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Top Ranked Products from Mark Levinson.
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Rating
Reviewed by:
auro
(AudioPhile)
Review Date
October 26, 2007Overall Rating
 5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
Less than 1 month Visitors rate this review
4.75 of 5,
4.00 votes
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Review 1 of 12
Price Paid:
$2800.00
from Audiogon Summary:
Wonderful ! My ML27.5 can not keep up with my Magnepan 3.6R and lacks punch, speed and depth in the low spectrum. The 27.5 is a wonderful amp for small maggies (up to the 1.6QR), but it is a little weak for bigger panels.
The 23.5 I bought was just repaired (815$ all-you-can-fix-max-charge) so I have 90 days warranty from HSG and a new amp. A good deal. The 23.5, 27.5 and 20.6 are the best ML amplifiers ever made. Each one has a different style. Each one is perfect and different than the other. If you like tubes get the 20.6. If you like volume and sharpness get the 27.5 or 23.5 depending on the size of the room. If you drive big panels (apogee/magnepans) get the 23.5 or try the parasound JC1s... Strengths:
Everything. Weaknesses:
None. But it gets very hot and the life of components reduces with temperature. I might guess that every 10 years it might require service for parts substitution (cooked resistors, leaking caps) and bias tuning... Beware of cheap audiogon deals. The all-you-can-fix-max-charge (815$) plus shipping (100-200$ depending where you live) can bump up the cost considerably. Do not get fooled by pretending original box, cord and manual (useless). Be smart, ask for pictures of the heat sinks in color. If they are turning red-ish or purple-ish stay away... The amp got cooked. (probably kept inside a cabinet)... If you own big maggies and do not want the headache of servicing the amp every many years, you can try the parasound JC1s... Big quality for the money and it sounds like the 23.5, practically. Similar Products Used:
ML 20.6, ML 27, ML27.5, ML 23, ML23.5, ML 33, ML 334, Parasound JC1s, an infinite amount of Rotels (boring).
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Dgob
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
May 9, 2006Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year Visitors rate this review
4.20 of 5,
5.00 votes
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Review 2 of 12
Price Paid:
$2500.00
from Audiogon Summary:
I recently bought my ML 23.5 and had it imported to the UK from the USA. I have had a long history of seeking realism through a variety of tubes based amplifiers (including ownership of a Leak ST60, Audio Research VT100, Conrad Johnson Premier 8a, Atmasphere MA1 and Audio Research VT200 MKII. The recent move to solid state with the 23.5 has been a real revelation. I now know that tube designs have sonic limitations and colourations and this has demanded my re-educating my ears and expectations.
Put simply, the 23.5 is uncoloured, dynamic, pitch and timbre perfect and - therefore - brings you much closer to being there at a live performance. Despite the far more exotic nature and cost of the rest of my system, the 23.5 raises the quality of my system and listening experience. Given this and their unbelievably low retail price on the used market, this classic amp recommends itself. Strengths:
Clarity; frequency extension, bass control and projection, dynamics, timbre, power, speed and naturalness. Weaknesses:
NONE Similar Products Used:
Plinius, Krell, Audio Research, Conrad Johnson
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Dgob(Unregistered User)
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
April 23, 2006Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5,
1.00 votes
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Review 3 of 12
Price Paid:
$2500.00
from Audiogon Summary:
I recently bought this ML 23.5 and had it imported to the UK from the USA. I have had a long history of seeking realism from a power amplifier and this has included my owning the following tube/valve based amp's: Leak ST60; Audio Research VT100, Conrad Johnson Premier 8a and Audio Research VT200 MKII. The recent move to solid state with the ML 23.5 has been a revelation. I now know that there are severe limitations at both freqauency extremes with tube designs and have had to re-educate my ears and expectations.
