I found this amp took a week or so of constant playing to season.
It sometimes goes into thermal cutoff with the U-1 PXs so I put a large silent fan over it. This seems to have cured the problem.
Tonally it is very well balanced, detailed, 3 dimensional, and neutral. It disappears, favoring no particular frequency range. One has to adjust the Brilliance control on the speakers depending on the source material. otherwise you know that most CDs are not SACDs or those old time licorice disks!
I will look into having the bias reset as others have. It does not sound like a dual mono 400 WPC amp.
I prefer the Wolcotts when they work but if I didn't have them and had only the 432 I would not miss them.
I think the 432 is a good match but make sure the bias is set before the amp is delivered. Have the dealer run it in for you and then have them check the bias. Just like the OLD DAYS when dealers would do this as a matter of course.

Refinement, power (control), and soundstaging.

None.

I have owned many amps in the past 10 years and I still come back to levinson products. The ML 432 replaced an Ayre v5xe power amp which I thought was good until I had a home-trial of the 432. The Ayre was detailed sounding however it causes fatigue after 2 hours of listening max! It had a very quiet background but I thought it didn't quite present music as naturally as the 432. The 432 was also a faster amp than the v5xe and had fantastic bass control and refinement. I also disagree with the the other users in the area of reliability. My 432 works like a dream and never had any problems. I play large orchestral pieces at extreme volumes just to test the limits of my speakers and equipment, and never once did the 432 lose control of the music.

Customer Service

Great support from my local dealer

Similar Products Used:

Bryston 7bsst, Mcintosh 402, Ayre V5xe, Rowland 201

Perfect sound. Tremendous amounts of power on tap - can drive anything!

Quality control at Mark Levinson isn't what it should be.

Upgraded from a Proceed Amp5 to the Levinson 432. It drives my B&W Nautilus 802s without effort and does give a nice clean, airy sound. Everything is very controlled and sounds just the way it should. This amp will clearly drive pretty much anything you can throw at it. There's oodles of power available and it never seems to be lacking in any way at all. As with others though, my amp does mysteriously shut down though not very often (it's done it 3 times in about 6 months that I've owend the unit). This is unacceptable for something that costs this much. On the whole though I'd say that Mark Levinson is on the decline as a company - no new products in quite a while and the whole company re-organization by Harmon Kardon seems to have hurt the company as opposed to help it. Too bad - they made nice stuff (quality control notwithstanding).

Huge power capability, sounds very realistic (I am a concert promotor)

Less that impressive quality control from ML

I purchased to 432 as a replacement to my 331, an amplifier that I really enjoyed listening to, in a full ML system - CD 390s,pre- 380. I felt I wanted more power capability for my Audio Physic Avanti IIIs - not that they are hard to drive. There were problems initially, as the amplifier would shut down at due to overheating at quite moderate levels. This turned out to be caused by an incorrect setting of bias, which was remedied by a local service technician. After this the amp has caused no problems, but I feel that quality control at ML is not up to scratch - my 390s died after three days due to problems with the power supply. This really should not happen with equipment at this price level. Anyway, I am now very pleased with the system that gives a realistic portrayal on all kinds of music, with a huge soundstage.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Hafler, Proceed, ML 331

Top rate build Try and beat this sound for $8G's

None

I've been using the Proceed HPA series amps for almost 2 years. When I acquired the Levinson amp, I was skeptical at how much of an improvement I'd hear. Right out of the box, this amp was stunningly cleaner. Imaging was at pinpoint, yet open, airy and convincing. Dynamics explosive! Timbre was as convincing as can be. My 432 is currently driving KEF Reference 4's via PS Audio Statement bi-wires, and is connected to a Lexicon MC-12, V3.1 via Analysis Plus Silver Oval In. Powered with PS Audio Statement Cable through PS Audio HC Ultimate Outlet. This unit is built like a tank. Heavy, sturdy construction. No compromise on quality anywhere! First rate connectors (RCA & XLR, and all others). The 432 also has a standby mode in which is keeps the power supply powered up and heated to avoid warmup. Also has auto sleep mode (power save; user definable), as well as a complete power disconnection button on the front panel. Oh, and it's very good looking.

Similar Products Used:

Proceed HPA series

Great transients, wide soundstage very pleasing sound (to my ears).

Doubtful quality control.

I recently bought one to replace my old ML 331, an amplifier that I was very satisfied with, but I felt that I needed more power for my new Avanti IIIi speakers, having tried them out with very powerful amps. I am very satisfied with the sound, the added power clearly improves transients on instruments like percussion and piano. However, I am starting to doubt quality control with the ML line. The amplifier shuts down at moderate volume levels due to overheating. The importer says it is due to a problem with the bias settings, and should be easily remedied, but I feel you should not need to experiende such problems with equipment at this price level (or any price level). I had a similiar experience when i bought an ML 390s, that "died" after 3 days due due a faulty power supply. It was promptly repaired and sounds marvellous compared to my old Proceed equipment.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 3560, Proceed Dap and CD-drive.