POWER | PRECISION | PURITY
Reviews Booklet CD player, USB and streaming DAC Made by: Harman International Ind., Northridge, CA, USA Supplied by: Karma-AV Telephone: 01423 358846 Web: www.marklevinson.com; www.karma-av.co.uk DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER Price: £21,000 Mark Levinson No519
This unusually comprehensive network player/preamplifier illustrates the benefits of a modular design approach – and proves both highly flexible and a pleasure to use Review: Andrew Everard Lab: Paul Miller
he start of every review for HFN is handset, but for the smoothest operation the unit would ‘hang’ if not connected to a commissioning email from editor it’s best to resort to the free ML Connect the Internet – since corrected, I believe. PM, and in this case it contained app running on a smartphone or tablet, With the No519, it’s just a case of the unit the immortal line ‘At £21k, as this enables not only control of all the being a bit on the slow side to fire up, with Twhat kind of competition is the No519 various inputs and services on offer, but nothing to tell you anything’s happening up against?’. That’s the kind of simple- also detailed adjustment of the set-up of apart from a flashing standby light – it sounding question likely to give anyone the unit itself. That’s very welcome, as the would be useful to have a progress bar or serious pause for thought. Yes, £21,000, menu structure as accessed via the front- similar to show things are happening. which means it’s by far the most expensive panel controls seems rather obstructive That aside, the No519 seems to network playback device to pass through – though I am pretty sure it would become work very smoothly with the app, or via my listening room, and makes even my less so with extended familiarisation. browsers, although I did have a slight reference player, at around two-thirds the The same goes for the start-up hitch with getting it to recognise my price complete with obligatory power sequence, which is reminiscent of that music library, which is usually served supply, look like something of a snip. encountered with early samples of the via MinimServer. In this instance I had Mind you, the No519 is rather more than Musical Fidelity Encore player [HFN Dec to switch to Asset UPnP in order to get just a network audio player, as perhaps one ’16] – in other words, you press the power my music to appear, but with that done might hope given the pricing. In practice button and nothing much seems to be all went swimmingly, apart from the it doubles as a highly flexible DAC, and happening for ages, tempting you to occasional loss of contact with the music has variable outputs to enable it to be press again in case you made a mistake. library on my NAS units, requiring the used as a ‘digital’ preamp. It even packs a With the MF product it was an automatic servers to be reconnected. Strangely, slot-loading disc transport, able to handle update search taking place, which meant things seemed to work much more both standard Red Book CDs and CD-ROMs carrying MP3 files – though I’m not entirely sure who’s likely to spend this amount of cash on such a device and then want to play low-bit-rate files… sTAnDInG TALL In the best tradition of US-made high-end audio, the No519 has what can only be described as ‘serious kit-rack presence’, exuding solidity and high quality build, with the choice of a black finish accented with natural metal buttons and ‘iconic Mark Levinson twin-knob controls’ doing that impression no harm whatsoever. Handbuilt in the USA, it’s not as huge as the oversized shipping box might suggest – fortunately! – being a pretty standard 43.8cm wide, but it stands quite tall, not least to accommodate that disc drive and the large 5in TFT display, able to show everything from menu settings to album cover art. This also has the benefit of making the display easy to read, should you wish to use the No519 directly using the remote
RIGHT: Linear PSU [left] feeds digital input board [top left], CD drive and streaming board [centre], ESS Sabre-based DAC circuit [top right] and fully balanced analogue output [lower right]
REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS | www.hifinews.co.uk smoothly when using the now-superseded a bit on the small side, even the fumble- ABOVE: Unmistakably ‘Levinson’, the elegant Linn Kinsky app as the interface between fingered should find them easy to use. industrial design belies the No519’s flexibility, its library and player: it worked fine with both Go into the settings menu and it’s features navigated via fascia controls, and 5in MinimServer and the No519. possible to switch between fixed and TFT display, or remotely via iOS/Android apps variable outputs, select filtering should TAILORInG TO sUIT you want to use a subwoofer with the unit, The settings also give access to the So, it plays network music, at up to and set various volume parameters – such Clari-Fi music restoration technology 192kHz/32-bit as well as handling DSD2.8 as start-up level, mute level, etc – change developed by ML parent company Harman, and 5.6MHz in native form, and also has power-saving settings like auto-off and which ‘analyses compressed digital audio two optical digital inputs display blanking time, files during playback and reconstructs what plus two coaxial and one o and adjust a whole range was lost in the compression process’. As AES/EBU, along with an ‘The N 519’s of input settings. with the DSD filter at the other extreme, asynchronous USB Type B For example, you can there’s no correct setting for the intensity for computer connection sound is typically adjust the gain of an of the Clari-Fi processing – it’s very much a and a pair of USB-As able big, bold and input to level up volume question of personal preference. to accept storage devices. across your whole set-up And as with all these parameters, it’s Bluetooth is also provided, unrestrained’ and rename and disable possible to create an individual range of supporting the aptX codec, inputs, and then you can settings for each input. That’s all possible along with both Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and choose some more No519-specific settings. as the No519 runs on an embedded Linux gigabit Ethernet for networking. For a start there’s a choice of ‘Sharp’, computer, while the digital-to-analogue As already mentioned the No519 ‘Slow’ and ‘Minimum Phase’ digital filters conversion is in the hands of Mark supports UPnP/DLNA streaming, and is also for PCM content, the option to set normal Levinson’s ESS Sabre-based ‘Precision Link compatible with Internet radio, podcasts, or wide PLL bandwidth – wide being more DAC’ circuit, which runs the DAC chip’s Spotify Connect, Deezer, Tidal and Qobuz forgiving of the quality of the incoming outputs in current mode into a discrete and (with the appropriate subscriptions). All the digital signal, but possibly having some fully balanced current-to-voltage converter, inputs and services are accessed by large, quality implications – and set the DSD low- thus suppressing common-mode noise and clear ‘buttons’ on the app screen, and pass filter (on the network and USB inputs) distortion. The Precision Link system also while the playback controls on the app are to remove various levels of ultrasonic noise. uses a complex power supply arrangement with multiple, separately regulated supplies MODULAR DEsIGn for the DAC chip, plus individual linear supplies for each channel to power the The change of pace at Mark Levinson’s R&D department is rather reminiscent I-to-V converter and filter circuits. of that old saying about waiting for a bus – ‘you stand for an age and then Add in quite a lot of talk of military- three turn up at once’. But we’re not complaining here at Hi-Fi News for, thanks specification components and aircraft- to design director Todd Eichenbaum, ex-VP of product development at Krell grade materials, and it’s clear there’s a lot Industries, an entirely re-imagined 500-series of separates has been released in here to go towards justifying that towering the last two years. This began with the EISA Award-winning No585 integrated price. But is the sound similarly imperious, amp [HFN Apr ’15], followed by the No536 monoblock power amp [HFN Sep ’16], especially in a market not exactly short of the No526 preamp/DAC [HFN Dec ’16] and now the No519 ‘Digital Audio Player’. expensive network audio components? While each product has its niche, there’s still an overlap in some key features and enabling technologies. The Mark Levinson DAC board, for example, is a very cOMPELLInG InsIGHTs refined implementation of the ESS Sabre 32-bit converter which, along with Well, having greatly enjoyed the No526 ML’s ‘Pure Path’ analogue line stage, is re-worked into the No585, No526 and preamplifier [HFN Dec ’16] I was expecting No519. All offer USB inputs and a choice of ‘Sharp’, ‘Slow’ and ‘Minimum Phase’ great things of the No519 and, I’m very digital filters for playback of PCM files [see Lab Report, p41]. However, only pleased to say, I wasn’t to be disappointed. the No585 includes an amplifier while the oN 519 has a CD drive and streaming Playing CDs, there’s no denying – or capability. The No526 comes with a very versatile MM/MC stage – and with the ignoring – the No519’s big, bold and announcement of a partnering No515 turntable, now we know why! PM unrestrained sound, offering a mass of detail and a compelling insight into
