|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Mark Levinson issue.
I ordered a Pair of Tekton Moabs earlier this year, and I decided to upgrade my amp to go along with them at the same time. I found a 532H for $3200, "open box" from "Audio Classics LTD". It was sold as used through eBay and came with only a 60 day wtty. I didn't look like it had ever been out of the box.
I never for a second considered the Levinson amp as a potential reason why I didn't always love my Moabs.... Some music sounds fantastic, but some sounds meh... Last night I played Floyd Wish You Were Here, and was thoroughly underwhelmed.... Just the night before Norah Jones was sounding great. But WYWH was lacking energy, bass was poor and I had no sense of being pulled in. I found myself turning it up trying to compensate for the lack of energy. I decided to pull my Proceed BPA2 amp from my 2nd system and try it with the Moabs. The Moabs took on a completely different feel, bass was more full and they seemed overall more dynamic. They sounded incredible and I was pulled in right away My quandary now, do I try to send it in for repair, is there even anything wrong with it? It might somehow just not be a good match for the Moabs, I could sell it and move on. If I do send it in it is a hard problem to quantify, I am worried I could be out near $1,000 with shipping for a NPF... If there is something wrong with it, as great as the Proceed sounds, I would love to hear the Moabs with a properly functioning ML... I am considering selling it and buying a Parasound A21+ new from a local dealer I used to work for. If it sounds at least as good as the Proceed, I would probably be happy with that. EDIT: A few have mentioned it sounds like capacitors, but it is relatively new, and what are the odds both channels would have cap issues... Last edited by brad1138; 02-01-2021 at 07:43 PM. |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
Most likely caps in the power supply, which are common to both channels. Have you talked to ML or done a bit of "internet research" to see if there are any known issues with the 532H? If there are, will likely be posted by someone.
__________________
Glenn... Canton Reference 9 Clearaudio SM Pro Focal Bathys JLA 10" Dominion Kuzma Stabi S w/MC & MM Magnepan 1,7i McIntosh MA8950 & MR88 Oppo 203 Roon Nucleus Rose Hifi RS150B Shunyata Gemini-4 Sony ST-A6B, TA-F6B, ST-J75 & PS-X75 Sorane SA1.2 & TA-1L Stillpoints LP1v2 WW Pt, Au & Ag |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
Call Audio Classics. They will help you.
__________________
Main Equipment: Kharma Elegance dB11-S, JL Audio F113v2 X 2, Block Audio Line & Mono SE Amplification, Bricasti M21 DAC, Antipodes Kala K-50 Server, Clearaudio Performance SE. Satisfy tonearm & Maestro Wood MM cartridge. Power: Shunyata Everest 8000, Sigma XC v2, Sigma NR v2, Block Audio PCs, Defender, ADDPowr Wizard Grounding: Shunyata Altaira CGS - 4 X Alpha CGS cables, Network : Supra Cat 8+, Twin (Nenon) Modified Buffalo GS2016 Switches, Keces P3 LPSU, Cables: Wireworld Platinum 8 USB, Wireworld Platinum 8 Speaker cables, 6M & 1M Tubulus Concentus ICs, Other:Two PSI Audio AVAA C20, Multiple GIK products, Stillpoint Apertures, Stillpoint Minis and Ultra SS, Three 20 Amp lines, Furutech GTX - Gold outlets, Adona Rack |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Yeah, that will never happen. They "Bench tested" it before shipping it to me, and missed all that. Their "Bench test" is apparently worthless, I have zero interest in ever doing business with them again.
It is my fault for not making the time to fully assess the amp after getting it. But I have been dealing with the passing of my father, my mom going into an alzheimers home, selling their house, covid... I was just too busy to give it the attention it needed until it was too late. I also kind of assumed a high end amp like this, that was likely about 5-8 years old, and never used, wouldn't have a problem. I have done relatively well in the used audio market over the years, I guess this is karma catching up with me... Last edited by brad1138; 12-09-2020 at 12:50 AM. |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
I owned the 532H it is completely dual mono. There are toroidal transformers and filter caps for each channel. Its design was derived from a Proceed amp with improvements to the power supply which also located the caps on the amp pc/bd.
Aside from the possibility of a failure this amp benefits greatly from being left on 24/7 and the use of a high-end power cord. I used Nordost or Shunyata.
__________________
System: ML:5206,5302 Serafino's Nordost Lumin U1 RM15 |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
Brad - based on your description, do you feel this is a pure sound quality issue or that the amplifier is defective? When it comes to amplifiers, I would think there would be a clear distinction between not being happy with the sound vs. an all out broken amplifier. Sometimes its hard to tell from a post, but it sounds like you’re more unhappy with he sound than thinking it’s just broken or am I wrong? Is it 100% night and day difference from the Proceed?
- Buck
__________________
Library: Speakers: Avalon Acoustics Isis, Subwoofers: (2) REL Acoustics 212SE Amplification: D’agostino Momentum preamplifier, D’agostino S250 stereo amplifier Digital: dCS Rossini CD/SACD transport, dCS Rossini DAC/streamer/master clock. Analog: Brinkmann Taurus table, Lyra Etna Lambda, Audio Research Ref. Phono 3 |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
I also hooked up a "NuForce STA-200" amp that I own, and it had the better energy, fuller bass like the Proceed. I only listen in the 60 to 70 dB range, I am not demanding much from the amps. I have never heard the 532H described as "bass shy". I am leaning toward there being something wrong with it. |
#8
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
- Buck
__________________
Library: Speakers: Avalon Acoustics Isis, Subwoofers: (2) REL Acoustics 212SE Amplification: D’agostino Momentum preamplifier, D’agostino S250 stereo amplifier Digital: dCS Rossini CD/SACD transport, dCS Rossini DAC/streamer/master clock. Analog: Brinkmann Taurus table, Lyra Etna Lambda, Audio Research Ref. Phono 3 |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Well, I got great news. I just got an email back from Levinson. They sold it to Audio Classics in Feb of 2020, it has a 5 year wtty!!!
I guess I will get it fixed. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Your Moab speakers (interesting speakers by the way) are 98dB efficient. As such and this is not always the case but....
Transistor power amp distortion characteristics are often dominated by harsh-sounding crossover notches at low power output settings. This effect disappears in class-A designs, which are well suited to driving high-efficiency speakers. Transistors do have their "optimum range" of peak sound performance. Listening at a fraction of a watt is not something manufacturers of bigger solid state amps tune their amps for. I would be very surprised if there is something wrong with your ML amp. But for the sake of peace of mind, I guess you should send it in if it is under warranty and all that. Try a tube amp if you have that option on your speakers. Last edited by PHC1; 11-11-2020 at 02:38 PM. |
|
|
Audio Aficionado Sponsors | |