Newbie with a question on Mark Levinson amplifiers

[Jchung]

Hello all, first time poster here. I am in the market for a Mark Levinson No. 27 power amplifier. I know I will have to buy second hand. But I just want to ask what is the market price for this unit right now? I look through some local selling sites and have seen them anywhere from $1400-$1800. What would be a good price to buy this unit?

Thank you,
Jackson

[Mr Peabody]

I really don't know and price will vary depending on condition and whether original box/manual.

I'd take a look at www.audiogon and shop the model and also check with a dealer for current Bluebook as a guide. A lot will also depend on how much you want it and how much money you have to spend.

[O'Shag]

Hello Jchung,

Wise choice - the No. 27 is a gem among solid state amps. Its my personal favorite of all solid state amps I've heard and I've listened extensively to many.

I might sell you mine - if I decide to sell. I have two of them identical, SN 2070, and 2383. I've heard all of the Levinson amps in some friends/audio buddies systems - I haven't heard the No. 33 Reference but have heard the 33H. Strangely enough, my favourite was and is the Levinson No. 27 but it has limitations in terms of the speaker it will drive. I find myself having to make a very hard choice, because I bought a very rare and marvellous speaker system that demands a lot of power to perform at their best - The KEF Reference 109 known as The Maidstone. The one drawback of the Levinson No. 27 with these speakers is that it a little short on ultimate power. I've run two of them bi-amped and it has helped a good deal, but still not enough - so that is the only reason I would sell them. I bought them used, don't laugh, from a little old rich lady who had only turned them on a couple of times. When I got them they weren't even broken in!

Have you heard the No. 27? My impressions of the sound are this; They are a little to the dark side ie not excessively bright thank the Lord. Despite this they are ultra detailed - they just don't spotlight too much and thrust it in your face the way most solid state amps do - including some Levinson amps. They are very full bodied and nimble with excellent harmonic richness - many solid state amps I've heard sound threadbare in comparison. They are not syrupy like the Rowland amps, which to me is a good thing. You probably know already that Levinson amps are famous for there wonderful soundstaging abilities as are their preamps. These image well outside the speakers - Many solid state amps can't seem to get the sound to break away from the speakers but the Levinsons do very well at this - the speakers just disappear. The presentation starts just beyond the plain of the speakers and extends very far back. The soundscape is exceptionally wide. Images are very well defined and three dimensional although I've heard some top quality valve/tube amps do slightly better with more bloom, but the 27 has excellent bloom and staging characteristics, without losing any edge definition or accuracy. The No 27 is dual mono design - although for me vertical biamping didn't work as well as horizontal - proof for me that despite their having seperate power supplies and signal paths for each channel they are still voiced for left and right - some people may not hear it but I do. I am not relishing the thought of parting with them, but the very special speakers I have just demand more juice i.e, 2 stereo amps 500watts per channel each or monoblocks equivalent to the same power demands. I also have a pair of Audio Research Classic 150 Triode monoblocks but in some respects the Levinson No 27 is better.

If I choose to sell them it will be as a pair and I'll probably ask 3k for them which is 1,000 less than I paid for them - a great deal considering they are in excellent condition with I'm sure no more than 1000 hours each on them. But I have not made up my mind yet.

[Jchung]

Thank you O'Shag, but I just bought one today. I love it. I use with McIntosh MC110 Stereophonic Tuner Preamplifier. I also change use with Marantz 8b.

Thank you,
Jackson

[O'Shag]

Well done Jackson. Its a great amp. I'm sure the MC110 sounds good with the No 27. But with the MC110 - as nice as it is - you will not hear the ultimate performance the No.27 is capable of. Are you using the amp in balanced mode or single ended/Camac? The No.27 is a fully dual differential/dual monoaural design, therefore it will perform better in balanced mode. I find it is not suffcient to used RCA/XLR adapters. To run the amp in balanced mode properly will require either a preamp of balanced design with balanced XLR outputs, or a balanced line converter/driver. If your preamp is single ended (RCA outputs) and not balanced, then its better to use the Camac connectors rather than converting the signal through an outboard device(robs signal purity especially and high frequency information is lost).

[O'Shag]

Jackson - an option to consider for the future is to save up some money and buy a Mark Levinson No. 26 preamp for $1,800 or so. I used to own one. It'll be a great match for the No. 27. Love the Marantz 8b. Put some Genelex Gold Lion tubes (very expensive) in there and the Marantz sounds awesome!