View Full Version : Soon to arrive chez Barry - my Christmas present.
Soon to arrive chez Barry – my Christmas present.
At the risk of encouraging a certain member here to indulge in some nocturnal burglary, the following is my Christmas present to myself.
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy88/barrydhunt/LevinsonML-2amplifier.jpg
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy88/barrydhunt/LevinsonML-2amplifierXLR.jpg
I have been on the lookout for a pair of Mark Levinson ML-2 amplifiers for a couple of years now. However whilst there are several to be had in this country, the version I wanted was the rare version with a balanced XLR input (as well as the usual CAMAC unbalanced input). I recently found a pair in Germany and bought them.
They will be used with my Quad ’57 ESL, with which they are thought by many to be a “match made in heaven”. Having a balanced input will allow me to place them directly behind the speakers, so the speaker cable will be less than 30cm. They will be connected to my preamplifier (either a Mark Levinson ML26 or ML28) both of which have fully balanced outputs.
This latest acquisition fulfils an ambition of mine to have complete Mark Levinson amplification using fully balanced line connection.
There is a down side to all this: the amplifiers, whilst being 25W pure class A, have a standing dissipation of 800W! Fine for use in winter, but I think I will have to use my (modified) Quad 405 in the summer months.
Ali Tait
27-10-2012, 13:14
Very nice Barry, enjoy!
hifi_dave
27-10-2012, 13:24
Those pics take me right back to many happy years selling wonderful Mark Levinson/Madrigal products. It's a crying shame what happened to the company in latter days..:(
I'm sure you're going to enjoy them.
Reid Malenfant
27-10-2012, 19:55
Very nice indeed Barry :) Dissipation wise they sound similar to the KSA250 I have here, really a total nono in summer.
A little suggestion, while this won't lower the power dissipation one jot, it will keep the heatsinks & therefore the transistors cooler. Try lifting the amps so that more air can get under the heatsinks & they'll run cooler.
Krell took care of that with their AMDs (acoustic mass dampers), the heatsinks run noticeably cooler with better air flow ;)
The Grand Wazoo
28-10-2012, 19:06
Wow, Barry - you actually went and did it!
Well done - you obviously know just how envious I am of you. (Just off to buy a cat-burglar's handbook now).
You're going to have some real fun with these - the Quads are going to sound just fantastic.
Great news Barry I reckpn they will sound great
Excellent stuff, Barry! :respect:
There is a down side to all this: the amplifiers, whilst being 25W pure class A, have a standing dissipation of 800W! Fine for use in winter, but I think I will have to use my (modified) Quad 405 in the summer months.
Yes, but just the ticket, old chap, for keeping the claret chambré ;)
Marco.
Excellent stuff, Barry! :respect:
Yes, but just the ticket, old chap, for keeping the claret chambré ;)
Marco.
Ha Ha! I hadn't thought of that Marco - nice one. :)
Wow, Barry - you actually went and did it!
Well done - you obviously know just how envious I am of you. (Just off to buy a cat-burglar's handbook now).
You're going to have some real fun with these - the Quads are going to sound just fantastic.
I wouldn't want to put you to the additional expense of purchasing a black and white striped top, 'Zorro' style mask and a (very big) bag with 'SWAG' marked on it. Theft of the ML-2s would demand nothing less. ;)
Anyway I have lusted after these amps for only 30 years, whereas I have lusted after a Radford STA - anything, for something like 45 years. So who's envious of whom?
The Grand Wazoo
28-10-2012, 21:05
So who's envious of whom?
Touché
jandl100
29-10-2012, 06:58
Ooo - heck! Luvverly :stalks:
I've had a hankering for a big ML vintage amp myself for many a year.
Congrats, Barry!
Dave will remember the models, but I remember being absolutely blown away by this early 90's era of Levinson product, just as Krell went all nasty-harsh and over-blingy for a year or three! This generation of ML power amps had such power, but with grip and grace too - like a really super-giant Quad - and I mean this as a sincere compliment!!!!!!! With the 28? preamp, you had an amp pairing that took over where Glenn (at his best) leaves off, with ability to drive almost anything out there and with all the musical appreciation we tend to take for granted in Croft's products with NONE of the euphony of the US valvey stuff from CJ and ARC of the period :)
Hope you love it and keep it forever :)
Fantastic find, Barry! You must be really pleased. Do they need servicing or are they good to go?
The Grand Wazoo
29-10-2012, 11:14
You're remembering the range that followed Barry's amps, Dave.
Barry's ML2's were the original Levinson power amps (1977-86) - the prototype was designed by John Curl. The 'ML' designation was used while Levinson was still at the company. After that, they used 'No.' as the prefix to model number.
