Vintage Levinson DACs

I have the #31 transport and use it with the #35 dac.One look at them and it screams quality.I absolutely love the sound and don't care to upgrade,others opinion may be different .I have heard some say that these older dac's are now outdated and easily outperformed by new cheaper knock offs.That doesn't intimidate me, I also have the Krell md-1/sbp64x and I believe if they were to design and make this level of quality in todays currency it would be in the upper $40000 range.
Regards
George

I would agree with George. I've got the ML 31.5/30.5 COMBO which makes magic with the new Synergistic T3 balanced digital cable. I've auditioned the new generation of DACS/TRANSPORTS or cd players and I'm not sure I hear a better sound. Different YES.Better...err...NO

Sorry Guys, it's just personnal taste, but I beg to disagree, I had the reference ML DAC and transport pieces in my system for over five years and they were terrific at that time. However, what digital front end I have now in my system is so much more musical/natural sounding then the Levinson pieces ever were. The best piece, in my opinion that ML ever built was the 31.5 transport, which is still a great piece, but just does not sound quite as good as the newer reference transports.

I am with Teajay. I had the 31.5transport & 30.5& 30.6. I loved then at the time. But was replaced easily a few years later. Today's DACs are much cleaner allowing more refinement. The ML will sound grainy and dark by today's standards.

I say all that still loving the ML. It was a work of art then & gave many hours of fine service. If you want looks maybe still get one.

I owned both pieces too. The quality of the fit and finish were beyond reproach. The 31.5 did have issues with the lid opening and closing. The sound quality was very good but to me, lacked rhythm and pace. But the major issue, is that Levinson equipment,under Harman's rule, are not well supported. They charge extreme amounts to repair the product and I question the ability of their service centers to provide a high level of service. So if you look at these factors: 1. digital has evolved and the Levinson equipment has stayed frozen in time, meaning it still sounds good, but not SOTA anymore, 2. Levinson/Harman discontinued both these items as soon as they enveloped Madrigal because they were to expensive to manufacture and support, and 3. Service is very expensive, questionable, and parts such as the laser assembly and transport itself are no longer manufactured by Phillips. My decision, even though I loved the look and feel and the sound quality, I sold the stuff before it became an expensive boat anchor.
Sgr