Not sure what to buy (Levinson 502, Meridian G Series other)

[The Kipnis Studios]

I would recommend the Levinson!

They have taken on a design element which is rare to find elsewhere.

And, while I love Meridian, it is a closed system, really requiring their equipment and speakers to fully realize their design.

In my opinion, it can sometimes sound a little bit on the sterile, electronic side - much like SACD in general.

Otherwise, I find Bob Stuart's engineering on par with the finest on the planet!!!

[spearl8]

Hey Jeremy,
Is the Levinson 502 not having HDMI 1.3 a reason not to buy it? How good do u think the CD quality will be on this unit? Also, once again thanks for the demo at your house a couple months ago.

[The Kipnis Studios]

Originally Posted by spearl8

Hey Jeremy,
Is the Levinson 502 not having HDMI 1.3 a reason not to buy it? How good do u think the CD quality will be on this unit? Also, once again thanks for the demo at your house a couple months ago.

I am so happy you enjoyed yourself, here at KSS. We will be concluding formal demonstrations at the very end of August 2008.

If anyone is interested in joining us, please contact me to schedule an appointment.

As to the Levinson 502, I think it depends what you are expecting. My experience with their products (over the last 25 years) shows that they are potentially a better value sonically than some other choices, like the Meridian G Series.

Could you describe the other components in your system, again?

[pfslai]

Let's hope ML have their volume control knobs issues fixed. My pre-amp's knob had to be replaced. Same thing happened to the stereophile review's unit. Replacement was just basically a quick while you wait snap on but still a bit of a pain.

[pfslai]

For me, being more of a two channel audiophile, the dilemma is also how good of a 2 channel amp the ML 502 and the Krell 707 are. For example how would the ML 502 compare in terms of 2 channel performance to their own 326S and how would the Krell 707 compare to their own Evolution 202? It would be interesting to see what the respective manufacturers have to say. The problem is I suspect that the stand-alone 2 channel preamps would still be sonically better.

[kennyt]

I think right now is a tough time to pick a reference an AV preamp. This is sort of obvious as Jerry and I have been talking for weeks about just what to buy and we do not know!!!!! The AV world has been turned on it's head the last few years, and even the best of the best may be only first drafts..... Hopefully, all the new stuff that is finally stating to come around will start to give us choices.

I think the Meridian gear is awesome, very musical and sweet sounding with tons of air and weight, which I love, I have heard the ML 502 and it sounded very good, though I didn't hear it in my system, it was in an al ML/Revel system, so man if it didn't sound good, that would be a big problem! I am looking forward to hearing the Krell Evo 707, apart from being one of the most manly and massive preamps I have ever seen, it holds great promise for analog as well as digital audio, as does the ML 502.....

This gets us back to the problem, what do you buy??????