www.hifinews.co.uk| REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS LAB REPORT MARk LEVInsOn nO519 Despite sharing the outline design of its ESS Sabre-based DAC stage and fully balanced ‘Pure Path’ analogue line stage with the No585 [HFN Apr ’15] and No526 [HFN Dec ’16] the No519, free of high level amplifier or MM/MC phono options, carves its own niche as Levinson’s purist ‘Digital Audio Player’. At full volume (80 on the TFT display), the No519 offers a full 13.7V output via its 73ohm balanced XLR outputs (12.7V at 0dBFs via CD) with an A-wtd S/N ratio of 118.4dB and distortion just 0.0005-0.0045% (20Hz-20kHz, re. 0dBFs). Harmonic ABOVE: Two coaxial/optical S/PDIF digital ins are joined by USB 2.0 and AES/EBU distortion drops as low as 0.00015% at 1kHz over the top 30dB o ins, two USB-A sockets and wired/wireless Ethernet. Coaxial/optical and AES digital of the N 519’s dynamic range and is only slightly higher at 0.0005-0.0008% at 20kHz. Note that this is with 24-bit source outputs are included alongside single-ended (RCA) and balanced (XLR) analogue outs material – with 16-bit CD data distortion is 10-20dB higher at 1kHz below –5dBFs [see black trace, Graph 1 below]. Similarly, every recording I tried. It’s fast, deft USB input the No519’s sound was resolution is within a very tight ±0.05dB over a 100dB range and wide open, whether playing the arguably lacking some warmth, with 24-bit inputs and within ±0.2dB with 16-bit CD. With the ‘Sharp’ (standard FIR) digital filter engaged, the driving rock of Blondie’s Pollinator although when the same files were response is flat to within –0.17/20kHz with CD and 48kHz [BMG 538263402], where the replayed via an intermediate Mutec digital inputs, extending to –1.2dB/45kHz and –6.5dB/90kHz powerful drumming and charging MC-3+ USB [HFN Feb ’17], reclocked with 96kHz and 192kHz digital inputs. The ‘Slow’ filter option rhythms are tautly defined, or the and formatted for the No519’s S/PDIF offers a stronger –3.1dB/20kHz cut than either the ‘Fast’ or close-focused but atmospheric input, the performance blossomed ‘Minimum Phase’ filters (–0.19dB/20kHz), and a poor 5.7dB rejection of stopband artefacts (26kHz re. 22kHz at 48kFs), choral singing of Ståle Kleiberg’s with far greater generosity. but there’s significantly less pre and post-ringing on transients. affirmative Mass For Modern Man [2L Via USB or S/PDIF, the No519’s This will be a good choice with 96kHz/192kHz media. Jitter, 2L-136], in which the instrumental performance is hugely impressive, meanwhile, is phenomenally low at <10psec with 24-bit data textures are richly delivered against although this looks like yet another at all sample rates across all S/PDIF and USB inputs and is at the 16-bit threshold of 115psec with CD [see Graph 2, below]. PM an ethereal backdrop. example of the traditional S/PDIF connection delivering the goods TOTAL sUREFOOTEDnEss with that bit more conviction, The ‘block diagram’ screen-printed nailing the music’s ‘soul’ a little more under the lid [see inside shot, p38] convincingly. Even if such differences shows the CD transport quite may boil down to a matter of taste, literally front and centre inside the and system configuration, for No519, and that’s just how it sounds, many audiophiles it’s also worth for this is a do-it-all digital music remembering that you can further source preamp that just happens tune the sound using those digital also to be a very fine CD player. It filters and the PLL lock selection. may not quite be in the same league Opting for the ‘slow’ filter setting as, say, the Marantz SA-10 [HFN Mar typically adds a smidge of warmth, ’16] when auditioned purely as a CD and is technically better suited to ABOVE: THD vs. digital level over a 120dB range. player, the latter delivering a rather higher (88.2kHz/96kHz) media, while 48kHz/24-bit S/PDIF & USB at 1kHz (red) vs. 44.1kHz/ more vibrant view of the music, but choosing the ‘wide’ PLL position 16-bit CD at 1kHz (black, dashed) and 20kHz (blue) then that’s hardly the point, given softens the sound marginally. But, the other abilities of the No519. again, adjusting those settings will And it displays those other be down to preference, and as abilities when used as a network the inherent sound of the No519 player/preamp or from USB storage, is one of directness and maximum delivering everything from hi-res information, if that’s what you want quality Tidal and Qobuz streams from your system you’ll not go far all the way through to DSD with wrong here. real power and impact, and total surefootedness. That’s very much in HI-FI nEWs VERDIcT evidence with the excellent recent Even if it’s impossible to dismiss Channel Classics release of Mahler’s that eye-watering price from ABOVE: High resolution jitter plots via S/PDIF & USB Symphony No 3 [Budapest Fest Orch/ your thinking, the No519 still (48kHz/24-bit, black) and CD (44.1kHz/16-bit, red) Iván Fischer; CCS SA 38817, DSD128 delivers a hugely informative and via NativeDSD.com], in which the powerful sound whatever you HI-FI nEWs sPEcIFIcATIOns ambience and presence of the choose to play, and has absolute recording is never in doubt. Maximum output level/Impedance 13.7Vrms / 73ohm (Balanced) control over its sonic landscape. When driven via my Mac A-wtd S/N Ratio (CD / S/PDIF / USB) 118.2dB / 118.4dB / 118.4dB Some might argue for a tad more computer through its asynchronous warmth or colour, but then the Distortion (1kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs) 0.0005% / 0.00017% sound can be subtly tuned to Dist. & Noise (20kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs) 0.0045% / 0.00035% suit personal tastes, and there’s Freq. resp. (20Hz-20kHz/45kHz/90kHz) +0.0 to –0.2dB/–1.2dB/–6.5dB
no gainsaying the impressive Digital jitter (CD / S/PDIF / USB) 115psec / <10psec / <10psec features and flexibility here. Resolution @ –100dB (CD / S/PDIF / USB) ±0.2dB / ±0.05dB / ±0.05dB
Sound Quality: 87% Power consumption 33W (1W standby)
0 ------Dimensions - 100 (WHD) / Weight 438x146x406mm / 16.4kg
www.hifinews.co.uk| REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS Stereo line/phono preamplifier & USB DAC Made by: Harman International Ind., Northridge, CA, USA Supplied by: Karma-AV Telephone: 01423 358846 Web: www.marklevinson.com; www.karma-av.co.uk PREAMP/USB DAC Price: £20,000 Mark Levinson No526
Here we have a hefty preamp with a price-tag to match, and a remarkable level of flexibility – so can it impress as much with its sound as it does with its technology? Review: Andrew Everard Lab: Paul Miller
hink audiophile preamplifier, and with Eichenbaum from his previous sensibly sized box within… turns out it’s the chances are you’d imagine the employment: he was at Krell for a total just for the accessories. archetypal product to be a model of 25 years, worked on more than 60 of of minimalism – after all, it needs that company’s products as well as being CLEvER STUff wiThin Tdo no more than switch between sources instrumental in the development of some What’s immediately clear from first and offer a volume control, right? Trouble of its ‘signature’ technologies. acquaintance with the preamp is its dual- is, the sheer diversity of sources available The No526 is hand-built by contract mono layout, with the analogue inputs and to today’s listeners means things can’t be assembly company Mack Technologies, outputs arranged in a mirror-image across that simple any more, what with listeners which has a close partnership with the rear panel, and with the phono inputs using everything from CDs and LPs through the brand, at its facility in Westford, below them. There’s also a headphone to computer-stored files at ever-greater Massachusetts. And this preamp very output on the front panel – a first for the sampling rates and/or file sizes. much epitomises American high-end audio brand – driven by the main Class A preamp Hence the latest preamp from Mark in both the quality of its construction stage, allowing it to power headphones Levinson, the No526. Don’t let the prosaic and its sheer mass. It’s a hefty beast, down to 32ohm, rather than using a model designation – the company’s clad in a combination of cold-rolled separate headphone amp (as is often the numbering system never gives you much steel and aluminium and weighing a case in products of this kind). of a clue as to what the product actually not inconsiderable 17.7kg. Open the There are two sets of balanced inputs does – fool you into thinking it’s in any way substantial shipping carton and you might and of course one set of balanced outs, ordinary: this £20,000 preamp comes fully be surprised to see an altogether more plus three single-ended pairs of RCAs, while loaded. And then some. high-EnD POSTER ChiLD The company, for more than two decades owned by Harman International, and part of its Luxury Audio stable, describes the No526 as a ‘Dual-Monaural Pure Path Preamplifier with Precision Link DAC and Pure Phono’, but even that only scratches the surface of what’s going on here. For example, it has no fewer than 12 inputs – six analogue and six digital – and offers a level of configurability that requires the use of a computer browser interface connected via both USB and network. We’re a very long way from a volume control and a handful of relay-switches here – but a version without the digital inputs, the No523, is also available. It’s designed, like all Mark Levinson products, at a dedicated facility in Shelton, Connecticut – the ‘Engineering Center of Excellence’, no less – where Todd Eichenbaum, Director of Engineering at Harman Luxury Audio, leads a ten-strong team working on Lexicon, Mark Levinson and JBL Synthesis. Readers may be familiar
RighT: Switchmode and linear PSUs feed digital and analogue preamp stages. Resistor- ladder volume control and configurable MM/ MC phono stage are screened from interference
REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS | www.hifinews.co.uk digital ins run to AES/EBU, two coaxial and of ‘Normal’ or ‘Wide’ PLL digital input lock ABOvE: Modern and very elegant industrial two optical S/PDIFs, and an asynchronous tolerances, uses seven separate power design belies the complexity of the No526’s USB Type-B for computer hook-up. There’s supplies and can handle file formats up feature set – navigated via a two rotary also a standard USB-A and a micro USB to 192kHz/32-bit and DSD128/5.6MHz. encoders and row of buttons, or via a browser socket, and an RJ45 Ethernet network There’s also Harman’s Clari-Fi ‘music connection. But before anyone gets restoration’ system, designed to put slowing as higher levels are reached. I quite too excited about the unlikely prospect some life back into highly compressed liked the default setting, which enables of hooking up an iPod or – more likely, file formats. Now one might wonder why one to make a change quickly, then adjust streaming music from NAS – hold your anyone would want to play such files things in very fine increments when the horses. In practice these are purely to through a £20,000 preamp, but if you do desired level is approached. facilitate product updates using a home you’ll find you can adjust the amount of The balanced and single-ended outputs computer or, with the USB-A, the loading of Clari-Fi processing to suit your taste. can be set to variable or fixed – the latter new firmware files from a There’s more on the handy if you already have a good preamp USB thumb drive. No526’s remarkably and for some reason have chosen to buy Other connections ‘The sense of the versatile phono stage in the No526 as a DAC/phono stage – and to run to the usual range editor PM’s boxout [see activate a 24dB/octave 80Hz high-pass of home automation solo instrument below]. Other options, filter on the output should you be using an options, including in/out before me was accessed from the front active subwoofer. Finally, a Surround Sound 12V triggers, an external panel using a menu Processor mode allows one of the inputs infrared sensor for remote almost palpable’ system, include a choice to be configured to fixed unity gain for use control, and RS232 on of display and power/ when the No526 is fed by the front left/ an RJ12 socket. The No526 comes with a standby options, the latter going from the right outputs of a surround processor. relatively compact and decidedly non- factory default ‘Green’ mode, which is a extravagant handset [see p43], which does conventional standby, to simply muting the fAST AnD ASSURED the job but is unlikely to become a coffee- output and turning off the display while Without a doubt the No526 is an extremely table conversation piece. keeping the audio circuits powered and flexible control centre for a high-quality However, while the preamp presents ready for action. system, its fairly slender casework a somewhat plain if purposeful face to It’s also possible to switch the response incorporating functions one might the world, all the clever stuff behind that of the resistor-ladder volume control. The otherwise assign to three separate boxes – lofty price is, as you might hope, within. default has the up/down volume respond phono stage, DAC and preamp. How that The proprietary ‘Precision Link’ DAC is to the speed at which the knob is turned, sits with your views on future upgrading based around ESS Sabre technology, has while there’s the option of faster response or putting all one’s eggs in a single basket a choice of three filters, offers a selection in the lower stages of the volume range, is a decision only the buyer can make, but the good news is that the No526 fulfils PROgRAMMABLE PhOnO all its functions to a very high standard, and never gives rise to any doubts about No fiddling with jumpers or DIP switches with Mark Levinson’s oN 526 as the performance being sacrificed in the quest phono stage’s user-configurable 50-680pF input capacitance (MM), its 20ohm- for convenience. 47kohm input loading (MC) and +40dB to +70dB gain options [see Lab Report, It sounds big, fast, dramatic and entirely p43] are all accessible via the front panel setup menu. As is, I might add, the assured across a wide range of musical infrasonic filter that switches in a 2nd-order roll-off at a low 15Hz. In practice, genres, and if you put the old ‘tingle I preferred the sound of the phono stage without the filter in situ, although factor’ high on your list of priorities, it the contoured LF response of the eq section reinforced the already rich and will certainly rise to the occasion. There’s boisterous quality of the SME 20/3 and SME Series V/Koetsu Black front-end nothing false, artificial or overtly ‘hi-fi’ spinning at the back of my listening room. But while the No526 brings a powerful about the sound here: rather the music sense of weight and momentum to vinyl, the likes of Isaac Hayes’ ‘Life’s Mood’ is given room to breathe and shine, [Branded; Virgin VPBLP 24] is not overly brooding but bursts into song as the constantly catching the ear not only with off-beat piano contrasts with the more fulsome feel of his deep and soulful the level of detail on offer, but also with vocals. It’s a neat trick but I’d still be wary of warped LPs, less-than-perfectly the sense of flow and expression. isolated decks and, most importantly, under-damped reflex-loaded speakers. PM Indeed, rather as one finds when a high-quality, high-power amplifier is slotted
www.hifinews.co.uk| REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS LAB REPORT PREAMP/USB DAC MARk LEvinSOn nO526 Based on the No585 [HFN Apr ’15] and No519’s ESS Sabre DAC stage, the No526 offers a full 20V output via its 73ohm balanced XLR outs while the A-wtd S/N ratio reaches 112.6dB and the response is flat to within –0.15/20kHz, –1.1dB/45kHz and –6.2dB/90kHz with 48kHz, 96kHz and 192kHz digital inputs. The ‘Slow’ filter option offers a stronger –3.1dB/20kHz cut than either the ‘Fast’ or ‘Minimum Phase’ filters, but there’s less acausal distortion (pre-ringing) on transients. Harmonic distortion drops as low as 0.00008% at 1kHz/–10dBFs but is a little higher at 0.001% by 20kHz/–10dBFs [see Graph 1]. Jitter is phenomenally low at ≤10psec, all sample rates, while low-level resolution is good to ±0.3dB over a full 110dB dynamic range. The precision engineering of the No526’s phono stage is ABOvE: Two coaxial and two optical S/PDIF digital ins are joined by USB 2.0 and reflected in most of the measurements. The notional +40dB AES/EBU inputs, micro USB, USB-A and Ethernet port plus XLR and four analogue RCA (MM) and +50dB, +60dB, +70dB (Low, Mid and High gain inputs (including a configurable MM/MC input) plus RCA and XLR outputs MC) settings arrive closer to +53.7dB, +63.3dB, +73.4dB and +83.1dB in practice (full volume, balanced output). So the No526 is very sensitive but also benefits from very low noise, into a system, the effect of the in impact or power, or indeed the delivering a massive 94.2dB A-wtd S/N ratio via MM and 77.6dB No526 is somewhat akin to letting visceral effect of the performances. via all three MC settings (re. 5mV and 500µV in, respectively). the music off the leash. Best of There’s not much the digital High gain typically means limited overload margins and so the o all, it delivers this standard of filters can do to alter the charge N 526 clips at 89mV (MM), 31mV, 9.2mV and 3.0mV (Low, Mid and High gain MC), suggesting it’s best partnered with performance across its wide gamut of that particular album, but with lower-output MMs and MCs. Distortion is far lower than ML’s of input options, from balanced and less bonkers content there is a <0.03% spec. at 0.003-0.007% (20Hz-20kHz, re. 0dBV) but the single-ended analogue to high-res perceptible difference between boost in sub-1kHz response (+0.25dB/300Hz, +0.5dB/50Hz and digital music played via USB input. ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ settings, the +0.7dB/20Hz) must surely be intentional [see Graph 2]. PM former giving a little more attack, PLAying wiTh fiLTERS and the latter a marginal gain in With PM having established the warmth and weight. Meanwhile, the quality of the inbuilt phono stage Minimum Phase filter gives slightly in his boxout, I have to admit I was sharper focus when listening to most intrigued to find out how well solo instrument recordings such as the onboard digital stage combined Johan Brouwer’s Vaudry [Aliud ACD with the analogue section would BA089-2; DSD64], tightening the fare as a source/control set-up. Here, rendition of the harpsichord strings the No526 never disappointed. With just a shade. everything from violin with orchestra Switching the PLL Lock to ‘Wide’ on DSD – Arabella Steinbacher’s softens the sound very slightly, but Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams may be useful if find yourself using ABOVE: Distortion versus 48kHz/24-bit digital signal [Pentatone PTC5186536; DSD64 digital sources prone to momentary level over a 120dB range via S/PDIF (1kHz, red) and via NativeDSD.com] – through to drop-outs. As ever, preferences when USB (1kHz, black; 20kHz, blue) mainstream rock and blues, the it comes to all these digital settings No526 demonstrated the ability to are really down to the user. put what sounds like everything Whichever you choose, one that’s on the recording out there for thing is for certain – if the mark of a the listener’s pleasure, drawing the great hi-fi component is how well it attention deeper into the music. offers everything while apparently On the Steinbacher recording doing nothing to get in the way of the sense of the solo instrument the music, then the Mark Levinson before me was almost palpable, No526 is very special indeed. with every bite of rosin on string beautifully delineated, while the hi-fi nEwS vERDiCT orchestra had wonderful scale and By any standards a remarkable ABOVE: RIAA-corrected frequency response over an richness, never seeming cloying preamplifier, as much for its extended 5Hz-100kHz (infrasonic filter, dashed) with or over-bloomy. Meanwhile with sound and flexibility as the THD versus frequency (red) via MM at 0dBV output the recent 44.1kHz/24-bit release quality of its build – oh, and the of Rage Against The Machine’s price! The No526 is striking for hi-fi nEwS SPECifiCATiOnS eponymous album [Epic; HDtracks its ability to deliver everything download] the No526 simply let the Maximum output level (Balanced) 20Vrms at 73ohm played through it with maximum full-on onslaught of the sound slam A-wtd S/N ratio (Digital/MM/MC) 112.6dB / 94.2dB / 77.6dB conviction and clarity. Of course out of the speakers, losing nothing it places demands on the system Distortion (1kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs) 0.00065% / 0.00018% with which it’s used, but if you’re Freq. resp. (20Hz-20kHz/45kHz/90kHz) +0.0dB to –0.15/–1.13/–6.2dB lucky enough to be able to afford Frequency resp. (MM, 20Hz-20kHz) +0.70dB to +0.04dB
