Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Mark Levinson No.536 monoblock power amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Linn Sondek turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge; Nakamichi 600 cassette player; Day-Sequerra 25th Anniversary FM Reference, McIntosh Laboratories MR-78 FM tuners.
Digital Sources: Bryston BCD-1 CD player & BDP-2 media player with IAD soundboard & BDA-3 DAC; Oppo BPD-103 universal BD player; Lenovo P50 computer running Windows 10 Pro (64-bit), JRiver Media Center 22.
Preamplifiers: Bryston BP-26, Mark Levinson ML-7 & No.526.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.334 & No.27 & ML-2 (monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-63 & ESL-989, Revel Ultima Salon2; Revel Rhythm2, SVS SB13-Ultra subwoofers.
Cables: Digital: Wireworld Starlight Coaxial. Interconnect: Mark Levinson Silver, Red Rose Silver One, Totem Acoustic Sinew (all unbalanced), Bryston Pure Silver Cable (balanced). Speaker: Coincident Speaker Technology CST 1, Pure Silver Cable R50 biwire double ribbon, QED X-Tube 400, Ultralink Excelsior 6N OFHC.
Accessories: JL Audio CR-1 electronic subwoofer crossover; Apple iPhone 6 with Studio Six iTestMic running Audio Analyzer app; Apple iPad; Torus Power TOT AVR & RM 20 power conditioners.
Listening Room: 26' L by 15' W by 12' H (4680 ft3) with semi-cathedral ceiling, sparsely furnished with sound-absorbing furniture. Left wall has large bay window covered by Hunter Douglas Duette honeycomb fabric shades. Rear of room opens into 25' by 15' kitchen through 8' by 4' doorway.—Larry Greenhill

COMPANY INFO
Mark Levinson
8500 Balboa Boulevard
Northridge, CA 91329
(888) 691-4171
www.marklevinson.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
Allen Fant's picture
Submitted by Allen Fant on June 22, 2017 - 3:29pm

Excellent review! LG.
Beautiful pics as well.

ToeJam's picture
Submitted by ToeJam on June 22, 2017 - 4:33pm

Thanks for the review Larry. I have found that these amplifiers are incredibly musical and revealing. Whether classical, vocal, or classic rock, they reveal all that is present in the recorded music. I noted a marked improvement of sound in my system when I introduced these in replacement of an ATI Sgnature 6007. Further refinement was achieved with the inclusion of the matching No. 523 preamplifier. Finally, they control my B&W 800 D2's with ease and finesse. I can't say enough about the pleasing sound of this combination.

googoogjoob's picture
Submitted by googoogjoob on June 22, 2017 - 7:26pm

you do know who makes the amps FOR mark levinson,,,,,right?

jmsent's picture
Submitted by jmsent on June 23, 2017 - 5:29am

...who makes the amps?

googoogjoob's picture
Submitted by googoogjoob on June 23, 2017 - 10:15am

ATI

jmsent's picture
Submitted by jmsent on June 23, 2017 - 10:51am

...that wouldn't deter me. Given the small quantities to be sold, it wouldn't make much sense to setup their own production. ATI has a very good reputation, builds a lot of product, and has ultra high end experience with its ownership of Theta. It also allows ML to put "Made in USA" on the product. Somehow I doubt "Made in China" or "Made in Mexico" would go over very well. But it's a fact that the majority of Harman brands now build their products outside the US.

googoogjoob's picture
Submitted by googoogjoob on June 23, 2017 - 10:59am

being ATI wouldnt deter me.....it would get me to buy an amp branded ATI....i own a 300x7 and a 180x5....love them both.

jmsent's picture
Submitted by jmsent on June 23, 2017 - 11:06am

...very good product.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on June 24, 2017 - 12:35pm
jmsent wrote:
...who makes the amps?

To the best of our knowledge, the current generation of Mark Levinson-branded products is manufactured by Mack Technologies, in Westford, MA: http://www.macktech.com/.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

tremblaydan@videotron.ca's picture
Submitted by tremblaydan@vid... on June 23, 2017 - 7:49am

Why not compare it with ML no436 which is still more powerful and only costs 15000$ for a pair in 2002

ToeJam's picture
Submitted by ToeJam on June 23, 2017 - 12:58pm

googoogjoob - some Levinson amps are made by ATI - that's been known for years. But not all ML amps are made by ATI, some amps, including the No. 536, are designed at "Mark Levinson's new facility in Shelton, Connecticut, where all listening tests and QC checks are also performed. Manufacturing is done at Mack Technologies, in Westford, Massachusetts." This is a quote of Mr. Greenhill's as made in Stereophile and on this web site as part of his review of the ML 585. I'm disappointed you missed that detail given it's importance and relativity to your failed inference.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on June 25, 2017 - 11:42am

Has anyone asked Mark, himself, what he thinks of the Mark Levinson Amplifiers?

