Jonathan Scull

I wasn't raised a McIntosh lad. My dad used Fisher, Bogen, Leak, and Ampex tubed electronics&mdash;and, at one time, even home-built speakers&mdash;to keep the house filled with a steady, enriching flow of Mozart. He never owned a Mac component, and, when going upmarket, reached for B&O, alas. So while I knew that many audiophiles hold tubed McIntosh gear&mdash;especially the early designs&mdash;in very high regard, I was somehow never bitten or smitten. But let's face it&mdash;for lo these many years, McIntosh has been for many <I>the</I> name in quality American audio. Take my friend Dan, to whom I've referred several times in the pages of <I>Stereophile</I>. He runs a tubed Conrad-Johnson 9 preamplifier, but wouldn't <I>dream</I> of giving up his 270Wpc solid-state McIntosh MC7270. He's goldurn proud of it!

I've always wanted to review one of Madrigal's Mark Levinson products, and finally my prayers have been answered. The chosen victim? The No.32 Reference preamplifier. Note that "Reference" moniker. The No.32 is the first Mark Levinson preamplifier to carry such appellation. They're not kidding.

I had an epiphany the other night. (Hope Rabbi Lichtenstein won't be too upset.) Kathleen and I were watching the Antiques Road Show on PBS, and, during a break, I started channel-surfing. I know, it's obnoxious—but I feel compelled to hop around and keep up the sense- and info-pounding barrage we've come to take for granted and, in fact, rely on. In a way, channel-surfing is a perfect symptom of our information-overload society: click Geraldo, click Robin Byrd, click Jazz Channel, click Weather Channel. We're bombarded, we're inundated, we're . . . let's face it, we're overwhelmed. The Internet, e-mail, phone calls—lots of information, and little time to process it.