a set-up able to do it justice, Input sensitivity (MM/MC, re. 0dBV) 2.07mV / 682µV/214µV/70µV you’re in for a treat. Input overload (MM/MC, re. 1% THD) 89mV / 31mV / 9.2mV / 3.0mV
Sound Quality: 90% Power consumption 67W (1W standby)
0 ------Dimensions - 100 (WHD) / Weight 267x76x295mm / 3.6kg
www.hifinews.co.uk| REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS Monoblock power amplifier. Rated at 400W/8ohm Made by: Harman International Ind., Northridge, CA, USA Supplied by: Karma-AV Telephone: 01423 358846 Web: www.marklevinson.com; www.karma-av.co.uk POWER AMPLIFIER Price: £14,000 (each) Mark Levinson No536
With no little irony, Mark Levinson releases a monster of a monoblock power amplifier, its design team headed by a long-term Krell veteran – say hello to the No536 Review: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul Miller
or a decade or two, the heaviest very first time I listened to Mark Levinson While the earlier, vertical-chassis No53 hitters in high-end amplification electronics.’ The depth and space were Class D monoblock power amplifier [HFN were Mark Levinson and Krell. unlike anything he’d heard before, ‘And Jan ’11] still sits at the top of the tree Forty-three years after the birth of relatively few systems I’ve heard in the pricewise, the newer and more affordable Fthe former and 36 with the latter, we find decades since have been that good.’ No536 is clearly the de facto flagship. that the Mark Levinson No536 monoblock So the No536 differs from its immediate power amplifier has been designed by kEEPInG THE dnA predecessors in a number of ways. Says an engineer who had worked for Krell Second, he wanted to apply design Eichenbaum, ‘The gain stages in earlier for a total of 21 years. Although Todd techniques that he and the engineering generations of Mark Levinson amps had Eichenbaum, Director of Engineering, team had learned over the years to more complex signal paths and much Harman Luxury Audio, has been with the ‘bring the new Mark Levinson products higher open-loop gain and feedback. Our brand since 2013, those two-decades-plus to the “next level” of performance and new Pure Path topology is based on the have made an indelible impact. convenience while still maintaining much philosophy that the signal path should be’ Not to suggest that there’s anything of the DNA in the Mark Levinson sound.’ – and here he quotes Einstein – ‘made as immediately ‘Krell-ish’ about this £14,000 Lastly, he wanted to design the No536 simple as possible, but not simpler. unit. It looks like a Levinson and one of the ‘to be inherently robust and reliable, ‘In this case the main building block is explanations for its existence describes straightforward to assemble and test, a very high quality dual J-FET, connected delving into the brand’s past. And while it with processes and measurements that to several bipolar transistors in a multiple isn’t the Class A design that launched the are consistent and repeatable day in and cascode configuration.’ Here he wanted brand, neither will it strike the Levinsonian day out.’ This additional testing regime to obtain the best qualities of all the audiophile as something alien. certainly extended the time before the transistors, combined to form ‘what is Its 400W nominal rating proves very eventual release of the amplifier. functionally a dual “super” transistor.’ conservative [see PM’s lab report, p43] and its build, from the finger-slicing alloy heatsinks that flank its carcass to that thick, precision-milled black/silver fascia, all speak of a very serious intent. As does the massive power supply which is seen in our internal shot [right]. Not competent enough to decipher his AES paper, I spoke directly with Eichenbaum about the project, which editor PM points out had the gestation period of an elephant. ‘This amp was announced over a year before it was finally launched – why?’ lamented PM. It sounds like Mark Levinson wanted to make sure that this new amp was spectacular, a tacit way of saying that the brand has been quiet of late, and this is all but a re-boot in name. Todd Eichenbaum was not going to be rushed. He said he had several goals for the No536. ‘First, I wanted to recreate some of the “magic” that I remembered hearing for the first time more than 30 years ago – the
RIGHT: Massive 1800VA toroidal transformer is at the heart of a PSU that drives a fully symmetrical (balanced) 2x12 high current transistor, Class A/B output stage
REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS | www.hifinews.co.uk The Levinson team allied this with an Model 30/12 with Series V-12 arm and ABOVE: Two required for stereo, this imposing improved current mirror design to create Clearaudio Goldfinger MC [HFN Jan ’15] monoblock amplifier features Levinson’s latest a gain stage that promises extremely into the EAT E-Glo phono amp. Digital black and silver industrial design – an all-alloy good linearity and wide bandwidth, playback came via my trusty Marantz chassis with precision, side-mounted heatsinks before applying any negative feedback to DV8200 SACD/DVD player. Hook-up was the amplifier. Inside each oN 536 are two a joy, thanks to the substantial binding like the guy whose heart belongs to Alfa bridged power stages each comprising six posts and switchable balanced or single- Spiders and TR3s, but doesn’t mind a blast pairs – that’s 24 in total ended inputs. (Note that in a muscle car to clear the sinuses. – of high current, bipolar the USB connector on This amplifier doesn’t need ages to output devices, and ‘Wedded as I am the back is for firmware warm up, and after a fierce eight-hour each with its own driver upgrades, not for use session, it didn’t singe flesh. Indeed, transistor. A limited 16dB to valves, I like with a USB audio device.) its behaviour was utterly impeccable of negative feedback to dance with Switch-on involved throughout. Its visual impression is perhaps is applied around the watching the LED on the one of brutality, and I scared myself when amplifier circuit, which the devil, too’ front, which glows blue, trying it with the KEF LS50s [HFN Jul Eichenbaum feels, ‘gives red or white or flickers, ’12] – what would happen if I switched us the best combination of image depth depending on whether the amp is in sources and blasted its 400W+ into a and space, bass extension, and dynamics.’ standby, operational, or behaving badly. small standmount? (The amps did sound If you’re expecting me to wax glorious sensational through the wee KEFs, though IMPEccABLy BEHAVEd about blasts from the past, and how I can I doubt anyone normal would match a sub- While HFN awaits the forthcoming see the form of former Krell supremo Dan £1000 speaker with a £14k monoblock.) matching preamp/DAC, I used the No536 D’Agostino – let alone John Curl – hovering with 2m lengths of Crystal cable to the overhead, well, you’re right: this sounds kIckS LIkE A MuLE Wilson Alexias [HFN Mar ’13], and drove like an amplifier from the period I prefer for It took, oh, three seconds into ‘Rock The it in balanced mode with the Audio bad-ass, overkill, solid-state amps. So let’s Boat’ by The Hues Corporation, in both Research REF 6 preamp [HFN May ’16], via make one thing clear: as wedded as I am digital and analogue forms, side by side Transparent. Sources included the SME to valves, I like to dance with the devil, too, – The Very Best Of The Hues Corporation [Camden 74321 603422; CD] and HARMAn LuXuRy AudIO Freedom For The Stallion [RCA APL 1-0323; LP] – to realise two things simultaneously. In specialty audio, it doesn’t get any bigger than Harman International Industries, The No536 kicks like a mule, and it’s incisive Inc, Mark Levinson’s parent company. If my sources are correct, the company, enough and transparent enough to lay with sales of US $5.9 billion during the year ending 31 Dec ’14, is roughly the size out the differences between CD and LP in of Bang & Olufsen and Bose combined. Its roots can be found in a name familiar such vivid terms that even the most fervent to older audiophiles, harman-kardon (with lower-case ‘h’ and k’, thank you very disbelievers would be staggered by the much). Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon founded the amplifier manufacturer disparities. in 1953. Both were ex-Bogen engineers, and their eponymous brand is considered What springs to mind most frequently one of the key names in the founding of high-end audio. Harman bought out is the term ‘commanding’, but not in the Kardon in 1956, and the company just grew and grew. In its latest form, it grab-the-listener-by-the-throat method designs, manufactures and markets equipment in other fields as well, including of hyper-etched designs. Indeed, the A/V, in-car and professional markets. Its brand portfolio includes AKG, Harman resolution of strings at the upper reaches Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson and Revel. Quite a roster. was almost a bit hazy, but one could equally say that it was non-fatiguing.
