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Opinions On Mark Levinson No. 36 DAC Repair

Hi

I have a Mark Levinson No. 36 DAC that has served me well for quite a number of years. It has recently given up the ghost and the local Mark Levinson dealer wants to charge about $700 to have it repaired which I thought exorbitant considering it doesn't have much of a resale value. I run it with a Micromega Solo CD Player which I use as a transport. Am I better junking the DAC and using the $700 towards a new DAC? With current digital, is the sound of the Mark Levinson No. 36 pretty much obsolete now and can less $ buy better sound?

Thanks for your views.

Regards

Mike
mikey8811
forrestc
89 posts
 
I had my 36 repaired by Levinson repair guys at Harmon. You *will* pay within about $50 of the "it won't cost anymore than $XXX.XX no matter what's wrong with it" price. Mine turned out to just have a few bad electrolytic caps due to age in one analoge section, but they did replace a number of like caps throughout the entire unit. The repair cost was over $700.00, and it will cost you even more if you don't return it in the correct Levinson box, because you will get it back in the correct Levinson box. If I had to do it again, I would seriously consider using a capable third-party repair shop for about half the price of what I paid.
joenies's avatar
joenies
98 posts
 
It is a shame that ML (Harmon)no longer services their equipment at the factor. They have (3) authorized repair centers around the USA, Calif, Tx, NY.
I'm looking to have my ML 20.6's sent to HEAR (High end audio repair) or Musical Concepts to fix them.
If you like the ML sound get it fixed by a 3rd party.
Some people do not like the sound of ML equipment some do. There is always something better sounding out there.
When I called ML to get new shipping boxes for my 20.6's (after much delay) they sent me new boxes without charging me for the boxes or shipping.
If anyone has good luck with 3rd party repair shops for ML equipment please let me know.
Thanks
Joe Nies
garebear
719 posts
 
I have had non-warranty repair work done by Ben Jacoby at HEAR and this man is second to none....would not hesitate to ever have him work on any of my equipment. This guy knows his stuff...and is VERY honest about what he does.
joenies's avatar
joenies
98 posts
 
Thank you Garebear for the input.
Joe Nies
arkprof
182 posts
 
I had a ML-36 combined with an AR-1 CD player ... simply loved the setup ... later took the ML out of the system ... the sound was a bit different, though not much, and I immediately wondered why I had spent almost $4k for a DAC that, in my opinion, didn't compete well with the AR inboard DAC ... nor with the Musical Fidelity DAC that I next purchased for a fourth of the price.

The ML is nice-looking and perhaps makes you feel like you've done the right thing by having it ... sell it and go in another direction ... that's the sport of this stuff.
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