Upgraded 390S, excellent CD/DAC player with volume control, you hear every detail, wide & deep soundstage, analog sound. I agree with all the good reviews mentioned on this site so I am not going to repeat what has already been said, if you want the best CD player check out the 390S.

Large soundstage, huge realistic dynamic range, great detail and ambience retreival, precise instrument placement allowing you to hear the number of string players or individual voices in choral music.

Only the cost and time for upgrading

I purchased a 390s used from another Audiogon member, downsizing my system from a Levinson 31.5 reference transport and a Levinson 30.5 DAC which are now "legacy" products that can be serviced by Levinson but my concept of upgrading the DAC to 30.6 level (their highest performing DAC capable of 96K input) is no longer possible. Its performance was good initially with some gains in ambience retrieval when connected directly to Levinson 33h amplifiers, but the soundstage was rather small, dynamics were lacking, the sound had a “Levinson” coloration to it (precise, on the dark side) and I was missing the reference character, very balanced presentation of the music from deep bass to high treble, that I had with the previous two units as a cd playback system. Since I was intent on keeping the unit and sticking with my plan for a more abbreviated but well performing system, I decided to take a chance and have the unit modified by The Upgrade Company which I found listed among other ads on the Audiogon web site. The transformation they achieved with the unit is nothing short of stunning. It now offers a large well defined soundstage with excellent presentation of instruments in the soundstage and the accompanying detail and “air” one would hope for. The dynamics of the unit are so great that orchestra crescendos have a shock and impact very representative of live performances. While the basic character of the unit seems to be preserved (its clean, clear, well balanced rhythmically precise nature) the sound has been improved in all the ranges from deep bass, which is solider and better defined, through a natural in timber balanced midrange to a precise extended high end lacking in any brittleness or harshness. The improvement in the unit is so large and consistent in performance that the clichéd phrase “you’ll be hearing new things in the music you are most familiar with” maybe overused but is so true that in this case it has to be stated. Stereophile in a review rated the 390s as basically a “Class A” playback system that the only fault found in the unit was its inability to handle anything over a 48k sampling rate, I’m not sure I would call the stock unit a Class A product (at its price point Levinson gave up a lot of high end parts that you do find in their top of the line equipment) but I would easily say the modified unit is on a level with the BEST cd playback systems made from any manufacturer

Similar Products Used:

Levinson 31.5 transport, Levinson 30.5 DAC, Denon 5910 universal disc player, Pioneer Elite multidisc player

all

DAC section

In one word is 'Analog sound from one digital player'. I think for 16 bit digital this is end of resolution and transparency. I listened it with wilson speakers and patus amplifier. amplifier for this test was not good but player ability in producing music with superior transparency was evident. it's focus and image was the best i heard and so smooth and free grain high was it's difference with all digital players. about tonality it was so neutral in frequency range and if you use it's pre section to an organic power amp like krell with high resulution speaker like dynaudio, sound is on dream side. i love this player for it's long listenning session. no fatigue during long listenning and very easy on ear. about bad recorded music there is no expect for making good music and you just listen to truth. bass had definition and was extended with bloom. mid was excellent with low coloration. high was smooth and integrated. about player weakness i couldnot detect any problem but many prefer SACD for it's better resolution and in comparison with krell SACD when krell play SACD disk you hear more information. for CD playback levinson is a bragin but keep in mind you need highend amp and speaker to match it.

Similar Products Used:

krell SACD

A technical sculpture, wonderful build, great remote. If you see it as a high tec machine it's worth the money.

Wonderful to look at, but not for listening. Under lissening aspects it's not worth the money.

I bought a pre-owned 390s (burned in!)with the option to give it back if I am not fully satisfied. After many years of reading tests (even at this place) I was really nervous how it would sound in my system. What a disappointment ! It just plays the disc you put in-nothing else. No musicality. One of the most boring players ever heard. Sorry, but this is what I have heard. I had a swinging system before: Wadia 850i, Mark Levinson 23.5, Infinity Kappa Renaissance 90, Ortofon Cables. With the 390s it was dead. Now I am looking forward upgrading my Wadia.

Similar Products Used:

Wadia 850, Musical Fidelity CD-Pre, AVM CD6, Marantz CD 6000 (OSE and KI), Marantz CD 17 KI, Denon DCD 1420 ans DVD 3800.

Realistic portrayal of instruments and voices - wide and deep soundstage

Quality controls at ML seems not to be too convincing

I purchased the 390s, after having used a Proceed combination for about 3 years, and I could not believe the difference (after having to have the power supply changed - the player "died after 3 days). This is so much better and more natural sounding - it has the ML signature sound - a little dark, but throws a wide soundstage and really reproduces instruments close to the sound of the originals - I thought there was something very wrong when playing a live Weather Report recording, until I realized I was hearing Zawinul's analog synths being portrayed in a realistic manner - A great machine, and it has really made me start buying records again.

Similar Products Used:

Proceed CDD and Dap,Denon 3560, various Sony players.

immaculate sound

expensive, fragile aluminium surface

I am using the Mark Levinson 390S CD Processor together with the Verity Audio Parsifal Encore loudspeakers and the Nagra MPA power amplifier. I mainly listen to classical music and jazz, 2-4 hours per day and 5-8 hours on weekends. After listening to different cd players for almost one year, the ML390S was the only one to fully satisfy me. Every day and every moment the cd player passes a difficult test: I am there listening to every detail and trying to find a fault. But in vain, the ML390S never fails. It delivers music with utter respect to its content, the timbres of the instruments are always incredibly balanced and correct, the sound reproduction enticingly musical and accurate. I admire its aristocratic calmness and its mystic naturalness. The Mark Levinson engineers are surely great technicians, but this is not the whole story: technology by itself is not enough. I think that those who manufactured this excellent product made in every step choises, which are not only technical but also aesthetic and which represent the best western humanitarian tradition in music. With the ML390S early music gains all its frailty and sensitivity, baroque becomes full of exuberance and passion, classical period regains its grace and equilibrium, romantic orhestras come alive in full power and 20th century music plus jazz are as alive as ever. The voices of all kinds are natural and human. In every field the ML390S has made the right choice.