www.hifinews.co.uk| REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS LAB REPORT MARk LEVInSOn nO536 Such is Levinson’s (Harman Luxury Audio’s) painstaking production engineering process, I had been waiting over a year to get its flagship monoblock power amp through the lab doors and on to our front cover. I’m pleased to report that the wait has not been in vain for the No536 massively exceeds its specification. Rated at 400W/8ohm and 800W/4ohm, it achieves 530W/8ohm and 870W/4ohm at <1% THD with sufficient reserves to accommodate 610W, 1115W and 1935W (or 31.1A) into 8, 4 and 2ohm. Short-circuit protection kicks in above 440W/1ohm [Graph 1, below] but the No536 is surely capable of more. Furthermore, despite the close proximity of this massive power supply, noise is exceptionally low at –85.7dBV (52µV) and the A-wtd S/N ratio very wide at 98.7dB (re. 0dBW) – this is a silent giant! ABOVE: Pairs of ‘hurricane’ cable binding posts support bi-wiring. Single-ended (RCA) Via its XLR inputs, overall gain is an appropriate +25.6dB and balanced (XLR) inputs are joined by Ethernet, RS232 and 12V system triggers (151mV for 0dBW) from a fully balanced output stage comprising no fewer than 24x15A devices. Loop feedback is modest but while the output impedance is not vanishingly low At the bottom end, the balance a pair of Stax ’phones or Quad 57s: it is a uniform 0.07-0.08ohm from 20Hz-20kHz, increasing to between openness and near-papery subtlety where none should exist. 0.125ohm/100kHz. The frequency response is very flat and dryness was near perfect, such that But move on to something with extended with –0.5dB points at <1Hz to 75kHz and falling the pure percussion extravaganza the same sound quality yet musical to just –0.9dB/100kHz. So there’s very little attenuation of ultrasonic output from SACD/DSD sources here... This is of of Kodo’s Heartbeat: Drummers Of merit without peer, and you have – potential interest because distortion, again not vanishingly low Japan [Sheffield Lab CD-KODO] was a in The Band’s ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ but consistent at ~0.01-0.02% from 20Hz-3kHz (an elegant 2nd display of woofers shifting air. And it [The Band; Mobile Fidelity UDSACD and 3rd harmonic only), rises very steeply at high frequencies was here that I was glad I swapped 2129] – a sound reminiscent of a big – 0.05%/10kHz, 0.12%/20kHz to 0.4%/40kHz at 10W/8ohm [see Graph 2, below]. Choice of partnering source (DAC) and the KEFs for the massive Wilsons! Chord, if not quite the limitless slam. loudspeaker will be key to optimising its performance. PM Again, it was back to Levon An AMP THAT SWInGS Helm’s kick-drum for the No536 What was emerging, based on notes to do its stuff, and it did so with I’d taken over the years, were not enough detail to imagine his foot dichotomies so much as schools pedal, and enough dynamic scale to evolving within amplifier types. And I provide all the punch. Even twangy mean the nature of the sound more Jew’s harp, that least expensive than the circuitry. With modern and least complex of instruments, champions like Constellation, acquired a weird majesty all its own. Soulution, Chord, D’Agostino, Saving Dianne Reeves and Lou McIntosh, darTZeel and a number of Rawls’ At Last [Blue Note CDP 7 others utterly destroying the notion 91937 2] for the end, the vocal duet of ‘solid-state’ sound, such that in the title track revealed a sweet, ABOVE: Dynamic power output versus distortion into valve lovers have to accept levels of natural-sounding midband that was 8ohm (black trace), 4ohm (red), 2ohm (blue) and previously unavailable warmth, the able to juggle such disparate voices 1ohm (green) loads. Maximum current is 31.1A No536 has arrived at a fecund time. with ease. I kept reminding myself On the one hand, the Levinson’s that this pair of amplifiers together job is made easier by the quality costs less than a number of single- now expected of such amplifiers, chassis stereo rivals, and yet it gives which it certainly delivers. On the you the channel separation that only other, the competition is tougher monoblocks can. Dianne and Lou, than ever before, and listeners are apart yet together: this amplifier forced not to search for absurd pair truly swings. measurements and hyper-naked sound, but to accept and/or prefer HI-FI nEWS VERdIcT sonic ‘personalities’ – and therefore It’s not as schizophrenic as you the differences – of each amp. think, and I am not calling it a ABOVE: Distortion versus extended frequency from Listening to Dino, Desi & Billy’s ‘Krellevinson’, but the No536 5Hz-40kHz at 10W/8ohm Our Time Coming LP [Reprise RS- does exhibit the effortless power 6194], recorded when McIntosh delivery associated with the post- HI-FI nEWS SPEcIFIcATIOnS tube amps were the peak of sonic Class A Krells. Interesting, too, o Power output (<1% THD, 8/4ohm) 530W / 870W attainment, the N 536 treated the the amp possesses a smoothness Dynamic power (<1% THD, 8/4/2/1ohm) 610W / 1115W / 1935W / 440W all-analogue, wide open sound with and warmth to counter its sheer a delightfully airy presentation. Not, muscle, so those old ‘fist in a Output impedance (20Hz–20kHz) 0.066-0.077ohm I hasten to add, the clean-scrubbed velvet glove’ analogies complete Frequency response (20Hz–100kHz) +0.00dB to –0.93dB effect of digitalia or overly-analytical the retro vibe. Best of all? For two Input sensitivity (for 0dBW/400W) 151mV / 2995mV (balanced) systems, but a sound akin to the big monoblocks of this calibre, the A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBW/400W) 98.7dB / 124.7dB transistor darTZeels. The irritating price is kinda retro, too. teenage squealing of their voices, Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, 10W/8ohm) 0.0093-0.11% against the best session men ever Sound Quality: 88% Power consumption (Idle/Rated o/p) 213W / 840W (each) seen in LA, was a portrayal of 0 ------Dimensions - 100 (WHD) / Weight 451x194x504mm / 53kg (each) textures that made you want to find
www.hifinews.co.uk| REPRODUCED FROM HI-FI NEWS Belt-driven turntable with electronic speed control and arm Made by: VPI Industries Inc., New Jersey & Harman Int. Ind., CA, USA Supplied by: Karma AV, York Telephone: 01423 358846 Web: www.marklevinson.com; www.karma-av.co.uk TURNTABLE Price (including arm): £10,000 Mark Levinson No515
When Mark Levinson wanted a turntable to partner its vinyl-friendly No523 and No526 preamplifiers it turned to fellow US brand VPI for help with the mechanical design Review: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul Miller
recedents are not hard to find for larger for the No515, and a 3D-printed worlds – the 3D-printed section mated collaborations such as this alliance arm tube and headshell. To show how far to the gimbal’. Instead of the four-pin between Mark Levinson and VPI. the transformation goes, the company Lemo connector from tonearm to plinth, You can go all the way back to the re-engineered its unipivot arm to house, the tonearm wires run directly to the Tandberg-badgedP Thorens TD-150s of 50 instead, a gimbal bearing and custom RCA sockets at the rear of the deck. years ago, or look to current efforts such as counterweight. Fine – I have a love/hate This arrangement also allows users to the Clearaudio-made McIntosh turntables relationship with unipivots, as most are experiment with cables from deck to or the plethora of machines Pro-Ject a pain to set up properly. phono stage, accepting any RCA phono-to- produces for others. The bottom line is Says Todd Eichenbaum, Director of phono signal leads, plus an earth wire. that – like Mac’s decks – the £10,000 Mark Product Engineering for Mark Levinson, Levinson No515 is not a case of badge- ‘The arm tube and headshell are a single PLATTER AND PLINTH engineering: it’s an all-new model that 3D-printed component directly derived For the plinth – a combination of features happens to be made for them by VPI. from VPI’s 3D-printed unipivot arm. and materials from several VPI models – The stainless steel gimbal assembly and the designers settled on top and bottom MEETING THE CHALLENGE counterweight, although designed by VPI, layers of 12.5mm-thick MDF wrapped with Visit the Levinson website, and you find out are not used on any VPI-branded decks. a tough, heat-applied vinyl sheet with just how closely the two manufacturers When we first began working with VPI, we additional damping to the MDF panels. worked, the ML crew admitting that their were shown a prototype tonearm that used The layers, besides being attached to each specialty is electronics, while VPI was eager this same gimbal assembly with a metal other with adhesive, are also clamped to rise to the challenge not just of making arm tube and headshell, and I was really together at the four corners with large, a record deck for another brand, but one taken with the sound of it. It offered very threaded Delrin and stainless steel posts. worthy of that brand’s particular ethos. precise and well-controlled imaging and The centre section is a single billet of VPI already showed it could do it with last soundstaging with a rock solid bass.’ machined 12.5mm-thick aluminium. year’s Shinola Runwell Turntable, and for For the No515, they used what Resting on Delrin foot pillars with that venture, the trick was making one Eichenbaum feels are ‘the best of both concealed rubber shock mounts, the No515 that respected the design language of a company that makes bicycles and wrist watches rather than hi-fi equipment. For the Levinson turntable, VPI had to emulate the standards of a no-compromise electronics brand, known for its superior metalwork and aesthetics as well as sonic performance. VPI already has its own catalogue of high-end decks, but Mark Levinson was not interested in simply putting its logo on a VPI, so a new look and stance was created in keeping with the electronics with which the turntable is likely to be paired – the phono-equipped No523 and No526 preamps [HFN Dec ’16]. For those familiar with the VPI range, the No515’s family tree would show roots in the VPI Prime [HFN Jun ’15] and Prime Signature [HFN Mar ’17]. Shared elements include the massive alloy platter, the sandwich plinth construction, but made
RIGHT: The 10in 3D-printed arm tube is culled from VPI’s JMW 10 3D tonearm but the latter’s unipivot is replaced here by a custom gimbal bearing and decoupled counterweight
Reprinted from Hi-Fi News | www.hifinews.co.uk also sports the same machined aluminium same sandwich construction as the plinth, ABOVE: The 48mm-thick, 8.5kg machined feet and rubber pads that are used on the its AC motor mounted directly to the thick aluminium platter and composite/alloy No534, No536 [HFN Sept ’16] and No585 aluminium plate in the sandwich. The rest sandwich plinth are both inspired by VPI’s Prime [HFN Apr ’15] amplifiers. These should of the motor housing is made from folded, Signature, but the motor and feet are ML’s own improve damping and isolation of the welded 2.3mm aluminium. plinth from external vibrations, and also Eichenbaum points out that ‘The price – the No515 was fed into my EAT allow for small height adjustments. aluminium is very rigid and well-damped, E-Glo phono stage, Audio Research REF6 Identical to those in VPI models are the and, unlike steel, it does not vibrate in preamp [HFN May ’16], McIntosh MC2102 inverted bearing and the response to any stray power amplifier and a fresh pair of Sonus platter. Says Eichenbaum, magnetic fields from faber Amatis [see p28]. As I had just ‘They both do their jobs ‘The bass was the enclosed motor been feeding that system with the vinyl admirably, and there was and transformers.’ The remastering of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper simply no compelling a foundation for control electronics [Apple 4553420602557], it was as good reason to make changes.’ utterly devastating comprise two a place to start as any. The 8.5kg platter is oscillators, one each for Wow! The nature of the bass was so machined from a single guitarwork’ 33.3rpm and 45rpm, different that I had to do the sane thing aluminium billet with a and a Class AB power and level the playing field by fitting my large disc of MDF attached to its underside amplifier. Two press-buttons operating in Air Tight PC-1 Supreme MC to separate to provide damping. A nice touch is the push-push fashion start the deck. the deck from the cartridge. While the personalised felt mat, with the Mark Cadenza Bronze is a fine performer, the Levinson legend across its surface. TIGHT TRANSIENTS PC-1 Supreme – at many times the cost – Reminiscent of TechDAS’s Air Force Arriving with a nice Ortofon Cadenza demonstrates greater refinement and a models, the No515 uses an outboard motor Bronze cartridge pre-fitted more lively top end. And a £10,000 deck assembly that sits in a niche to the left of – a circa-£1499 MC on like this should be (and was) able to handle the main chassis. The housing uses the top of the £10,000 any cartridge you’d care to fit. It quickly showed the Cadenza is LEVINSON’S LEVERAGE something of a bargain, and that the bass heard was Todd Eichenbaum, Director of Product Engineering for a feature of the No515 itself. Mark Levinson, detailed specific differences between the It reminded me of the SME VPI and ML decks. Beyond the cosmetics, he says, ‘The Model 30: so controlled and electronics are similar to VPI’s analogue drive system, but precise, yet somehow warm that are optimised for the No515’s motor. Having them built it managed to do what CD doesn’t, into the same housing is convenient from a system perspective: down below. You get slam and tight it minimises the amount of wiring, which mitigates radiated noise and transients, but without any artifice. provides a very direct connection to the motor itself. What benefited most from this lower ‘We use three belts to provide a somewhat tighter connection between the octave behaviour was Ringo’s drumming, motor and platter, reducing drag and and offering a slightly more extended and especially in the manic reprise just before accurate bass sound than a single belt. Having the motor housing and turntable ‘A Day In The Life’. The word that springs plinth physically separated reduces noise and vibration transfer from the motor, to mind is ‘visceral’, and the sensation it as you would expect.’ The armboard and VTA base are almost the same as VPI imparts is one of utter authenticity. uses, but the VTA base on the No515 is smaller. ‘No RCA jacks or Lemo connector, It’s all about pretending the musicians and the anti-skating mechanism is mounted directly to the rear of the VTA pillar.’ are in the room with you. The No515 is deliciously uncoloured in the manner
www.hifinews.co.uk | Reprinted from Hi-Fi News LAB REPORT
MARK LEVINSON NO515 Comparisons between this new No515 and VPI’s Prime [HFN Jun ’15] and Prime Signature [HFN Mar ’17] decks are useful, not least because they share a very similar, if not identical, 8.5kg platter and inverted bearing with hardened stainless shaft, chrome ball/PEEK thrust pad and phosphor bronze bushing. The No515 utilises a beefier AC synchronous motor and power supply [see inset picture, p39], benefiting start/stop times, but the triple belt drive also has the potential to transmit more noise into the platter. In practice, through-bearing noise is slightly higher in the No515 at –69.5dB (DIN-B wtd) versus –70.6dB for the Prime and –73.6dB for the Prime Signature which translates into a similar increase in through-groove noise. ABOVE: ML’s triple-belt drive system is clear to see as is a variant of VPI’s JMW Peak wow and flutter is comparable at 0.06% but our sample of tonearm base with its adjustable VTA tower. RCA sockets allow your choice of cabling the No515 was running about 0.5% fast [see Graph 1, below]. This will not be detectable by most listeners and, as I often of the company’s electronics, Radio City [Big Beat WIK 54] and mention, motors typically slow with age anyway. and was clearly voiced to match my all-time fave Big Star classic: The 10in 3D-printed polymer/resin arm tube is necessarily less rigid than a carbon or titanium-tubed design and so the them, but the vocals throughout ‘September Gurls’. The odd spelling first bending mode occurs at a low 96Hz with a series of higher weren’t merely showcases of hyper- tells you that this is a song like no frequency harmonic/torsional modes at 240Hz, 310Hz and detail. They enjoyed warmth and other, part-Byrds, part-Beatles, 365Hz [see Graph 2, below]. The headshell bending mode expression, adding poignancy to part-Left Banke. Its chiming sound, appears at 670Hz but all are reasonably well damped, in part courtesy of the tube’s foam infill and the cleverly decoupled ‘She’s Leaving Home’, which has punctuated by McGuinn-like guitar counterweight. The VTA adjustment pillar offers quick and easy always hit me with its almost cruel and heart-breaking vocals were ‘tweaking’ of arm height with no obvious compromise to the resolve, and elevating the charm of conveyed with exactly the mix of integrity of the arm structure. Similarly, the gimbal bearing is of ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’. power and delicacy required. exceptional quality, with friction less than 10mg in both planes while suffering no detectable play. It’s a precision partner for a Moving on to something gritty precision deck. PM POWERHOUSE PERCUSSION and funky, I dug out a brace of mono Ultimately, that LP challenges the Lee Dorsey LPs, Ride Your Pony/ listener with its long fade-out, Get Out Of My Life Woman [Amy before the rather irritating lead- 8010] and The New Lee Dorsey – out groove loop. The crescendo is Working In The Coal Mine/Holy Cow delivered by Levinson’s No515 with [Amy 8011]. Exemplars of the New faultless power and decay, which Orleans sound that dates back to the is as it should be. The Ortofon mid-’50s, when funk and rock began Cadenza managed this with total to temper the blues and jazz, these competence, but the deck and arm Allen Toussaint productions mixed proved their mettle with the Air punchy brass, barrelhouse piano, Tight PC-1 Supreme. The fade leaves sharp guitar and those rich vocals, you drained, only to be shocked with a lazy, swamp feel that says ABOVE: Wow and flutter re. 3150Hz tone at 5cm/sec back to the present with the lead- ‘Deep South’ without equivocation. (plotted ±150Hz, 5Hz per minor division). Wow is out groove nonsense. ‘Ride Your Pony’ was all I needed. very low but absolute pitch was +0.5% in our sample Looking for something with less The snap of the bass, the crisp polish, more energy and a boat- snare, the super-cool backing vocals load of angst, I turned to the most and the yackety sax coalesced underappreciated, underrated band into a gumbo of pure funk. The of all time: Big Star. From the debut Levinson No515 did not impose any LP, #1 Record [Big Beat WIK53] I restraint, nor did it lose any detail or listened to the raging, pre-punk atmosphere. This turntable is power of ‘Don’t Lie To Me’. Raunchy, a testimonial for analogue. twangy guitar, McCartney-esque bass, tortured vocals and any fears HI-FI NEWS VERDICT I might have had that the Levinson There was never any doubt that o N o 515 was too nice, too polite to the N 515 would be exceptional. ABOVE: Cumulative tonearm resonant decay deal with frenzy, eliminated the With the pedigree of Mark spectrum, illustrating various bearing, pillar and ‘tube’ instant the drums kicked in (0.7sec). Levinson and VPI, how could it vibration modes spanning 100Hz-10kHz over 40msec With a positively mental lead- be otherwise? While there are break worthy of the early Kinks, gains to be made in terms of the HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS punchy percussion and a surfeit of ultimate perception of mass or Turntable speed error at 33.33rpm 33.50rpm (+0.51%) attitude, the song presaged every grandeur in the sound, the next powerhouse band ever to bear steps up the scale mean doubling Time to audible stabilisation 5sec comparison with The Clash. the spend. If £10k is your budget, Peak Wow/Flutter 0.02% / 0.04% This turntable made an occasion and refinement with the option Rumble (silent groove, DIN B wtd) –67.9dB (–68.0dB with clamp) of it, continually thrilling with the to rock hard define your tastes, Rumble (through bearing, DIN B wtd) –69.5dB way it spread the drums across the add this to your list of candidates. room, and let the bass roll with Hum & Noise (unwtd, rel. to 5cm/sec) –55.1dB it, a foundation beneath utterly Sound Quality: 88% Power Consumption 10-23W devastating guitarwork. Left drained 0 ------Dimensions - 100 (WHD) / Weight 533x200x404mm / 26kg from that, I moved to the sequel,
