If you had the $$, would you pick up the Mark Lev. Ref. 40? (1 Viewer)

[Larry B]

Merc:

Back when I had my comp car...

Do you still have the RX-7? ("How'd he know that?", he wonders. )
Larry

 

[John Morris]

Do you still have the RX-7?

Larry B: Yup, although it is pretty stripped down now since I've been taking it to the Houston Drag Races. Doesn't even have a radio in it anymore...
Yes, I am wondering... must have known you from somewhere else? Industry meetings? RAO? Team ROCS?

 

[Larry B]

Merc:

Yes, I am wondering... must have known you from somewhere else? Industry meetings? RAO? Team ROCS?

None of the above. A while back I was (and in fact, still am) curious as to what company you're now with (since we're in the same field), so I checked the internet and your racing team came up. (BTW, I never did find out where you (claim to) work. )
And talk about coincidence: I race Formula Fords in the strictly amateur Bertil Roos series.
Larry

 

[Keir H]

Good luck John keeping up with all those "Suped up Civics" down here in Houston. It's like the Fast and the Furious every Friday, Sat. night.

It would be interesting to see a matchup (blind tested)of a ML No.40 and an Outlaw 950 using same speakers, cables, ect... I tell ya though, that's one purty machine...

 

[Larry B]

Keir:

It would be interesting to see a matchup (blind tested)of a ML No.40 and an Outlaw 950 using same speakers, cables, ect...

Have you ever compared a Levinson preamp with virtually any preamp processor? I have, including some of the best prepros available. A deaf person could hear the difference. It's like comparing a Civic to a 360 Modena.

Larry

 

[ling_w]

I actually believe its easier to get car audio to optimize sound than home audio. After all with car audio, you know with inches exactly where your heads going to be, so optimizing for the sweet spot is a far easier task. Plus all the speakers are closer, so they don't need to be as capable as home speakers to deliver an equal sound quality/

There is a very wide range of head positions. I would say it would be over an 1 foot diameter range. Plus, there is the front passenger they have to worry about. That is alot considering home systems are usually optimized for listener at the exact sweet spot.

Plus, they could never get rid of the problem caused by the glass everywhere, all in very close proximity causing horrendous 1st, 2nd, 3rd reflections. If they are getting good frontal imaging, they they have to be doing Bose direct/reflecting tricks.

I cannot say if this is a true ML product. Going from a home preamp that does not have bass/treble adjustment to a auto unit that has bass boost and auto-loudness. If this is not a Citation (I'm being generous) unit in disguise, I don't know what is. The most credit I could give it is Lexicon had put some input for auditory hearing models and Infinity used the Harman facility to design the speakers.

BTW, that does not look like a ML unit.

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Larry,

Why? Most of the time it's in "standby" and besides, do Levinson amps draw more current than other high-power amps?

I'm not sure if they are class A, B or AB. But I do know the amps I saw on his website used a 220V wall socket (the same kind as an oven or dryer) and thus I'd assume they draw a lot of current for why else would you need that much power?!? Needless to say those are so far out of my price range for an amp or preamp. But that's not the point of this post And if money's no object who cares about the electric bill
Brian

 

[ling_w]

I'm not sure if they are class A, B or AB. But I do know the amps I saw on his website used a 220V wall socket (the same kind as an oven or dryer) and thus I'd assume they draw a lot of current for why else would you need that much power?!?

The modern Class-A amps don't default to Class-A bias, but slides up and down based on voltage requirement and load. They require a 220v because of their capability to double in power into 1 ohm or less loads. Under those circumstances, they required the extra line voltage provided by the 220v circuit.

 

[Larry B]

LarryB:
You've been especially complimentary lately, which makes me fear your have an ulterior motive. Are you after my hyphen???
Larry-not-parting-with-my-hyphen-B

 

[rodneyH]

Larry, M classes are JUNK, my mom is on her 2nd (ML 430) what a POS that is, you have to spend over $50k on an MB to get a decent car.

