Opinion on Mark Levinson 33H Monoblocks

On the subject of heat sinks and heat dissipation of the ML 33H,I read a thread a while back about a guy's 33H that his mother-in-law thought were VERY COOL LOOKING ELECTRIC ROOM RADIATORS.Go figure!!!I only wrote this because,I thought it's so funny.Not to put the product down.I love Levinson staff.
George

well, just a note that "surface temperature" and "heat dissipation" are not the same thing. Surface temperature is directly related to reliability, but it is only one factor in the amount of heat a unit disipates. A very hot, low mass unit may generate far less heat than a warm high mass unit, depending on their relative mass and temperature delta.

If your concern is the required "cooling budget", the number of BTU's or Ton's of AC required to keep a room cool, the surface temperature alone does not tell the whole story. Surface temperature must be considered with the mass of the unit. Both the 33H and 33 represent some good mass.

Assess the unit's required input power, and the unit's efficiency, then calculate the total watts consumed by the unit. That gives the amount of heat, in watts, that the unit will disipate into the room. That is the heat that must be offset with "ton's" (or BTU's) of AC.

when I last heard the larger 33's, with a pair Wilson MAXX's, they were pretty awesome. I'd want to have two tons of AC dedicated for them in the summer time though, in addition to the houses cooling budget. It would be worth every penny.

For once we're all strumming the same tune (at least so far)! My ears also confirm the 33's clear sonic superiority over the 336 (a good product, BTW). Of course, their driving capabilities are higher too.

And yes, I also noticed they don't get sizzling -- BUT they are warm all over

i've owned both the #33 and the #33h in a relatively small room (12' x 18') with no air conditioning. the #33h's really don't get hot at all. the #33's do put off a fair amount of heat but less than any of the many tube amps i've tried.

neither the #33h or the #33 ever really get hot to the touch......thanks to the world's best (and most beautiful) heat sinks.

Do the 33 or 33H amps get very hot, or semi hot.

Twilo,

Yes i have heard a Levinson 335.5 and I own a pair of 33H's and the 33H's are at a different level. Voices have a more organic quality and sound warmer & I dare say more tubelike than the 300 series amplifiers.

hope this helps,

Johnny

Agree with jtinn. I had a 336 and bought the 33H monos. Most notable improvement in my system was in the mid to upper midrange. Frank Sinatra sounded like he had a cold with the 336. The 33Hs cured him...big time!!!

The 33h's are in a different league than the 336. They use power regeneration and are much more substantial amplifiers.