Similar Products Used:

Electrocompaniet, Marantz, CEC, Meridian

Imaging. Deep,wide and tall. And solid. Harmonic balance (timbre). Dynamics. Balance. Poise. Features. Looks.

Cost. It cost more than any car I have ever owned. If you don't like black you are out of luck.

I spent 3 concentrated weeks searching for a CD-Player worthy of the Newform ribbons. Every one of the players I listened to (it must be remembered that I am forced to audition it through what ever system is present in the store, so I may be talking about the sound of the cables, amp, or speakers, and etc) had something that annoyed the hell out of me. The Sun Moon Audio had nice looks and good attack but seemed grainy. The Arcam was sweet and clear but put me to sleep in dynamics. The Wadia had very nice sound, a tad edgy but nice, but its display was unreadable from across the room, its remote was too large for a Texan, and its eject button had to be negotiated with to get the drawer to open. I say "A pox to high-end manufacturors that refuse to get the basics right!!" Wadia, redesign the &$#@* display and controls fer cryin' out loud! The Meridian sounded dynamically constrained and, to my ears, not as nice as the much more reasonable Arcam. The flagship Sony was very nice, just not quite there for me. So, just as I am leaving the last store in disgust I see the Levinson 390s on the counter. It was just being readied to set up for display. It was twice the price I was hoping to pay but I auditioned it on a lark. Boy, am I glad I did! Mind you, the thing was not even run yet, but right out of the box it was clear and deep. It had a slightly dark flavor (turned out to be the signature of the Levinson amp) but was tonally rich, smooth on top, and dynamic. And the blasted controls all worked! And they even looked like real thought was given to how humans actually did things! The remote was easy to operate one-handed (unlike the Wadia, which required at least three) Over the next couple of weeks the 390s just got smoother and more dynamic. Coupled into the Spectron-amp/Newform Ribbon-speaker pair it could throw a sound-stage bigger than the room in all dimensions (Ok, maybe not in time, wise guy.)The slightly dark flavor which it had into the Levinson amps (as well as the new Bryston 4BSST) vanished with the Spectron. On good recordings dynamics can explode out of a depth of silence that is awesome. The space or silence between notes, the air, is as well done as I have ever heard. It simply sounds like a live mic feed in a fine recording studio! And the interesting thing is that even bad CD's don't sound worse as often happens with other "detailed" players. The 390s dynamics and detail are real, not hyped high-frequency noise as is often the case in pretenders. The tonality and timbre is very,very good with female vocalists sounded well fleshed out with out sounding chesty. The thing seems totally unflappable. Judy Collins "Amazing Grace" has a deeper sound-stage than the room itself. The voices are distinct yet musically well blended with male voices having a sonorous quality and Judy's voice well-bodied and pure. Massed male voices can send shivers up the spine in sheer wonder at the power and grace of a full-bodied male choir. Old R&B songs have a new lease on life, with new air and dynamics breathed into the music. An amazing product, as it should be considering the price. But, unlike many other products that I auditioned it actually delivers the goods.

Similar Products Used:

Micro-mega, Krell, Wadia, Sony, Onkyo Integra,Panasonic DVD 2000, Arcam, Behringer, Meridian etc.

Articulate and fine. Nothing is missing nothing is over amplified

Price

Exceptional cd player. I do every now and think think if the money would have been better spent on SACD--however, I own over 4,000 cds and do not plan on purchasing many SACDs. The sound is balanced. This cd player excells at doing everyting right. The music has a presence which you will not find in players twice the price

Similar Products Used:

Krell KAV300; Sonic Frontiers T3/P3 [junk!! avoid at all costs]; Marantz cd 71

Focus, transparency, large soundstage, well defined and tight Bass

None, but can be a tad edgy with the wrong amplifier

Great all rounder player. Classical, Jazz or Rock music sound so natural through this fantastic player. Focus is the best i ever heard from a CD Player. I’ve not heard better digital than the Levinson Nº39 CD Processor !!! And now is possible to upgrade to 390S !!

Similar Products Used:

Meridian 508.24 Meridian 507 Krell 300-CD Theta Miles

3D sound stage, detail, refinement.

Price, can be more punchy

When we spent USD6000 on a CDP, others look at us like we are crazy. For such a product against price ratio, it has to be good, or great. At least the owner has to say it is good to justify the price, and such "behaviour" creates a lots of BIAS when you write or read a review. I was upgraded through the following path: Marantz CD63SE to Sony X3000ES to Electrocompanient EMC1 to Proceed CDP to Mark 39 (on loan to me from the local dealer), and to Mark 390S (Waiting for delivery). I have to say, without any bias, that the Mark No.39 is so far the best player I have ever heard. I thought the Proceed CDP is great, but No.39 is so much better. It is very, extremely, refine and detail. The 3D sound stage is something which I have never experienced before. Trust me, I am not trying to convince myself that at such a price the machine has to be good. I did not get paid from Mark. I hope the 390S will be even better.

Similar Products Used:

Proceed CDP