transparent. neutral, userfriendly, fabulously built.

maybe the price but it is a MARK LEVINSON

Mark Levinson 383 is the only int. amp. from this company, and they have got it right the first time. The amp. is very well designed aesthetically , and is a conversation piece. More of an art deco design.
The build quality and feel of the amp. is top class, has a very nice remote carved out of a solid block of aluminium, The control knobs are one of a kind in the industry. you will have a lots of people touching them.
I am not good at describing sound, let the reviewers do that, but I will try here.The sound is very impressive, it does not improve or highlight any one thing but the whole presentation is improved upon. You won't be able to appriciate it unless you listen to any other decent comparable amp. from makers like krell, plinius, mcintosh, accuphase, bryston, ......... after listening to the 383 for a long time. Only then will you come to know what is missing in the sound of the other amps.
The sound is very transparent, the imaging is perfecto.... the tone is slightly on the warmer side of neutral and the amp. is reasonably powerful. (not for speakers going below 4 ohms) saying that it can drive almost any speakers to high listening levels without getting stressed.

Best midrange and treble I have ever heard from a solid state amplifier.

The ML 383 has dead silent transformers (unforunatelly a lot of amplifiers makes a lot of mechanical hum and noise where I live). The unit is user-friendly and replays MUSIC to my references. Programmable inputs and adjustable max volume. Very good terminals. Excelent user interface and remote. The volume knob sets a new reference.

Expensive, but affordable as second hand.

The ML 383 seems to have some enemies at the Audioreview.com due to bas costumer service which almost persuaded me from taking the time and effort to go and audition this amplifier myself (it is heavy). I am happy I did.

Having had several SS amps and some tube amps I was longing for a maintenance free and user-friendly integrated amplifier with the delicate sweet sound from tubes and the bass controll from SS. After having auditioned several integrated solid state amps I was amazed by the sonic subtlety of ML 383 which is outstanding. Until now I have never heard a solid state amp sounding so sweet, clear, unstressed and open in the treble and midrange. Sopranos and strings sound so natural, relaxed, pinpointed and easy to the ear - no ice picks on the eardrums evan at high . The ML 383 ended some years of seeking the ultimate amplifier. It deserves to be partnered with the best signal sources, cables and loudspeakers.

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Conrad Johnson CAV50, Cary SLI-80, Electrocompaniet ECI-3, Bryston B-100 SST

Great details, tight bass, good atmosphere expecially when listening JAZZ, smooth at high and wonderful sound staff, very dynamic.

sound not colourful enough, a bit cool.

Mark 383 Current system - Amp - Mark 383 CDP - Meridian 507 Speaker - B&W N805 Tuner - Dynalab MD90 RCA - Au24 Speaker cable - Cello string 3 *********************************************************** Need a view or comment from a Mark 383 user here regarding something I suspected a performance prooblem from my Mark 383 int amp. coincidently, when I clean up the dust I hear some noticeable noise generated from the tweeter of my speaker (both speaker), "at that time the power was switched on and the standby was turned off,the volume truned to O and no source input" The noise are also combined with a "di di di di" sound, which so much like the sound generated from a desktop quartz clock. At that time I was suspected the noise was caused by the input either from my CDP or tuner, then I unplugged all the input, but the noise still there. then I switched the amp's power cord which directly from wall to my AC filter,,, too bad the noise still there. after a while I believe that something which is beyond my knowledge then I called up my friend, then he advised that many of the amp especially int amp have this sort of problem but he never heard about the "di di di di" sound. At last I called up the local authorized Mark distributor here in HK and they refered me to their maintenance dept. the gentlemen told me that the noise is normal and most of the amp no matter int or pre and power have this situation too, then I asked what about the "di di di di" sound, he replied that the "di di di di" sound is generated from a "clock" and its normal. Later on I talked to my freind regarding the explaination, and he guessed that the "clock" might refer to a remote control component inside of the amp. But why the "di di di di" sound is only found on the left channel??? Thank you very much your time in reading this and if possible please give me some view on this. Many thanks! ***********************************************************

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Ayre AX-7, Jadis DA50 signature, Jeff Rowland Concentra 2.

Good Amp for me one of the best you can buy in a single box.

Don´t buy, or buy two diferent amps because if ML383 has problems expect a year or more without sound.

I love this amp, but 18 months ago the amp stop responding with the error HIGH LINE on display, and in warrantie was to repair, it took 14 months for a solluction from Mark Levinson to arrive, that was a substitute board, man 14 months is lot to make a repair or substitute a logical board, in the beggining of 2005 it will be back in my home again, but my afraid is, if it brokes again will I have to whait another year and a half for them to repair their products... Very bad support for your products Mark Lenvinson, you must have more respect and consideration for the ones that beleive your products...

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A lot a this time.

Physical build quality Asthetics

Reliability Mark Levinson service

This amp developed a hiss in the left channel shortly after purchase. Not long thereafter, the hiss was accompanied by an electrical "crackle" on toggle of the power switch (duration 1-2 seconds). I lived with this condition for about two years, all the while intending to send it in for service "soon". The obstacle was the pain in the a** factor of packaging and shipping a nearly 100lb box, not to mention the quoted "four week" turn-around time. Finally, one day I turned on my amp and nothing happened- dead- finally I had to send it in. About two months since shipping, I'm still without my amp. When I call, I get the same answer- "waiting on parts". On two separate occasions, the service person promised to "research" the status and call me back- on neither occasion did they do so. Most recently (today) I am told that maybe they'll be able to ship it in another two weeks (but no promises). IMHO, equipment at this price point and above is well beyond the point of diminishing returns in the area of sound quality. We justify the price of components such as these based more on asthetics, name, and presumably quality of construction and service, rather than any incremental improvement in sound quality they may offer over other significantly cheaper products. With the above in mind, I cannot recommend this unit.