Put simply, the ML 23.5 is uncoloured, dynamic, pitch perfect and - therefore - brings you as near to the recording as anything I have heard to date. The rest of my system is rather expensive but the ML 23.5's belie there cheap retail price and more than hold their own. Just fantastic performers at an unbelievable price. They recommend themselves. Strengths:
Clarity, frequency extension, bass control and projection, dynamics, timbre, power, speed and NATURALNESS Weaknesses:
NONE Similar Products Used:
Leak, Krell, Audio Research, Conrad Johnson
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Ricky_NY
(AudioPhile)
Review Date
April 8, 2005Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
4.00 votes
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Review 4 of 12
Price Paid:
$0.00 Summary:
The Mark 23.5 is one of the best amplifiers made and among the best I have ever heard. I include it in the lofty company of the Cello Duet 350, Amplifiers, Krell FPB 200 and the Jeff Rowland Model 8T. The 23.5 has all the power you'd need to light up everything from very efficient loudspeakers like my Wilsons or Sonus Fabers to more power-hungry designs from Martin Logan, B&W,Apogee Diva and Revel. The industrial design is excellent. The build quality is even better.Which comes with self-referencing voltage reference in the power supply regulator.
On Stevie Wonder’s "Sir Duke" from ‘The Original Musicquarium Volume II’ (Motown), the opening horn riff is very possibly the best example of the Jeff Rowland Model 112’s two best attributes. On "Sir Duke," the horns simply jump forward into space, while retaining a warmth and musicality that is found on only a rare high-performance solid state amp. The Rowland shows its ability to handle more complex arrangements, as Stevie's voice is layered neatly over the horns, bass and drums.
There is no amplifier that I am aware of that delivers such a combination of virtues at such a modest price. The Mark 20.6 & 23.5 line is, and has long been, a standard of genuine audio value in a high-priced, often inflated market.
Is the 23.5 worth the investment? If you own serious loudspeakers and are looking for a world-class amplifier to power them without a hiccup, then the answer is "yes."
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Rating
Reviewed by:
RonnyT
(AudioPhile)
Review Date
March 10, 2005Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
4.00 votes
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Review 5 of 12
Price Paid:
$3700.00 Summary:
The evening that I plugged in my ML 23.5 I immediately starting hearing nuances in beloved old recordings that I had never heard before. The extra roll of a cymbal here and the slight vibration of vocal chords there. That was the obvious stuff, but what floored me was the fact that I could finally here the muscianship of performers coming through. Case in point was listening to the Police's "One World (Not Three)" and hearing the band start playing more intensely after the first chorus. Mind you, they didn't start playing faster, but with a greater passion and the entire band did so in unison. This is something that the 23.5 immediately brought to light. Pulling back the abstruse layers of a piece of music and hearing the raw humanity of a performance is what buying high end equipment is all about.
Imaging:
The ML 23.5 brought an extra dimension to my already impressive imaging. My B&W Nautilus 802s are renowned for their imaging and formerly I had awesome detailed imaging, but only in two dimensions. That is, I could place instruments in the sound stage perfectly left to right and top to bottom. But there was no front to back - until ML 23.5, that is. Now I hear beautiful detailed full three dimensional imagery. Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up" was revelatory and you could place Mayfield easily in front of his drummer, instead of on top of the drummer.
Power:
In short, the ML 23.5 is very neutral and very powerful, consequently you hear music.
Comparisons:
I travelled around the country a bit and listened to many other amps before selecting the ML 23.5. Most folks that I talked to recommended Krell FPBs (which is more expensive by the way). The FPBs was the proverbial analytical amplifier. I was listening to "Let Down" by Radiohead wherein Thom Yorke (singer) is pouring is guts out for the listener and even my old Adcom revealed the raw emotion. But the Krell FPBs was absolutely lifeless & colored. I was hearing everything, but not feeling everything.
Conclusion:
With the ML 23.5 I am no longer thinking about my componentry and instead am obsessing about the soul of the musicians. Its like casting a spell and commanding history's best performers to play for you in your living room. I must commend my fellow reviewers on this site who mentioned that the ML 23.5 was the ideal mate for B&W Nautilus 802s as that is my speaker of choice and the match is flawless. Strengths:
Super details,Dynamic,Raw enough to sound like real.Excellent timbre shading,great constrast.
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