High End 2016 • Hot Product

Unveiled at High End were additions to Mark Levinson's preamplifier and power amplifier lines. The No.523 preamplifier ($15,000) is based on the No.526, but it doesn’t include a DAC or the Harman's Clari-Fi "music-restoration" technology. The No.523 is a dual-mono, class-A, balanced preamplifier with six inputs and a Pure Phono stage with four gain settings and multiple cartridge loading options as well as an infrasonic filter. The analog output is via single-ended or balanced connections, and there is a Main Drive headphone output that utilizes the full power supply of the No.523 and is thus very load tolerant.

The No.534 ($20,000) is a stereo power amplifier based on the No.536 monoblocks, one mono amp split into dual-mono channels that deliver 250Wpc into 8 ohms and double this down to 2 ohms. Inputs are balanced and single-ended, and there are USB and RS232 ports for monitoring and network control.