Why everyone drools over Lexus' (specifically the LS) is beyond me, very very boring looks (looks like a 6 year old MB). I'd much rather have a MB S class, 2002 (NOT 03) BMW 7, or even a new infiniti Q. The LS owners are just like expedition owners, they think that since their neighbor has one, they need one too (sort of like Bose), personally, I am a M3 or 911 guy myself (you know what I like to hear in my car, and its not the stereo), so big boring luxury cars and SUVs don't even turn my head (unless it is a S55 or CL55)

As for the car audio, the arguement isn't the actual equiptment, but the accustics (leather, glass, laminated wood, etc....all makes for horrable reflections) I will admit that the ML unit in the Lex is probably the best out (just b/c I have way more faith in ML than I do Bose, infinity, etc....), but it is still can't compete with a great hole audio system

 

[ling_w]

I will admit that the ML unit in the Lex is probably the best out (just b/c I have way more faith in ML than I do Bose, infinity, etc....),

ML and Infinity are both under the same parent company Harman International. All speaker systems utilize Harman's accoustic research facility. I don't know how much experience ML has in designing speaker or optimizing car environment for cars. But I'm sure the experts under Harman (JBL and Infinity) had a hand on the ML unit. I am not even sure if the guys at Revel (another Harman subsidiary) had any involvement. They might make better speakers than Infinity or JBL, but they have no experience doing speaker/car interior integration.

It is all a marketing ploy. You don't see a Wilson, Krell or Meridian badges (some biggest or absolute best in high end brand) in cars even though they have more technology that could be migrated to the car environment (Krell has the whole lineup, Meridian has digital expertise and whole lineup) because they are not affiliated with any big international conglomerate.

That is why you will also see Lexicon systems in the new BMW, since Lexicon is under that Harman umbrella.

BTW, people who drive tombs that float like a boat are not real drivers.

 

[rodneyH]

wait, who ever said MarkLevison was similar to Bose???

yes, even MB can make junk, you should see the amount of warrenty work we have had done on the ML over the past few years, next time you are in an ML tap the plastic (pseuso wood) trim on the inside of the door. The E55 and CLK55 seem to be built buy totally different people than the ML, it is ashame (these are the only MBs I have driven extensively lately, so perhaps my opinion doesn't apply to the new C class, but I can say this, the ML55 isn't much better built than the ML 430, and 320)

 

[rich wu]

I would get a Mark Levinson No. 32 for 2 channel music and a Lexicon MC12B for HT. The combined is still less than the ML40 and it'll probably sound better. I am sure Lexicon will have more upgrades and cheaper than Mark Levinson.

 

[Norm Strong]

I do have the money, and I'm certainly not going to buy that thing.

 

[ling_w]

I would get a Mark Levinson No. 32 for 2 channel music and a Lexicon MC12B for HT. The combined is still less than the ML40 and it'll probably sound better. I am sure Lexicon will have more upgrades and cheaper than Mark Levinson.

Why would the MC12B sound better than the No.40? Since they are both subsidiaries of Harman International, there is no reason to intentionally make the lower tiered brand to be better than the higher tiered one. If Harman owned B&O, that might be one thing, but ML is a brand reputed for its sound quality.

Will Toyota allow any of its model to be better than Lexus' flagship model?

 

[rich wu]

Ling W,

My reply wasn't clear. What I meant to say was that the ML 32 will probably sound better than the No.40 in 2 channel music. Music in 2 channel has higher priority than HT for me.

 

[Ricky T]

Hey, do you guys think Classe gear is one step above Proceed and directly on par with Mark Levinson?

 

[rich wu]

Ricky,

Here's my opinon on Classe stuff:

CD players - same as Proceed

Processors/DAC - same as Proceed

Amps and preamps - most Classe amps are better than Proceed but not as good as Mark Levinson.

So overall, Classe makes very good stuff at more reasonable prices than Mark Levinson but Classe is not in the same class as Mark Levinson.

 

[rodneyH]

I agree with Rich 100%, it is my understanding that some Proceed stuff is designed by ML, and is for the "budget HT" crowd (not really budget, but more so than ML), while ML is more for the "all out audiophile, who also likes HT". Just my opinion. I like Classe more than Proceed (especially thier amps).