Mark Levinson No. 33H Monoblock Amplifiers

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General:

Despite being massively overbuilt these unique amplifiers are capable of delivering delicate, detailed, yet powerful presentation.

Based on the flagship No. 33, the 33H (meaning half of a 33) provides 150W per side into 8 Ohms and 300W into 4 Ohms making it a perfect match for high efficiency speakers like Wilson.

Features no less than four 60,000 uF worth of capacitors (that totals an astounding 1/4 Farad), enough to take down a elephant at full speed.

The most interesting thing about the design is that it employs an AC regeneration system for the input and driver stages so you are essentially getting an amplifier and an AC regenerator in one box.

This results in a 175 lb package (each amp) which doesn't take as much room as you would have guessed since it sits upright and can be tucked behind the speaker in a large room.

We've gone through each amplifier to make sure they are working perfectly and found no issues whatsoever. They are currently configured for 220V/240V with a matching plug as the previous owner plugged these into a dedicated power circuit in his special HiFi room for best results.

The ideal cables would be a set of Transparent Opus MM2 which were custom matched by Transparent to this amplifier. See link to them below.

Brand Background:

After working in various recording studios and, as legend has it, creating the sound mixer for the Woodstock Music Festival, Mark Levinson began hand-crafting high-end stereo components. His first product, the LNP-1, was a rack-mounted system with two large VU meters and a high performance op-amp module. And with every subsequent product, the legend grew.

Ownership:

Second Owner

Connections:

• Dual parallel sets of speaker binding posts accepting spades
• 220/240 Power Plug
• XLR and RCA inputs 
• RJ-45 Mark Levinson Proprietary Link Ports

General Sound:

Neutral sound with little to no coloration 

Cosmetic Condition:

7 - Some Wear and Light Scratches. Click here to learn more about our rating scale.

Working Condition:

Working perfectly and tested in our lab.

Included:

Just the two amplifiers and captive power cords.

Packing & Shipping

Will be packed using our highly developed in-house process and custom packing materials.

Shipping via freight w/insurance strapped to a pallet for a flat $575 within the lower 48 US States. This will be automatically added to your cart during checkout unless you select local pickup. We also ship worldwide and can courier for a fee within 50 miles of our ZIP 07452. Contact us for a quote.

Original MSRP:

$19,950.00

Dimensions - EACH:

11" (279mm) W by 18.5" (470mm) H by 22.88" (581mm) D. 

Weight:

175 lbs each mono amplifier. 350 lbs both amplifiers.

Age:

2000

Reviews:

Click Here

Link to Manual:

Click Here

Recommended Cables:

Transparent Opus MM2 - specially matched by Transparent for these amplifiers:

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Better

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Best

Kimber Kable - BALANCED XLR Connectors - Better

Kimber Kable - BALANCED XLR Connectors - Best

Kimber Kable - Speaker Cables - Better

Kimber Summit Series Monocle XL Speaker Cables (PAIR) - Best

Kimber Summit Series BiFocal XL Bi-Wire Speaker Cables (PAIR) - Best If Applicable 

Testing Process:

We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCBs for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR.

If the amplifier passes visual inspection, we move on to a controlled power on sequence using a Sencore safety analyzer to monitor current draw in real time. Once the amplifier is determined to be safe to operate, we connect it to full AC mains for function and power testing. We connect the speaker outputs of the amplifier to a Sencore PA81 Power Analyzer which acts as a dummy load, DC offset monitor, and oscilloscope interface. We start with a low level 1KHz test signal at the amplifier’s input and slowly increase its amplitude while monitoring the output on an oscilloscope for signs of noise, clipping, distortion, or improper channel balance. We continue increasing the signal level until the amplifier reaches clipping. At this point we take an output power measurement and compare it to the spec sheet of the amplifier to verify proper performance. If the device under test has both balanced and single ended inputs they are both tested at this time. We finish off the bench evaluation with a 1KHz square wave check and a 20Hz to 20KHz sine sweep to assess the amplifier’s frequency response characteristics. This battery of tests will usually reveal if the amplifier has any issues that need further attention.

Before the device leaves the bench, we perform a listening test with actual music using a variety of preferred test tracks. Our benches are outfitted with familiar monitor speakers which help us identify inconsistencies that will not always show up on our test gear. The main things that we are listening for are hum or noise with no signal present, proper center image, clicks, pops, or any other obvious undesirable audio characteristics.

If the unit passes all of these tests it is moved to our long term testing rig where we simulate real word operating conditions for 6-8 hours. This allows us to monitor the unit for signs of thermal runaway or intermittent issues that only crop up when the unit has fully come up to temperature."

Specs:
Rated continuous-power outputs: 
150W into 8 ohms (21.8dBW)
300W into 4 ohms (21.8dBW)
600W into 2 ohms (21.8dBW)
1200W into 1 ohm (21.8dBW)

Frequency response:
20Hz - 20kHz @ 0.5% THD

S/N ratio:
Better than 80dB (ref. 1W)
Better than 105dB (ref. full output)

Input impedance:
100k ohms balanced
50k ohms unbalanced

Output impedance:
0.05 ohms, 20Hz - 20kHz

Damping factor:
Greater than 800 at 20Hz

Input sensitivity:
130mV for 2.83V output
1.59V for full-rated output

Voltage gain:
26.8dB

Typical power consumption: 
540W ±5% at idle
210W ±5% in standby