Is Mark Levinson still considered up there with the best of the best?


Since Mark Levinson sold his company the name still remains the same 40 years later. Obviously the man Mark Levinson is not who designs and builds Levinson anymore, but that being said, is Mark Levinson still considered among the best with the team that designs and builds current Levinson equipment? 

hiendmmoe

Showing 1 response by richopp

FULL DISCLOSURE:

My former dealership made some of the solid oak stands for the Levinson HQD system:

MARK LEVINSON: The HQD system, stacked Quads, Hartley woofer – and zero  wife acceptance factor | Audiophile News & Music Review

 

We also made some huge cabs for the Hartley 24" woofers that some HQD customers used.

What I can say as facts:  Levinson company was a VERY SLOW PAY, which is why we only made a few for them.  We were small and could not extend credit for months and months.   Next, compared to Audio Research gear in those days, his stuff was SHRILL and lacked depth and transparency on Magnepan speakers, which were (and remain) the best speakers for accurate listening. (I know, you can "measure" them and they lack this and that and the other.  Best advice is to listen to them IN YOUR ROOM with quality hardware and MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.)  Finally, we never sold much of his stuff because, as expensive as Audio Research was in those days (comparatively), his stuff was way more and sounded way less.  This is not to say the mil-spec parts and Curl designs were second rate, just that they did not SOUND good on revealing speakers, including his HQD speaker system.  But boy, those 24" Hartley's were the BOMB!

As for today, you have to listen for yourself IN YOUR ROOM and decide if it is for you.

Cheers!