www.hifinews.co.uk | Reprinted from Hi-Fi News Integrated amp with S/PDIF & USB DAC. Rated at 200W/8ohm Made by: Harman International Ind., Northridge, CA, USA Supplied by: Karma-AV Telephone: 01423 358846 Web: www.marklevinson.com; www.karma-av.co.uk INTE RATED AMPLIFIER Price: £10,500 ark evinson o
r - -r - p p - r mp r m rm - r r p r - - p John Bamford Paul Miller
ack in the 1980s when CD was employing 1 output devices or each used to provide power for ‘housekeeping’ new, marketing olks might channel in a double mono confi guration. At functions while the unit is in standby. erroneously have called the the heart of the amplifi er’s on-board digital Second, a larger one powers the digital and Mark Levinson No585 a ‘digital audio processing stage is an ESS Sabre control circuitry. Finally, eight linear power amplifi er’. A replacement for the old 32-bit D/A converter with proprietary jitter supplies, our per channel, provide power No383 100W integrated amp has been elimination and ully balanced, discrete to all the analogue circuitry. anticipated or many years, and when current-to-voltage circuitry. Separate outputs from a 900VA toroidal it was previewed at Munich’s High End The USB inter ace employs a USB trans ormer eed the le t power amp, the exhibition last summer it was revealed that audio processor rom C-Media capable o right power amp, and the le t and right it would be an all-encompassing integrated asynchronous data transfer of PCM fi les power supplies or the analogue preamp component priced at 10,500, eaturing a at up to 192kHz/32-bit resolution and circuitry. Four linear voltage regulators, built-in DAC and a suite of digital as well as DSD natively at both 64 and 128fs with two per channel, provide ‘a quiet, rock- analogue inputs. supplied ASIO drivers. steady power source or critical preamp Parent company Harman International The No585 has many separate power and DAC analogue circuitry’ says the design Industries, manufacturers of high-end Revel supplies, each optimised or its particular team. It employs individual signal switching loudspeakers and Mark Levinson electronics function. First, a small switching supply is relays or each o its analogue inputs, while – alongside BL Synthesis and Lexicon electronics, and JBL’s statement ‘Project’ speaker designs, in the conglomerate’s Luxury Audio Group division – has spent the past few years undergoing some major restructuring ‘in the background’ while maintaining its day-to-day operations.
A BEEF REPLACEMENT As a consequence, fresh-up Mark Levinson products have been relatively ew and ar between, exceptions during recent years being the awesome No53 fl agship monoblock priced at 3,500 [HFN Jan ’11] and, somewhat later, the No52 ‘Reference’ preamplifi er (£28,000) to partner them, an awesome two-box design which can lay claim to being one o the most desirable preamps in the world [HFN May ’14]. Recently Harman has opened a brand new electronics R&D facility in Connecticut, headed up by Todd Eichenbaum [see interview, p31]. The reorganised design team there is busy on a ra t o designs and this new ‘entry-level’ amplifi er is Mark Levinson’s fi rst integrated since 2006, when the No383 was discontinued. Rated at 200W/8ohm, the No585 is considerably more bee y than the No383 and is a fully balanced Class A/B design
RI HT: A single VA transformer with dual secondaries feeds independently-regulated supplies for the -transistor strong Class A/ power amp s and DAC section
EP O CE OM I I NEW www.hifi news.co.uk volume adjustment is via discrete 15-bit for governing display brightness, absolute ABOVE: Rotary source selector and volume R-2R resistor ladder networks and low-noise phase polarity, mute, balance (in 0.1dB controls are also used to navigate the amplifi er’s analogue switches. steps), and for entering the amplifi er’s confi guration menu, such as naming/trimming confi guration menu [see boxout]. inputs. They fl ank the unit’s red display COVERIN ALL BASES All functions, including standby on/off, As is typical of all Mark Levinson can also be accessed via the amplifi er’s IR ‘Scrubbing’ within tracks isn’t components, the No5 5 has been handset, a compact all-metal affair which supported, and if you’re pushing into designed with meticulous attention to is perhaps the product’s only let-down. It the amp’s USB input from a computer detail, in order to ensure e tremely high just doesn’t sit in the hand anything like and want to avoid using a keyboard and/ sound quality commensurate with its price. as satisfactorily as the stubbier and more or mouse, won’t you be navigating your It employs a heavy-gauge rounded handset that music collection using a control app on a chassis and card-cage accompanied the old phablet Surely most users will architecture to isolate ‘ lari i is eant integrated model (still A further button on the new handset, critical low-level analogue supplied for use with placed prominently in centre position, and digital circuitry, and to restore the Mark Levinson’s current turns the amplifi er’s ‘Clari-Fi’ processing features audiophile-grade full listening preamplifi ers). on/off. A function of the digital section’s internal components and Curiously, the new on-board DSP, Clari-Fi is a proprietary top-quality rear-panel e erien e ’ handset adds ‘transport’ ‘music restoration’ algorithm that claims connectors [see pic, p33]. keys – ne t, previous, to identify which music sources have been At the same time it features pause/play and stop – for controlling lossily compressed and, in real time, restore comprehensive functionality to computer audio playback via USB. Correct playback to the ‘full listening experience’. accommodate real-world installations functionality can’t possibly be guaranteed rather than simply appealing to ‘purist’ with all Mac and PC music playback FILTERS BURIED IN THE MENU knit-your-own-sandals types. It has software, however I can confi rm faultless As with Sony’s DSEE or Pioneer’s ‘Sound four analogue and si digital inputs to operation with foobar2000 and JR Media Retriever’ processing designed to enhance cover pretty much all possible source Centre running under indows – although the sound quality of compressed media, requirements and the fascia sports buttons I question its real usefulness. it’s moderately successful at adding clarity to low-bitrate audio, seemingly boosting ON THE MENU the 5-12kHz frequency region to add some pizzazz. Clearly, audiophiles will pay it As with the brand’s existing preamps – and the long defunct No383 integrated scant attention as it’s more appropriate to which this No585 replaces – there are myriad settings one can confi gure via the in-car audio and portable playback systems set-up menu. The analogue and digital input levels can be trimmed to even- than the pursuit of high fi delity er se – but out level differences between sources, inputs can be named as well (a most I did fi nd it quite effective when streaming desirable feature never to be overlooked) and minimum/maximum output YouTube videos and the like. levels determined – including the muting level. The No585’s line outputs can be Most owners surely will fi nd it a lovely confi gured to be fi xed level (for recording) or variable (to facilitate a ‘preamp amplifi er to use thanks to its easy-to-read output’), and if set to the latter and used to drive powered subwoofers there’s display and ultra-fi ne volume adjustment the option of switching in a 80Hz high pass fi lter. And any one of the amp’s in circa 0.1dB increments. Even the law of four analogue inputs can be chosen to act as a pass-thru’ for integration with a the volume control can be confi gured to surround processor if required. The DAC’s choice of ‘Sharp’, ‘Slow’ and ‘Minimum taste. Nevertheless, audio enthusiasts keen Phase’ digital fi lters for playback of PCM fi les [see Lab Report, p33] are also to experiment with the DAC’s fi lters on the selectable, as is a choice of 47, 50, 60 or 70kHz fi lters for when playing DSD fi les. fl y will rue the fact that the fi lter options are buried in the menu and not directly
www.hifi news.co.uk EP O CE OM I I NEW TODD EICHENBAUM
