levinson 32 heat

Chris,

I currently own a ML-32 and have been experiencing a similar issue. I have owned my ML-32 for 3 plus years. During this time it has performed flawlessly. In February of this year while putting the unit into stand-by I noticed that the right side of the controller was very hot to the touch and the left side was only luke warm (normal). Up to that time, both sides ran cool and dead quiet. In addition to the heat, I could hear a high pitched whine coming from the unit on the right side. I have had the controller and pre-amp back to Levinson two times over the last five months with no resolution. They keep coming back saying that everything is fine and within tolerances. They said that they could not duplicate the heating nor hear the whine! For your information, the units are kept in an open environment with great air flow around the units. I have had electicians out to check my dedicated circuts up and down for power issues or loose connections. I have tried other outlets, and even taken the unit to a friends house to see if it was something in my house causing the isssue. It is still the same, heat and whine on the right side. I have changed power cords, disconnected all connections to the unit, had Levinson send new power supply cables (possible loose pin or bad connection). All of this has not changed the issue. As of today, it is once again on its way back to Levinson for the third time. Levinson has offered to send out a reconditioned unit in exchange but I declined. They were frank in telling me that the unit had experienced over-heating issues!!! I am a loyal Levinson fan and they have bent over backwards to try to resolve this issue but my patience is getting thin.
Dan

all levinson gear runs warm in stand by mode

I use a Krell preamp with separate power supply and it too runs hot and has no on/off/standby switch, always on. It runs in class A mode.

One thing Krell says is never use a fan! It screws with the bias.

Richard

Hi all,

thanks for your responses.

to clarify, only the power supply unit is hot. and it is very hot to the touch, including the control knobs. It is uniformly hot (both sides) but I have not heard a whine noise at all.

I know that the unit should be ventilated well but I have it in a large enclosed cabinet with air/space around the unit. This is not ideal but should not produce the heat that this power supply seems to produce. I use the cabinet for other equipment and have had a variety of components / units in there and the only one that has ever been warmish is the ps audio p-500 (which seems to get hot whereever it may be). The power supply of the ml32 is much warmer.

Piperdan, what did Levinson mean when they told you that the unit had "experienced over-heating issues"? Also, could faulty DC connections/cables be a culprit to this problem?

Any other suggestions of things to look for before it goes back? I love the sound and would like to keep this unit.

Thanks
Chris

I had a similar experience to Dan. One side ran much hotter then the other, and the unit had a "whine". After sending mine back for the third time, my dealer convinced Levinson to provide me with a refurbed/restock unit (both pieces). I haven't had any problems since, but the controller will throw off some heat in standby (which the cat loves...). Bottom line, if you can't keep your hand on it, something's wrong.