Mark Levinson No. 334 vs 23.5

"BRF I have to ask, how does the 334 lack soul and emotion?"

The 334 never engaged me with the music. I have long since moved over to SET, therefore, you could say my preference is biased more to the organic side of neutral. My experience with the 300 series vs. 23.5 is quite different than yours as I found the older 20.6 and 23.5 to be a warmer sounding amp than the 300 series. We do agree that system matching is the key. I had my ML 23.5 and then 20.6 pair with Wilson WP3/2 which benefited from the ML warmer nature.

As stated above, I would not touch a ML product due to their poor reputation for lack of customer support for out of warrantee products.

Just my two cents ...
I truly loved ML equipment abd think thry have designed some of the finest components around but I would not consider purchasing them anymore. They have essentially turned into throw away items. Repair is so expensive it’s just as cheap to replace the unit. Throw away is okay if it’s a Walmart item but certainly not for gear that costs what ML costs. I suspect their association with Lexus and car audio has turned them away from their roots Take a look elsewhere.

If you can buy parts from Madrigal then I would have a reputable repairmen replace the parts instead of sending back to factory. I had a ML 29 repaired by a reputable shop a few years ago. He replaced the caps and I can't remember the other part for about $300 including shipping both ways. I talked with Madrigal extensively when I ordred the part and they were very helpful. They even sent me blueprints of the 29. Maybe in the last couple of years the support is changing for their products I don't know, but I think ML products always have their naysayers. Personally I find their amps very good and basically on the neutral side sonically.

It's not just a parts issue. I had a coversation with the repair tech when I had to sent my ML333 in for repair. The entire 300 series suffered from a design flaw that blows up capacitors. Mine had been repaired 3 times.

And as Patrickp indicated above, the service has been going down the toilet after the company was sold to Harmon Kardon.

FrankC

I have owned a 27, which is the same topology as the 23.5, just less wattage and the .5 models were a slight upgrade, and the 334. For my money, there is no doubt the older model is a more musical amp. I loved the 27, kept it for years even after switching to tubes. I used the 334 for a few months and sold it because I didn't care for it at all. The 27 was a warm, musically satisfying amp. The 334 was cold and analytical to my taste.
As for problems with the 334's, early models had problems with the caps, which were replaced in later models. ML even offered the cap upgrade to out of warranty failures because they recognized the defect.
A friend had a 23.5, which he used until switching to tubes. We both like that amp very much.