Mark Levinson No. 334 vs 23.5

BRF I have to ask, how does the 334 lack soul and emotion? I have heard it and used to own a 27.5. Personally I liked the 334 better and thats not saying the 27.5 sounded like chopped liver. I thought the 300 series just sounds a bit smoother and more refined. It is system dependant but I think if your speakers are a tad on the warm side you might like the 23.5 or 27.5 better. If your speakers are more on the neutral or cooler side then the newer 300 series might be the ticket. Of course this is a matter of preference :)

If you can buy parts from Madrigal then I would have a reputable repairmen replace the parts instead of sending back to factory. I had a ML 29 repaired by a reputable shop a few years ago. He replaced the caps and I can't remember the other part for about $300 including shipping both ways. I talked with Madrigal extensively when I ordred the part and they were very helpful. They even sent me blueprints of the 29. Maybe in the last couple of years the support is changing for their products I don't know, but I think ML products always have their naysayers. Personally I find their amps very good and basically on the neutral side sonically.

You don't have to get it repaired at the factory for goodness sakes. There are plenty of other avenues to take for repairs. It sucks that you had to pay that much for repair and Harman is not supporting their products but its obvious your are jaded by your experience. I would be to somewhat but ML amps are very good amps and can be kept going like alot of other past/older products. Another poster did say Levinson did admit to a design flaw and were honoring replacing the caps for the 300 series.

I did obtain the schematics thru Levinson when I had my amp repaired. They were very helpful and I contacted them several times and they always returned my calls if I had to leave a voicemail or left a message with someone. They told me what exactly the parts I needed and they were shipped promptly. Maybe I just got lucky???

You can email me offline and I will give you the name of the tech or repair person I used. It has been about 3 yrs ago so I am not sure if he is still in business but I would guess he is.