Mark Levinson is one of those brands you can’t evade being an audiophile. For over 40 years this American firm has been working, with its ups and downs, to gain a spot in the audiophile landscape. Thanks to being bought by Harman Intenational Group the firm got a big boost to introduce nice and innovative product lines. This enabled the firm to rise in the last couple of years, and not undeserving. Thanks to their superior finishing and dito audio quality the brand, even with the high price tags, a reference for those who want only the very best. For this test we worked with the N°326S preamp and two N°531H mono blocs and we’ll see if we can add this set to our ‘audiovideo2day reference list’.
Mark Levinson
For those who’re not that familiar with Mark Levinson, we’ll present some facts. In 1972 this American brand was born in New Haven, Connecticut as MLAS: Mark Levinson Audio Systems. Founded of course by Mark Levinson, the brand first produced high quality equipment for the audio lover late 70’s. With the introduction of the JC-1 preamp in its founding year, the brand immediately created a benchmark. Tube amplifiers were in their heydays, and with a Solid State design, Mark Levinson wanted to bring forth a more powerful and reliable alternative, without diminishing the musicality.
Throughout the years the brand developed reference stereo amps which many of you will remember fondly. The last couple of years Mark Levinson has been making a comeback on the audio market. The brand has been part of the Harman International Group since 2002, which also contains Revel, Lexicon, and JBL Synthesis. Under the wings of this big player a fresh wind is blowing through Mark Levinson, reconfirming their spot as the leader of the highend market. Even in the automotive business, Mark Levinson has earned its marks. In 2006 they integrated a surround sound system in the Lexus GS sedans.
