My CD player's twice as good as Jesus

[Stranraer]

So the Mark Levinson 390 has risen from the dead for the SECOND time !!

I got some great advice from this forum a few years back when it's right channel would intermittently cut out after anything between 45 mins and three hours. Ultimately nothing helped and after several weeks it was playing solely through the left side.
I took it to two specialists recommended here but neither felt it worth investigating further after brief checks failed to identify the issue unless I was a lottery winner. Neither charged, which was incredibly kind.

I kept it in the rack as I love the look of it. It's beautifully made and I genuinely get a thrill from just watching the paper thin drawer sliding silently and majestically in and out. (anyone else get bored during lockdown ?). During that time I decided to hook it up again on the off chance a miracle had occured, and it turned out that was the case.
I got a good few months more out of it working perfectly before the issue reared it's head again, so back to the Audiolab which isn't a great hardship despite costing 1/20th of the price.

Last week I tried it again, and Praise The Lord (for it is He) !!

This is day five. Dunno how long it's gonna last, but blimey it's sounding sooooooooooo good.

Sweepstake, anyone ?

[Macca]

You know I've had that happen to me and I read somewhere what the technical reason is why they can (briefly) come back from the dead - but I don't recall what it was now.:doh:

I think it is to do with solder joints or the circuit board tracks.

[Barry]

I use a Levinson 390s player (along with other ML electronics), and have to say that despite the hype, ML gear is not as reliable as one would like. I had a ML preamp which developed a fault. It took about two years, during which it was sent back to the US for ML specialists (Madrigal were not interested in repairing it) to have a look at it and eventually fix the problem.

https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?10304-Mark-Levinson-and-Me-%96-A-tale-of-trial-and-tribulation-in-three-parts&highlight=Mark+Levinson

Unfortunately Mark of the High End Workshop is no longer interested in servicing/reparing ML gear, owing to problems in obtaining spare parts, though he might still do the odd 'one off'. So I would suggest you either contact Karma AV (https://karma-av.co.uk/service/) or Fanthorpes Hi Fi (https://www.fanthorpes.co.uk/service-repairs/).

Let us know how you get on.

[Stranraer]

It definitely adds an element of jeopardy to the listening experience. :)
Currently listening to The Concretes (think a melancholy Pogues fronted by a medicated Bjork, singing pop songs), an album I know well but now with a piano line I've never picked up before.

[Stranraer]

Hey, thanks Barry. I bought it second hand probably a decade ago so really can't complain and due to reduced circumstances wouldn't consider paying big bucks for a third revival.
I'll see how long this incarnation lasts and will keep your suggestion handy. If I do go through the repair process I'll be sure to let you know.
So far this time I've been running it as a transport only through a Soncoz Dac but if I get a couple of months out of it I'll try the internal DAC out.

To clarify, the initial problem occured regardless of using it as transport only or with the internal Dac.

[archiesdad]

I had problem similar with a tv, there was a tiny crack in the pcb and when warm/hot it could interrupt the flow of power, it could also be disturbed if the unit got a knock, big magnifying glass job? HTH.

[hifi_dave]

I use a Levinson 390s player (along with other ML electronics), and have to say that despite the hype, ML gear is not as reliable as one would like. I had a ML preamp which developed a fault. It took about two years, during which it was sent back to the US for ML specialists (Madrigal were not interested in repairing it) to have a look at it and eventually fix the problem.

https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?10304-Mark-Levinson-and-Me-%96-A-tale-of-trial-and-tribulation-in-three-parts&highlight=Mark+Levinson

Unfortunately Mark of the High End Workshop is no longer interested in servicing/reparing ML gear, owing to problems in obtaining spare parts, though he might still do the odd 'one off'. So I would suggest you either contact Karma AV (https://karma-av.co.uk/service/) or Fanthorpes Hi Fi (https://www.fanthorpes.co.uk/service-repairs/).

Let us know how you get on.
What a shame - how the mighty have fallen. When we stocked Levinson, the products were pretty well 100% reliable and we did sell a lot of it. On the rare occasion when a fault occurred they were never repaired as such but a replacement module would be fitted within 24 hours or, if not in stock, it would be sent overnight from the US and fitted the same day.

When the company was bought by Harman, it went to pieces. The factory, without staff, was relocated across the US and nothing produced for over two years. I believe that when they started manufacture again it was in China and it was nothing like the original except for the styling.

Is ML still imported ?

[Firebottle]

I had problem similar with a tv, there was a tiny crack in the pcb and when warm/hot it could interrupt the flow of power, it could also be disturbed if the unit got a knock, big magnifying glass job? HTH.

The truth of modern electronics and faults is that 80-90% of faults are mechanical in nature.

Yes that's right, it's either a crack in the pcb (as above), a dry solder joint, a loose connector, a corroded connection, a broken wire or similar.

The mechanical design is sometimes suspect, I had a unit in with a number of dry joints around the power output devices. The design problem was that on each operating cycle the heatsink and pcb would have a very small differential movement due to heat expansion. Over time this broke the integrity of the solder joints.

[Stranraer]

Well it's still going strong and sounding *F*A*B*, so I'm loathe to open her up to investigate. Greatly appreciate the feedback, though.
I'm not in the slightest bit techie so wouldn't know what to do if I was to stumble across the problem.
I'm itching to try it through the internal DAC but VERY nervous about instigating the issue, whatever it is.

[Barry]

Well it's still going strong and sounding *F*A*B*, so I'm loathe to open her up to investigate. Greatly appreciate the feedback, though.
I'm not in the slightest bit techie so wouldn't know what to do if I was to stumble across the problem.
I'm itching to try it through the internal DAC but VERY nervous about instigating the issue, whatever it is.

It shouldn't be a problem - just disconnect the digital output lead, and move the two audio leads from the DAC to the analogue outputs on the back of the 390.

[Stranraer]

Thanks Barry, but with the issue being One Of Them i'm nervous about even changing CDs at the mo.
Gonna give it a couple of weeks to enjoy the sounds, then I'll take the risk.

Blasting some Spiritualized right now and I swear I've never heard my hifi sound so sweet :guitar: