier I've heard to date, all this w/o sacrificing air in the highs and a rock solid botom end. I noticed you also mentioned the new Krell 402E AMP sounding 'dark as the levinson'. I heard this amp, it couldn't sound any more different than the levinson, the treble had more bite and it was bit more transparent, no way this could be categorized even remotely as a dark amp. I would summarize these 2 amps as follows:Krell 402E: SOTA dyanmics, SOTA noise floor, extremely detailed. Not as good as the levinson in the midrange.Levinson No. 532: SOTA midrange, very delicate when it needs to be, rock solid bass.Not as dynamic as krel
JBL and Revel
Specifically, the JBLs had a bright, edgy top and powdery gray mid and bottom. On a recording just made in the Blue Coast Studios room at the show, blogged on the first day, the Revels sounded so much better on folk violin. Bass was also far more defined and in control. Tracks as diverse as Revueltas' Sensemaya, arranged for wind ensemble and percussion, blared, thundered, and jangled without pain, with bass well defined. The only thing missing on all these recordings, as well as on a Pentatone disc of Gordon Getty's orchestral music that another visitor brought along, was any sense of soul.
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