Mark Levinson & Others

No_Money

Did you like the 5805 when it worked? Is the 585.5 really a big step up for you? I was thinking 5802 but cannot find any info on its reliability and hearing your story might make me skip the headache and jump up from the start. Or I'm going another way completely. 

I initially wanted a big ass Krell FPB 300 or 600 (one day!) but couldn’t find one that was in exceptional condition inside and out. I eventually scored a Levinson 335 that was completely serviced and cosmetically perfect. It’s a little tank but way more acceptable in size than the Krell and the street lights don’t dim when it’s playing. Plus it barely gets warm even during long listening sessions. I love it. I have it paired with a Levinson 380S pre. I had read some forum posts claiming that Levinson can be dry and un-involving. I dunno about that, maybe I got the synergy right with all my components and cabling.

@ghdprentice 

Fwiw- I had a ARC D400MKII (solid state) I replaced it with a Levinson 335. the ARC was very nice, definitely more laid back with a richer tonality. But the Levinson kills it with low end control, detail and a bigger denser soundstage. Definitely a level up. 

Integrateds...  I really like my Esoteric preamp and amp.  Here is the top flying integrated, which was recently phased out, but it is still outstanding.

The current holder and lead model is Esoteric's F-03A; read about here:

A few years ago, when I was looking to put together a simple system, I wanted to get a Pass Labs Int 250.  A solid preamp and great amp all in one.  I let a used one get away for something like $6,500.00 dollars.  Not a small sum of money, but for that model, that was a good price. 

@jl1ny

Sorry, my bad, I should have been more specific. An Audio Research tube amp. It is easy to forget they made some solid state amps. They are so known for their tube amps (and tube preamps, and tube phono stages).