~ Nice cosmetics and build quality. ~ Fast, smooth sound.

~ Less transparent than I'd like. ~ Harmonically somewhat dry/thin. ~ A bit on the low end of the power scale at 100 wpc, though within it's range it has no trouble driving most speakers. ~ Over-priced.

Bought this 383 on the used market for around $4K, but still for that money I feel there could be better overall response. This unit has very good separation and soundstaging, but is a tad weak in total output and bass heft. Also, tonally and harmonically it is a bit dry. Very listenable however, and is not offensive in any way. The feature set is quite flexible and useful, and it's hard to go back to a regular pre-amp after having the convenience of the Levinson interface. But ultimately, it's the sound I'm after, not convenience features. I've extensively home auditioned the Balanced Audio VK-300X integrated, and found it much more to my liking.

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incredible black silence around the music. Seems nothing is added or subtracted. effortless power in crescendo's. Silent clean fresh air is best I can put it

Price as it's steep but in this case nothing else came close

was buying Revel M20's... when I noted they sounded a bit "thin" salesperson said "oh I'm sorry, try this" ... switched to Rotel from Adcom and the soundstage jumped forward. Back to Adcom and soundstage flattened out and became thin again. I knew that hearing that was going to cost me $$. This began my true education into Pre-amp/Amp sounds. (have read audiophile mags for 15+ years so I understood that there was a noted diffrerence which is different than hearing it yourself) After 2 visits with lots of my well known CD's I asked to go all the way into the $$$ to the 383 Levinson integrated. Once again the difference was there - damn. For final visit I narrowed the search to ML 383, TAG and Bryston Integrated with Levinson and Linn CD transport/Processors as source. After 2 hours A/B/C I could not walk out without the ML 383. Have had the revel M20 and 383 running for months now and absolutely no regrets. Don't listen unless you're serious. I listen to Classical, Jazz (acoustic), Folk, Rock etc and this combination was ideal for my 15 x 12 vaulted ceiling room.

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Listened to to Revel, B&W, Auriel, JMlabs etc with Rotel, TAG, Macintosh, Bryston (B50?), Adcom and others I'm sure I forgot. Did not listen to Tubes due to young children in my house :-) Downstairs s

Excellent soundstaging, very refined sound.

Is not a real powerhouse: needs sensitive speakers to perform at its best. Needs more balls...

Sounds very ML-like - which is a good thing - , but is unable to play at loud levels and could do with a better bass extension. If you like to play music at moderate levels and are not to keen about bass extension than this is THE amp.

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Linn Kain - Linn Powertek (x 3).

Strong,fast and deep bass with smooth mids and highs. Very good definition and clarity through complete audio spectrum without forwardness. Lots of headroom with full air and spaciousness even at high level output.Fit and finish,excellent.
Single chasis with accompanying cost savings.

Haven't found any as yet.

I was surprised and pleased to see an add for this new product from Madrigal Labs in the Mark Levinson lineup and since I was considering a change to a later model amp, immediatly got one from my favorite audio store,SOUNDEX in Willow Grove,Pa. The change from an ML 27.5 basic amp and a 380S preamp combo to the 383 wasn't expected to be to noticeable. Was I ever pleasantly surprised!!! Both amps have the same rated output of 100 watts/8 ohms- 200 watts/4 ohms. The 383 definitely demonstrates what 8 years of newer technology in the circuit designs can sound like. Even though the 27.5 was just beginning to sound it's age, the 383 outclassed it by a fairly wide margin in every aspect of sound. With the preamp and control circuits "similar" to what is in the latest Levinson preamps, it interlinks with other ML products.In this case a no.39 CD player.
As I have found through many previous ML products, quality of construction and finish is of the highest level. The price at $6000 is high and typical of this caliber of audio equipment. My equipment collection has though the years begun to lean toward fewer pieces required to have the sound that pleases me, thus switching back to a single piece no.39 CD player and an integrated amplifier. This 383 certainly suits my requirements handily.

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ML 380S preamp with ML 27.5 amp

all

virtually none (at this price point)
besides the obvious that its not a 10000 watt stable at .5 ohm powerhouse (keeping in mind that if it was the quality of the most important first 25 or so watts would be pretty bad given the price was still the same)

gee arthur i'm sorry you didnt like the service at one partiular shop in mongkok but you have to realize that means nothing as it relates to the qulity of this integrated amplifier.... your not rating how the service is at my local seven eleven down the street or how good a particular golf club is ..... or how the service is in mongkok for that matter.....you are rating the
MARK LEVINSON NO. 383.... which means you cant simply make up critiques of this piece of equipment just to try to impede sales for harman international. just because you unfairly lowered the score of the no. 383 by posting numerous times i will do the same but in the reciprocal manner

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krell, jadis, audio note, bryston, classe, .................. bose (for laughs)