The No.38S features more than three dozen refinements, all of which reportedly improve its sonic performance. The…
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Even as Robert Harley was writing his Stereophile review of the $3995 Mark Levinson No.38 remote-controlled line preamplifier (it appeared in August '94, Vol.17 No.8, p.98), Madrigal Audio Laboratories announced an upgraded, cost-no-object version, the No.38S (footnote 1). At $6495, the 'S is significantly more expensive than the junior version; although it uses the same chassis, power supply, and circuit topology, it's in all other ways a different preamplifier.
By contrast, substituting the '38S for the '38 was like removing the windshield from your car—the faint smearing of the glass, which usually goes unnoticed, is really noticeable when it's no longer there. The No.38 may be a good, solid preamplifier design, but in comparison with the No.38S, it didn't cut it. I found that, once I had heard the 'S, I couldn't go back to the '38. It was gratifying to hear others passing through my listening room comment on the system's natural and enjoyable sound quality with the '38S in the chain.
Against the Sonic Frontiers SFL-2: Since Russ Novak…
Sidebar 1: Level Matching
It's essential in listening comparisons to match levels to at least within 0.1dB. A component that's, say, 0.2dB louder than another won't be heard as being louder. Instead, listeners will comment on greater apparent detail or better dynamics.
Stereophile's recommended means of matching levels is to choose a volume-control setting for the comparison, then play a reference tone from a CD—I included a 1kHz tone at –20dBFS on all three Stereophile Test CDs for this purpose. An AC voltmeter is then used to measure the voltage present at the power amplifier's…
Sidebar 2: Review System
During the 10 months I used the No.38S, the digital front-end consisted of a Mark Levinson No.31 CD transport and an Aiwa portable DAT recorder. These drove various processors—including a Mark Levinson No.30.5 in both HDCD and non-HDCD forms, a Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 Mk.II, and an Assemblage DAC-1—via a Sonic Frontiers UltraJitterbug or an Audio Alchemy DTIPro. Digital datalinks used included Madrigal, AudioQuest, and Illuminati AES/EBU cables—the latter needs to be broken-in for 200 hours!—and ASM Labs Mamba ST optical fiber.
Power amplifiers were the…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
In Robert Harley's original review of the Levinson No.38, he commented that he found its technical performance "extraordinary." I found the same to be true of the No.38S. Its frequency response was flat within the audioband, 0.1dB down at 50kHz, which is a little better than the No.38, which was –0.4dB at this frequency. Crosstalk was lower than –106dB at all frequencies below 18kHz, this measured with the undriven input loaded by the source impedance of the Audio Precision generator. This is the best channel-separation I've seen in a preamp. The Levinson's output…
Sidebar 4: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled dual-mono line-stage preamplifier with programmable input level offsets, input labels, and mute. Gain: –73.1dB to +18.9dB plus "off." Inputs: two stereo balanced (XLR), four single-ended (RCA), one Mark Levinson Link communications connector, one 1/8" minijack for external IR repeater. Outputs: one balanced stereo main output pair (XLR), one single-ended stereo main output pair (RCA), two stereo record outputs (RCA), one Mark Levinson Link communication connector. Input impedance: 100k ohms. Output impedance: <6 ohms. Input…
Richard Sequerra was born in 1929 and raised in various parts of the US by his mother, who worked for the Department of State. By the time he was 20, he had launched a freelance career that has since spanned a wide range of technologies. During a stint at Marantz in the 1960s, he worked with Sidney Smith on that firm's famed Marantz 10B tuner, which was sold from 1964 through 1970. Subsequent products have included the Sequerra 1 tuner and the Metronome 7 loudspeaker, originally produced by Sequerra's firm Pyramid and now hand-assembled by its creator, who offers the most recent version via…
My friends at Hudson Radio pointed me toward Marantz. I had just invented this big strobe system and was trying to get funding to form a company, and I didn't know how long I'd be able to stay there if they wanted me. But I went, thinking it was just another little thing—I was doing some consulting on the side anyway—and I met Saul Marantz. Saul said, "Your background is fine; I'd like you to talk to Sid Smith." So I met Sid, who was his engineer and one of the great geniuses of audio, really far beyond anyone. He came with me to Saul, who said, "We want you to come here. When can you start…
Lander: Does Hybrid Digital radio, in which the digital information is contained within the analog FM signal, make sense to you?
Sequerra: Not at all. The current medium is the Internet. It's not there yet, but some stations are giving people fidelity that audiophiles will find acceptable. The quality you get is determined by the amount of bandwidth the station is willing to pay for, and that cost is eventually going to be passed on to listeners.
Lander: How many stations have you found that currently offer enough bandwidth for good sound?
Sequerra: Twenty, maybe thirty…
I had no idea, back when I set out to put together a music lover's stereo system in the $2500–$3750 range, that while I was beavering away the stock market would tank and credit markets would freeze up—or that the federal government would print money to bail out overextended investment banks, take equity interests in commercial banks, and become the lender of only resort for GM, Chrysler, and Ford. I usually avoid even the hint of political commentary in my audio writing, but I can't resist passing along a quip I'm very proud of: I told all my friends that, if they voted for John Kerry,…