No 30.5 & 31.5. Still of reference quality ?

Wether SACD or DVD-A will succeed or not is actually irrelevant, many of us have large collections of redbook CDs and PCM is the dominent format for the forseeable future.

On a different note, I haven't heard any of the multiformat players/transports offer much beyond mass market DVD players, sonically they all leave quite a bit to be desired as transports and are even less appealing as a player, especially when you consider the cost of these high end multiformat players today. Whatever the potential of DSD might or might not be, we're still not there yet, if ever!

Thanks for your comments. I'm thinking about getting 31.5 CDT since I dont believe in a long term SACD success.

These units are still reference level, both sonically and in build quality. We have been distributing CEC & Weiss digital for a number of years and I have personal experience with dCS & Levinson products for almost a decade. From this experience I can tell you that the 31.5 is only second to the TL-0 in sound quality. It still is far superior to anything else out there today, actually its the best sounding transport made today since CEC has stopped making TL-0s. While we still maintain that the Weiss Medea offers the most natural and realistic musical experience with digital, the 30.5/.6 are also still very competative and can be considered among the handful of top DACs available today, in some ways I prefer the 30.5 to the 30.6. Please don't confuse these Levinson Reference products with the rest of their line, the 360s doesn't even begin to approach the sonic qualities of the 30.5/31.5 combo. At 9k for the combo it just can't be beat!

Disclaimer: we're not affiliated with Madrigal in any way and neither are we Levinson dealers nor do we have any Levinson products for sale.

I'm not sure about the 30.5 (the 360s is probably its equal) but the 31.5 I would put up against any CD transport. Maybe some SACD transports with SACD discs would sound better, but for redbook CD you might find different colors from other manufacturs and like them better for certain characteristics but the 31.5 and 360s would definitely be in the hunt. My combo easily bested the Krell CD/preamp unit that still retails for $25,000. in my home. It also sounded better in my system them a Theta Gen 5 with top of the line Theta transport (I forget the model.)

The build quality and aesthetics of the 30.6 & 31.5 are excellent. Unfortunately, technology has passed them by. Personally, I feel there are a number of other systems that better them for the same money.

I replaced my theta data basic II and gen Va with a
mark levinson 37 and 360s. The levinson gear is
a lot more relaxed in its presentation. If nothing else
try replacing your data basic II with a cheap
(200.00 US) sony dvd player. This made a big difference
in my system and prompted my change to the levinson.

have you considered trying the DCS Purcell upsampler with your current theta processor and transport? Around 2k used price for the upsampler