A1126lin: The 380s is a great preamp and it has remote volume which is a really nice feature BUT there's something about that mid-90's Levinson/Madrigal gear that has never been surpassed sonically (except for the Cello gear produced at about the same time.) What I'm referring to "sonically" is the musical, almost tube-like quality of the sound, yet still retaining the sharpness and accuracy of SS. The 26 preamp and 23 amp were the first attempts. Then, for the 26s and 23.5 they went to teflon printed citcuit boards and a higher quality of board components. The results were absolute magic. Same for the phono preamp, the 25 versus the 25s. People still covet the 25s as one of the finest, quietest, high gain phono preamps ever made.
If you check out my system components, you'd think it would sound very bright, but it doesn't. It's alive, very accurate and revealing, but it's not hard or edgy. You can listen to it all day long without fatigue.
If you onlyheard a 380s/336, you'd be justifiably impressed -- but it can get better. What can I say? That mid-90's Levinson gear is like apartments in New York -- you practically have to wait for someone to die before it's available!