The range from the 1990's that you are describing consisted of the No.29, No.27, No.23 & No.20 power amps.
Barry do you know whether yours have the frame transformers or the toroidal ones?
So John Curl has designed for Mark Levinson and Parasound. What other companies?
You're remembering the range that followed Barry's amps, Dave.
Barry's ML2's were the original Levinson power amps (1977-86) - the prototype was designed by John Curl. The 'ML' designation was used while Levinson was still at the company. After that, they used 'No.' as the prefix to model number.
The range from the 1990's that you are describing consisted of the No.29, No.27 & No.20 power amps.
Barry do you know whether yours have the frame transformers or the toroidal ones?
hifi dave will confirm which ones it was that I heard - 1991 or around the time Glenn got himslef absorbed and was unavailable thanks to Amar...
The Grand Wazoo
29-10-2012, 13:24
He worked on tape decks for Ampex, did a head amp for SOTA, his own company produced the Vendetta Research preamp. He also worked for the Grateful Dead on their incredible live set-ups. I'd guess he's also done consultancy work for plenty of other companies (esp. the pro-stuff)
The very first Levinson preamps and phono gear were designated to reflect his name - JC1, JC2, JC1-DC & JC1-AC
The ML2 amps were originally meant to be the JC3 but the design work was finished off by someone else (Tom Colangelo) after JC left.
Firebottle
29-10-2012, 13:50
Impressive. Even more so through '57s.
Peter Walker likened the perfect amplifier to 'a piece of wire with gain'.
Looks like you've got 'a piece of wire with heat' :lol:
Enjoy
hifi_dave
29-10-2012, 16:51
The first Mark Levinson amps we stocked were the 29, 27.5, 23.5, 28 and the 25/26S and wonderful they were too. After that we went on to the 29, 331, 332, 333 etc, etc.
Great sound and a build quality only dreamt of by other large companies. For many years we were selling more amps in the UK than ARC and Krell put together. Those were the days, then the owners of Madrigal sort of messed it all up..:doh:
stupinder
29-10-2012, 16:55
Somewhat jealous!
You're remembering the range that followed Barry's amps, Dave.
Barry's ML2's were the original Levinson power amps (1977-86) - the prototype was designed by John Curl. The 'ML' designation was used while Levinson was still at the company. After that, they used 'No.' as the prefix to model number.
The range from the 1990's that you are describing consisted of the No.29, No.27, No.23 & No.20 power amps.
Barry do you know whether yours have the frame transformers or the toroidal ones?
They haven't arrived yet, but I'm lead to believe they have toroidal transformers.
I tend to use the 'ML - xx' designation as it's quicker to type than 'No. xx'.
realysm42
29-10-2012, 20:14
When I first started 'learning' about hi fi, I got the impression there was something very special indeed about ML gear; is this the case, is it a cut above?
The Grand Wazoo
29-10-2012, 20:49
.............. is it a cut above?
Knowing Barry, modesty probably precludes him answering that question - as a fellow 'non-willy waving ML owner', I'll let others answer it too!
hifi_dave
29-10-2012, 22:58
When I first started 'learning' about hi fi, I got the impression there was something very special indeed about ML gear; is this the case, is it a cut above?
Back in the day it was most definitely " a cut above " but not so after the shake up.
Just received an e-mail from the seller in Germany advising me the amps will be dispatched Friday.
Should be interesting to see how long it takes to go through UK Customs and how much they charge me.
Even so, it's now my turn to become :yay: (I'm not normally prone to such emotive outbursts, so you can imagine how I feel).
I can hardly wait.
Had a pair of these, went on to a pair of No 20.5 that I still have. The ML-2's are also beautiful sounding amp's but be careful you do not overdrive them as the front switch/circuit breaker will trip easily. Have a good look at the heatsinks when you get your pair as they can show signs of heat stress when the anodizing starts to turn bronze from the original black. Also you may need to use a link plug on the XLR socket when using only the Camac inputs.
By far the best sounding combo I used was with an ML-1 preamp even after trying other ML pre's.
If coming from Germany then there will not be any customs duty to pay.
Enjoy!
Rare Bird
01-11-2012, 09:32
That's what i thought regarding Duty all i can say is maybe Barry must be paying the sellers VAT.
There should be no VAT to pay if the German seller is selling as secondhand goods under their German tax laws (UStG). More than likely the seller if business registered will pay in Germany any VAT due under article 25 of their UStG laws for the difference in the cost of a vintage item to the seller and the final price the seller receives. Barry should not have to pay anything the UK end.
Hugh
Even so, it's now my turn to become :yay: (I'm not normally prone to such emotive outbursts, so you can imagine how I feel).
We shall have to call you H(B)arry if you're not careful ;)
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