Amp Upgrade

Looking at possibly updating the amps in my system. I have two of particular interest. The Bricasti M28 and the Mark Levinson 536 both mono amps.

The M28 for obvious reasons since I have the M1 SE and there is definitely some synergy of them working together. If you have the M28 comment if you have the stillpoint and internal update or the original one.

ML amps no particular reason except its the pseudo flagship for them now. I really like the Parasound JC-1's but thinking either one or both of these could take my system to another level. Until I can hear them in my room I can't say. But in the meantime wondering if anybody has these amps driving ML speakers and would appreciate your comments.

GW1800 said:

Looking at possibly updating the amps in my system. I have two of particular interest. The Bricasti M28 and the Mark Levinson 536 both mono amps.

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I've been watching this thread with some interests since I am a Levinson fan, owning the classic 331. Your music system is on the stratospheric level for most of us mortals There may not be too many members here who are qualified to give you useful comments about the Bricasti or Levinson driving the CLX. I know I am not anywhere close to making comments with regards to the components asked, so I am on the sideline being a spectator for now.

I really like the Parasound JC-1's but thinking either one or both of these could take my system to another level. Until I can hear them in my room I can't say. But in the meantime wondering if anybody has these amps driving ML speakers and would appreciate your comments.

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If you're happy with the JC1 (awesome amp, by the way), I would think that the Pass Labs XA200.8 would make your list, but am surprised that it's not. Is there a particular reason Pass is not on your list? Just curious. I would like to learn your thought process just in the off case that I win the lottery!

Spike said:

I've been watching this thread with some interests since I am a Levinson fan, owning the classic 331. Your music system is on the stratospheric level for most of us mortals There may not be too many members here who are qualified to give you useful comments about the Bricasti or Levinson driving the CLX. I know I am not anywhere close to making comments with regards to the components asked, so I am on the sideline being a spectator for now.


If you're happy with the JC1 (awesome amp, by the way), I would think that the Pass Labs XA200.8 would make your list, but am surprised that it's not. Is there a particular reason Pass is not on your list? Just curious. I would like to learn your thought process just in the off case that I win the lottery!

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I have been watching too looking for a reply or any feedback. So far a lot of looking but you are the first response. Also my dealer is dropping off the Mark Levinson and Bricasti this Friday for me to test. So will know the answer fairly quickly.

To answer your question its the size of the Pass Labs - the depth is too large for my rack otherwise I see no issue with this amp. I have some space constraints at least for now that just rule out some amps like Pass Labs and Constellation to name a few. I'm have heard Pass Labs at shows and several on this forum have some already if memory serves me right. I am a little concerned about heat beyond the size issue as the Parasounds can get quite warm. I have installed rack fans to keep this under control but I think the Pass Labs will bring more heat beyond what my current setup can control.

Over the weekend I started to wonder what if the Parasound JC1's come close to these two. Hopefully one or both of these two will blow the Parasound out of the water but I agree with you its a great amp and we will see if these two are up to the task.

Well not a lot of help from the forum on this issue.

Got the 536's in Friday and ran to break them in some so they had about 75 hours on them by the time critical listening took place. I got the M28's yesterday at noon. The M28's already had many hours on so just plugged them in and ran so that when I got home they were completely warmed up. With my setup it was a real easy choice the M28's won handily. The single biggest thing they did were to increase dramatically the sound stage front to back. I always had good left to right which also got better but not a lot of depth. The difference was like listening at a concert from 10th row or being in the first row it was that dramatic. Because of that the soundstage was more three dimensional as far a individual placement of instruments or singers. The ML did not do very well at all in this category. It did however bring just a bit more bass that I liked and the sound was very detailed. I really liked the workmanship and the handsome looking ML. Even the speaker wire posts seemed of higher quality. Beleive me in my setup it would of been a lot easier to just go with the 536's but sonically could just not justify. In my setup the ML came up short but I'm confident it is a good unit and will perform very well in some other setup.

In the end, you get the product that you like the sound of most. I must say, both appear to be very competently designed performers, of sufficient power output, that I am very surprised that either of them imparted any "sound" to the equation.

I am just happy to see some audio related posts..

C.A.P said:

I am just happy to see some audio related posts..

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:music:

Yes!

GW1800,
Interesting finding (as I was suspecting) that the Bricasti outperformed the Levinson. I am glad that you've found a 'perfect' match for your system. Now, to keep things in perspective, would you be happy with the Levinson, had you not auditioned the Bricasti? In other words, if the Bricasti M28 does not exist, would you be happy with the Levinson? Also, how did the JC1 fare in comparison with these BIG boys?

Thank you for updating this thread with your comparison.
Spike

Congrats, I too was not familiar with the brand so for those interested here's a little light reading ........

http://www.bricasti.com

Enjoy, hope they bring you countless hours of enjoyment !

Spike said:

GW1800,
Interesting finding (as I was suspecting) that the Bricasti outperformed the Levinson. I am glad that you've found a 'perfect' match for your system. Now, to keep things in perspective, would you be happy with the Levinson, had you not auditioned the Bricasti? In other words, if the Bricasti M28 does not exist, would you be happy with the Levinson? Also, how did the JC1 fare in comparison with these BIG boys?

Thank you for updating this thread with your comparison.
Spike

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Spike - Interesting that you though the Bricasti would out perform the 536's. What do you base that on?

Going on to your "Would I be happy with the Levinson if I never auditioned the Bricasti" I think the simple answer would be yes but I would of struggled justifying the big price difference. Also maybe after thinking about the cash difference for awhile I would of said no just as well. It would of been a much harder choice since the Parasound is a very good performer and like I said I have been happy just wanted to see what could do more. Put another way the external optics and physical appearance are better then the Parasound but with only some gains sonically. That is not to say the JC1's looks awful they are a little more plain looking once you have the two side by side. I felt the 536 was more detailed and very smooth yet the Parasound and 536 had a very similar bass signature. I would not at any time bash the JC1 they are very good and at their price point I would say probably none better. With the 536's over 3 times the price and slightly edging them out I think that says volumes. Shawn is putting my black JC1's up for sale for those interested.

Back to the Bricasti I think part of the magic that is missing with any other amp is the M1 and M28 are designed to work together as an ideal match. I don't totally understand completely yet but suffice to say the end result is very special. For those not familiar with Bricasti its made up from some former Levinson people. I'm very happy with my M1SE DAC if you search there are some very good reviews. Note that from the original there are been 2-3 updates the latest about 6 months ago. They say I should have them by Xmas will send pictures as I'm getting a special that is all black with polished front buttons and feet to match my M1

Interesting that you though the Bricasti would out perform the 536's. What do you base that on?

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It was more of a hunch than anything else. First, a disclaimer that I am a Levinson fan, at least up to the 33x series. That said, I've been having some doubt with Levinson gear since Harman Kardon took over Madigral. As a Harman product, I've read too many complaints/posts that Levinson is not what it used to be. I don't have any direct experience with their recent products so I cannot comment. When I was doing my amp research last year, my search led me to the 33x series and not the newer ones. I ended up with the 331 amp. That said, I was hoping that the 536, being a statement product, would be able to hold its own versus the Bricasti.
With regards to the hunch on Bricasti, I know of John Newton through a friend who was in the recording business, and I do respect his opinion on audio.
Youtube Link to John Newton on Bricasti M28