Nelson Pass has plenty to say about the stuff with his name on it, as does B.H.King about that New PS Audio stuff.

Tony in Michigan

ps. I have plenty to say about everything with my name on it as does our JA, for gods sake

jmsent's picture
Submitted by jmsent on June 28, 2017 - 6:30am

...Levinson give a tinker's damn about these amplifiers? He sold his namesake and his ownership of the company he founded many, many years ago and hasn't looked back since. Mark Levinson (the company) has undergone bankruptcy, numerous sales and acquisitions, finally landing in the Harman fold back in 1990. If he didn't like the amplifier, what then? He'd simply be told to go pound sand by the powers that be at Harman. Of course Nelson Pass has plenty to say about his amplifiers, because...well...he actually designed them, and he still owns a majority financial stake in the company known as Pass Labs.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on June 28, 2017 - 8:53am

In response to your comments, I went to Google and looked up a few videos of M.Levinson to discover his involvement in Audio today.

Geez, Mark Levinson is competing with his own Company Name, betcha that's a rarity.

Anyway, Hertz Co. seem to have the same Luxury Ideal that Harmon is doing with the Levinson Branding.

Levinson himself seems a capable salesman, his products seem aimed at the Affluent person wanting to be involved with music reproduction at a rather intimate level. ( Hertz stuff seems "tweaky" )

Hertz only offer the "Best" level, no good or better. Priced at $120,000 for the whole darn thing: Speakers, amps, pre-amp/DAC. So, it's a fully Active System capable of playing at 125db.

Nice looking stuff. I could own it but I'd be more likely to buy a Meridian System.

Well, so much for Mark Levinson.

Tony in Michigan

ps. I once considered the Levinson product line for my Retail Shop. None of us liked the stuff so we declined but did accept the Koetsu stuff. It was from Madrigal ( I think ) c.1985ish

Johnny2Bad's picture
Submitted by Johnny2Bad on June 28, 2017 - 9:56pm

As I understand the court rulings between Madrigal and Mr. Levinson, Mark Levinson (the person) is barred from commenting on Mark Levinson (the brand) by legal restraints.

rick3803's picture
Submitted by rick3803 on September 22, 2017 - 6:53am

....use ordinary household, 15amp, shared-power for a $30k amp? In your review you mentioned the Torus AVR TOT power conditioner blew its fuse when the 536 maintained a steady 16A draw. Your investment in gear is deserving of the power its demands.

For 12 years I plugged my 336 into its own 15A socket thinking it had what it needed. The rest of my gear had their own 15A lines as well - but all those lines were ultimately shared. It bugged me to the point where one day I got a few hospital grade 20A receptacles and installed 3 separate 20A lines in to my music room. The difference at first, was incredible. It felt like I released a bull into the street where everyone runs for cover. The midrange was so in my face, I had to turn down the volume down a bit and continue my assessment. The sound stage was wider and deeper and the presentation just effortless - less congestion - although I never knew it was congested before. Remember I'm dealing with an older amp by then and its crappy Phillips caps that were replaced 2x under warranty.

Eventually I began to hear more subtle detail, the white against the black if you will, deeper base that had more slam and control and it was tighter. The highs however, were not as warm as I had hoped and some music left me adrift. **My 32 had it's own line and my 360S/37 shared one line (3 total lines).** Surge protected at the box.

I had read here and there in forums that big wall power is what an amp needs, especially class A like your amazing ML2's. I can't believe I'd never done it before. My 336 is due to be recapped. I can't wait to hear it while its running through Cornell Dubilier's. I also wonder what a dedicated 30A line would sound like?

I would be interested to read what a follow up review would find if you plugged those amazing 536 mono blocks into 2 separate 20A lines. Thanks for a thorough review!

PS: **The installation of the 20A lines was a lot cheaper than a big dollar power conditioner. The $20 receptacles were also cryo treated.

X