While Harman’s near- legendary design facility in Northridge, CA, continues to focus on speaker design, electronics such as its prestigious Mark Levinson components are now developed in Shelton, CT. Head of the new Shelton development team is Todd Eichenbaum, who joined Harman in Feb ’13 after spending a lifetime designing components for Krell Industries. In his youth he studied electronics engineering and after gaining his degrees he worked as a designer at Krell until 1995, leaving to work on a series on upmarket in- ABOVE: Fresh styling is a little ‘cleaner’ and more modern – while remaining characteristically car audio components for specialists ‘Mark Levinson’. Substantial heatsinks are encased within the chassis frame to avoid sharp edges Precision Power Inc. Three years later he returned to Krell as the company’s switchable via the handset. And when ‘relaxed’, with a smooth midrange and senior analogue engineer and was using the on-board DAC the amplifi er’s sweet treble but without ever appearing promoted to become Krell’s VP of display only indicates incoming sampling too creamy and mellow. product development in 2008. rate for a brief moment if and when Light-footed while simultaneously meaty Says Todd: ‘As a student I the sampling frequency changes. Mind and powerful, it’s every bit a high-end remember having what I would you, this is adequate to determine that performer, despite its ‘entry-level status’ call a life-changing moment when I your computer source has been correctly in the Mark Levinson product portfolio. It compared the amplifi er I then owned confi gured in the fi rst place. proved perfectly competent at e posing to a Mark Levinson. It was fantastic the de terous plucking by guest bassist in every aspect: detailed, three- SUPERB TRANSPARENC Alphonso Johnson and revealing his subtle dimensional, and just plain huge. It Feed any good quality source into the phrasing, where too often the clarity of was also completely unaffordable I o 8 and its sophisticated sound is the bass can be masked by the wallops of went home disappointed, but excited instantly apparent. Simon Phillips’ kick at having heard what was possible It appears as more drum in this ‘live take’ from high-end audio. powerful, ‘faster’ and ‘It is wonderful at AIX recording. ‘We’ve ten engineers focused more immediate than carrying musical It’s also wonderful on rejuvenating the Mark Levinson the o 8 of old a tad at carrying music’s product line. We’ve just showed more crisp and vivid. It infl ections and infl ections and accents. our latest No536 mono power amp just seems ‘cleaner’, and Whether it was with at CES, one of several ground-up it delivers more e plicit accents’ hi-res demo tracks or designs scheduled for release in the low frequencies, with any regular recordings near future.’ no soporifi c softening of leading edges in my current playlists, this new amplifi er through the midband and HF. threw a most musical, accurate and Revisiting the 96kHz/24-bit recording detailed soundstage in front of me. of the jazz/rock combo Vantage Point On New Moon Daughter [Blue ote (featuring drummer Simon Phillips and Japan TOCJ-5996] Cassandra Wilson’s pianist Jeff Babko) made for the DVD- opening ‘Strange Fruit’ had all the Audio album Resolution produced by Mark sumptuousness and atmosphere I’m Waldrep [AIX Records AIX 80040] revealed accustomed to hearing from this track, just how vigorous a performer the amplifi er with the cornet solo at the beginning is, and confi rmed its fi rst-rate transparency occupying a perfect space at the rear to fi ne detail. of the soundstage. The reverberation Waldrep’s hi-res productions are tails sounded convincingly natural. I was uncompromisingly e plicit, and this new entranced by the manner in which the amplifi er was excellent at showcasing amplifi er portrayed the atmosphere in the recording’s lifelike dynamics, and her psychedelic jazz re-working of Tommy it delivered images of the musicians Boyce and Bobby Hart’s classic ‘Last Train performing in a natural space in a most To Clarkesville’. convincing manner. All the while the And on Keith Richard’s under- sound remained endearingly luscious and appreciated solo album Main Offender
www.hifi news.co.uk EP O CE OM I I NEW LAB REPORT MARK LEVINSON NO5 5 Levinson’s 0-80 volume control (scaled in steps of 0.1 but not precisely ±0.1dB) is accurate to ±0.5dB over the top 60dB of its dynamic range. The No585 is also ery powerful, obliterating its 200W specifi cation with a 2x285W/8ohm and 2x455W/ 4ohm performance, increasing to 355W, 635W, 988W and 1211W (~35A at <1% THD) into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads under dynamic conditions [see Graph 1, below]. Distortion increases gently from 0.007%/1W to 0.02%/100W and 0.03% at the rated 200W (all at 1kHz) but also at very low frequencies – 0.05% at 20Hz and 2.5%/5Hz (10W/8ohm). The response is somewhat load-sensitive, extending down to –0.04dB/20Hz but varying at 20kHz from –0.1dB, –0.25dB, –0.5dB and –1dB into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm. The S/N ratio is healthy at 89.4dB (re. 0dBW). Tested via the pre-outs (power amp disabled) THD via the ABOVE: Two coaxial and optical S/PDIF digital ins plus USB and AES/EBU are joined S/PDIF and USB inputs rises quite quickly beyond 2.5V so a by three RCA analogue line ins (one pre out), one balanced XLR in and ‘Hurricane’ ‘standard’ 2V/0dBFs level was established at Vol = 61.4. THD is 4mm speaker terminals. System controls include Ethernet, RS232, IR and 12V triggers moderate but consistent at 0.04% (100Hz-20kHz, but 0.12% at 20Hz) and reaches a minimum of 0.001-0.0012% at –25dBFs [see Graph 2] while the A-wtd S/N ratio is a respectable 108dB [Virgin CDVUS 59] the amplifi er Studios) in 96kHz/24-bit resolution via S/PDIF and only slightly poorer at 105dB via USB. Low-level delivered the infectious verve of [DVD-Audio, Reprise 47620-9], when resolution is good to ±0.2dB over a 100dB range. The three the musicians’ performances with the bass trombone doubled by the digital fi lters infl uence response, stopband rejection and time domain ripple – ‘Sharp’ (–6.3dB/90kHz) is a conventional aplomb. Tracks such as ‘Wicked As It string bass suddenly go very deep brickwall type, ‘Slow’ (–9.6dB/90kHz) has the least pre/post Seems’ fi zzed with pent-up energy, indeed. So not only is the No585’s ripple but the poorest stopband rejection while ‘Minimum while on ‘Will But You Won’t’ I could midrange e traordinarily transparent Phase’ (–6.0dB/90kHz) offers an acceptable stopband rejection actually hear when the second and clean, it is also very revealing of (75dB), no pre-event ripple but the most post-event echo. guitar mic feed opened up, prior to low frequency detail. ‘Slow’ would be my choice for 96/192kHz music fi les. PM hitting the loud pedal and letting rip. And Vince Mendoza’s sumptuous orchestral arrangement in ‘At Last’ REVEALIN DEPTHS was served up with a tremendous All the while I’d been listening to the sense of space thanks to the amp’s amplifi er’s built-in DAC. So turning subjectively super-quiet background attention to the performance of – fi ne detail such as the quiet piano the No585’s DAC section I set up notes balanced low in the mi some straightforward comparisons, hovering like a halo above Mitchell’s listening in turn to a T+A DAC 8 [HFN cigarette-scarred contralto. Oct ’12] and Antelope Audio Zodiac In the world of high-end audio Platinum [HFN Feb ’15] hooked up to an integrated amplifi er might the amp’s balanced inputs. be considered something of a Differences in sonic presentation ‘compromise’, especially one with ABOVE: Dynamic power versus distortion into 8ohm were fascinating largely in terms of an on-board DAC. But not here, the (black trace), 4ohm (red), 2ohm (cyan) and 1ohm subjective tonality and ‘character’. Mark Levinson o 8 delivering (green) speaker loads. Maximum current is 34.8A The T+A sounded characteristically a powerful sound with superb vivid and razor-sharp, a tad more dynamic-range capability, smooth squeaky-clean, while Antelope’s and grain-free high frequencies, Zodiac (which costs almost as much an uncoloured, natural-sounding as the o 8 when partnered with midrange, and possessing the ability its Rubidium clock) appeared more to throw a wide, deep and stable robust, ‘organic’ and free-fl owing. soundstage. I could live happily ever I never felt the least bit short- after with it, it’s that good. changed listening to the No585’s built-in D-to-A converter – possibly HI-FI NEWS VERDICT because any qualitative variations Proof positive that you don’t have in using a more costly separate to have a rack-full of separate ABOVE: THD vs digital level over a 120dB range via line DAC can become masked by the boxes in your living room to enjoy out (S/PDIF 1kHz, red & 20kHz, black; USB 20kHz, blue) necessity for interconnecting cables. fabulous high-end music replay, There’s much to be said for having the No585 integrated unit sounds HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS everything integrated though simply sublime – and delivers Power output ( 1% /4 m) 2 5W / 455W future upgrading becomes less adequate power to drive even straightforward, of course. pretty demanding loudspeakers. ynamic power ( 1% /4/2/1 m) 355W / 35W / W / 1211W Due to the No585’s crisp Its built-in hi-res PCM and DSD- utput impedance (20 20 ) 0.025 0.130 m immediacy I sometimes thought it capable USB DAC makes it even Frequency response (20 100 ) 0.03 1.2 a little ‘lean’ in bass weight, only to more desirable for those wanting Input sensitivity ( r 0 W/200W) 25m / 3 5m ( ) be caught off guard by recordings a no-compromise set-up while A-wtd S/N ratio ( / ) .4 (0 W) / 10 . (0 ) containing true low-bass content. remaining resolutely clutter-free. One such moment came when istortion (20 -20 / ) 0.05-0.0045% / 0.12-0.040% listening to ‘Comes Love’ from Joni Sound Quality: 89% Power consumption ( / /p) W / 45W (1W ) Mitchell’s exquisite oth ides Now 0 ------ imensions - 100 (W ) / Weight 434 1 3 50 mm / 34 album (recorded in London’s Air
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