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Levinson 3XX Amplifier Repairs

Thought i would post this as it is hard to find any solid information online about the Mark Levinson 33x capacitor repair problem.

I purchased a 332 here on audiogon about 6 months ago. A few weeks ago it developed a loud hum in the right channel. i contacted Levinson (or what is left of them) and was informed that there are only 2 authorized repair shops in the US. Pyramid Audio in Texas and The Service Bench in Mass.

I called the service bench first and was informed that they charged a FLAT LABOR RATE OF $900 + parts! This was a crazy number so i called Pyramid Audio. They said it was a $100 diagonstic fee that would be applied to parts and labor. this seemed reasonable so i shipped the amp to them ($150 shipping).

About 1 week later i received a call from Pyramid Audio stating that my reapir was going to be $1600!!! They also gave me the option of abandoning the amp or having it shipped back!

I feel that i am getting gouged here but really have no choice so i went ahead and got the amp repaired. i'll keep everyone posted on how the repairs ended up.
gmoneyreece
gmoneyreece OP
2 posts
 
The crazy thing is, Levinson actually extended the warranty to 10 years on the 3XX series of amps because they KNEW ABOUT THE DEFECTIVE CAPS! this amp was 12 years old and they would not honor the warranty even though they acknowledge it was a manufacture defect on a $8000 amplifier! very, very, disappointing.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
That is the price of playing in the high end. Similar to owning a Rolls-Royce....repair cost are very expensive. I've been there, done that. I've owned 9 BAT pieces, 2 of which failed, costing me over $2200 for factory repairs combined.

If you want to play with the big boys....expect to have big repair cost, especially for older gear. As for powerful SS amps, I would expect that the caps would need to be replaced with age. I personally would not buy a big SS amp that is around 10 years old or older w/o knowing the caps have been replaced.....but that's just me. I would buy it if the selling price assumed I'd replace the caps. Similar to buying a used car that is due to have the timing belt replaced. It's all in the negotiations. Live n' learn.

Cheers,
John
jeffb28451
128 posts
 
My disgust with Levinson attitudes under both Madrigal and HK has already been expressed. Yes, you're getting gouged for what you're getting. The repair parts and labor are nothing special, except for their pricing, where they become truly "exceptional".

$8000 DAC's orphaned, repairs refused, promised upgrades never delivered, etc. etc. After my first deal with them on a 35 DAC and then a 332 amp, I got rid of all 3 pieces of Levinson then in my system because of the hatred I have for them.

Even when they ran through Madrigal, their own service tech agreed with me that, next time I had some fun money, I should just buy a nice new shotgun instead of spending money on more Levinson (maybe he knew what was coming)

I have to say this to JMC, above: he's right in some ways, but you'd never catch Nelson Pass or Gordon Rankin pulling stunts like this.
drjoe
130 posts
 
Levinson as a company has deteriorated. What if your product needed a $50
part to fix. $900 plus parts to fix? I don't care how good their stuff sounds,
this kind of policy and poor support sucks. Only a fool would buy their
gear. Also they seem to have high failure rate. With this in mind I think they
just might go under.
Joe

PS...don't mean to insult Levinson owners, but I would really be pissed
at their lack of reasonable support.
9rw's avatar
9rw
278 posts
 
Jmcgrogan2: To say that's the price of playing in the high end is ridiculous. You'll never see that kind of treatment from companies like Audio Research, McIntosh and Pass Labs -- and many others. This makes Levinson products even more worthless than they were before.

Gmoneyreece: You should report Pyramid Audio to the Better Business Bureau. Its owners need to justify charging you that much.
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