Levinson 23.5 - I think I need a new toy.

Thanks to all for your comments. I have gone through a succession of tube amps (currently Manley) for the last twenty years, and I have no intention of replacing the current Manley mono's; just thought it might be kinda fun to try a "serious" ss amp again. The last two (twenty yrs ago) were a Rowland, and a BEL.

What would be a "fly off the shelf" price for a sample in very good shape, in the event that I decide to not keep it. I hate to say it, but to me the average BB price strikes me as high for an amp of this age.

The Mark Levinson 23.5 is one of the best amps ever built period. It is significantly better (major upgrades) over the 23, 27, etc. The Krell KSA 250 is also very good. There is a reason why ML upgraded the 23 to 23.5 status and the 20 to 20.5 and 20.6 status. You will find that the 23.5 is an amazing amp and will beat the pants off most high end amps made today. The internal politics in Mark Levinson company caused the company to go in a different direction. I have to tell you, that if you have a chance to get your hands on a good condition 23.5, grab it. The mid bass to upper end definition and extension is amazing and the low bass is incredible. I am hard pressed to find a amp (tube or solid state) that is its better and believe me I have looked (listened) to many. In addition, this amp can drive any speaker very well. If your friend has the amp, the best thing you can do is take it home and audition it in your system and listen for yourself. You will be pleased. Now, I'm not knocking tube amps. what I am saying is that this amp and the 20.6 are the Jewels of Mark Levinson's product line and not much out there even today can beat them. If I can find a 23.5 or 20.6 in decent condition for a good price, I would buy them without a second thought. The same holds true for some very good tubed amps I admire.

enjoy

How cheap? And are you sure it has "ss-itis"? There are some very, very nice sounding SS amps out there. Also, the Stax electrostats with the "brutal load", are you using tube power amp(s) with those?

My instinct is to tell you to "go for it"--how many really high end components can you buy for super cheap? You may enjoy swapping it in & out with your other amps. Not to mention the advantages of having a "spare" power amp, pre-amp, etc. around in case of equipment failure.....

Steveaudio, $1400; is that cheap for this amp? Does it have ss-itis? I don't know, but I have never heard a ss amp that didn't ; to varying degrees. Yes, I drive the Stax's with 200 tube watts successfully. My Meitner mono's also did a surprisingly good job of "driving" them, but did not sound nearly as good tonally and spatially.

If you liked the early Rowland design I think you would like the sound of the Levinson, it is closer in tonal balance to the Rowland sound than any Krells I can recall. It, along with the 20.6 and the old ML2, are the best of the Levinson designs, in my view. I'd suggest you try it in your system, though--I think you'll find it more open spacially than the Meitners, not as closed-in or dark sounding. I still think you'll find something missing that you only get from tubes.