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Levinson 20.5 monos - Time for a Refurb?

I bought my Mark Levinson 20.5 pure class A mono blocks new in 1990. I loved them for their sound and still do. They have been 100% reliable and I have never had them back to the Levinson or my dealer for anything.

However, they are 16 years old now and except for my Magnum Dynalab tuner, they are the only thing I have not replaced in my system.

Being pure class A amps they run pretty hot.

Question is, is it time I should consider having them checked out, refurbished, capacitors and the like replaced, etc?

If so, who should I consider for this work? Levinson? They are not what they used to be when they designed and made these amps, and I'm not sure they are up to the same quality work they did back then or whether I should trust that their parts will be as good as the original. Someone else? But who?

Has anyone been through this or does anyone have any thoughts about this they can share with me?
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phd
1,008 posts
 
I too agree with Beemer, if it works don't fix it! I know alot of folks would say after ten years its time to replace them caps, especially on pure class A amps. But I would guess that it would depend on how often in them ten years they are on/played.
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cipherjuris OP
145 posts
 
Thanks, guys.

I think I will talk to Levinson.

Well, Phd, they have been played at least 2 to 5 hours a day almost every day for the last 16 years.
phd
1,008 posts
 
Cipherjuris, since that is the case, it will be to your advantage to call Levinson and go from there. Let us know what they have to say.
mike1diver
51 posts
 
I would second or third the recommendation to send your 20.5's back to the Levinson repair department, if you think that they might need attention.
I have, on occasion, had to send both a cd transport as well as my 332 amp(that I shorted out and blew the right channel) back to the guys at Levinson, or the Harmon Group, their parent company.
There are guys in the department that have been there for many years.
There is probably a flat rate for replacing or upgrading the amps.
Trust me, they will do a great job.
But, "if it ain't broke....."
herman
1,974 posts
 
"if it's not broke don't fix" will only take you so far. What about preventative maintenance.? Your car runs fine but you change the oil every so often.

Electrolytic capacitors lose capacitance, start to leak DC, and have an increase in ESR as they get older. At some point they will begin to fail. The big question is when.

There is no definitive answer to your question but after 16 years it is reasonable to consider replacing them. Pretty much any competent tech can do the job. The hard part might be finding caps that are the same capacitance, rated voltage, and physically close to the same size.
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