Mark Levinson No.523

Sunny Components Inc,
Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri 10.00am-6.00pm.Sat-10am-4pm Closed on Sunday and Monday.

1370 E Cypress St Ste D,E Covina CA-91724 USA
Tel: 626-966-6259. Fax: 626-966-5467. Cell: 626-975-1353.
Email: [email protected].
Store website: www.sunnyaudiovideo.com

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finest service and know how and expert setup from Electrical power to
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Preamplifiers / Phono.
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We are selling 1 ea Mark Levinson No 523 Pre-Amplifier with a wonderful Phono Pre-Amplifier.
This unit is a Analog lovers DREAM

Ask us about a complete system package.
We have some great speakers by Wilson Audio, Stenheim, Martin Logan T+A, Vandersteen, Vivid Audio and more...Look us up.

Highlights

• Pure Path discrete, direct coupled, fully balanced, dual-monaural signal path
• Class-A Main Drive Headphone output for up to 32-ohm headphones using main circuit
• Designed and handcrafted in the USA

• Discrete, balanced R-2R Ladder volume control for precision and performance
• Six analog line-level and phono inputs; balanced, single-ended, and headphone outputs

• Class-A Pure Phono stage with physically separated channels for MC and MM
• Selectable fourth-order, 80 Hz high-pass filter allows seamless integration of subwoofers

№ 523

The
Mark Levinson № 523 is the definitive preamplifier for the analog music lover. Six
line-level analog and phono inputs travel through the Mark Levinson proprietary
Pure Path discrete, direct-coupled, fully balanced, dual-monaural signal path
for breathtaking purity and performance. With precision control including a
discrete, balanced R-2R Ladder volume control, class-A Pure Phono stage, and
class-A Main Drive Headphone output, the № 523 preamplifier delivers an
uncompromising performance regardless of analog source. Housed in a 6000-series
aluminum chassis, like all Mark Levinson equipment, the № 523 is designed and
handcrafted in the USA.

Mark Levinson Pure Path Circuit
Design

Since 1972, Mark Levinson has been dedicated to
the uncompromising art of sound, with the guiding principle of musical purity
above all else. To achieve that goal like never before, Mark Levinson engineers
scoured company archives, ultimately developing a circuit-design philosophy called
Pure Path. On a conceptual level, its hallmark principles include a discrete,
direct-coupled, fully balanced, dual-monaural signal path that delivers
unrestricted, uncompromised sonic purity.

Far from merely arranging high quality
components in an intelligent manner, Pure Path is the meeting of science and
art: Mark Levinson engineers are tasked to create the best possible measured
AND subjective performance. To quote Albert Einstein: “Everything should be
made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

Pure Path highlights in the № 523 include Folded Cascodes, an R-2R
Ladder volume control, the class-A Pure Phono stage, and class-A Main Drive Headphone
amplifier output.

Analog Mastery: The Folded
Cascode

Mark Levinson components are designed around a
Pure Path amplifier circuit concept that makes heavy use of a circuit design element
called a cascode. Originally created for improving the bandwidth of vacuum tube
circuits in radios, Mark Levinson engineers deploy cascodes in Pure Path
circuit designs to both improve bandwidth and enhance linearity. A cascode
combines two transistors so that they operate as a single composite device that
functions like a single transistor, using the wanted characteristics of each
component transistor, and rejecting the unwanted characteristics.

Mark Levinson engineers began their design of
the preamp gain stage with pairs of JFETs (junction field-effect transistors),
chosen for their low noise and high gain. JFETs achieve these characteristics
in part by being large, and with their large size comes nonlinear gain – or
distortion. To mitigate this, BJTs (bipolar junction transistors) were added to
the circuit. The BJTs exhibit very low input impedance and very high output
impedance, which translates to excellent bandwidth and linearity. By creating a
cascode of the JFETs and BJTs, they created a design with the best
characteristics of both sets of devices.

Engineers than connected the output of the
cascode to another transistor of the opposite “gender.” Current flows through
it in the opposite direction to “turn around” the direction of the signal
current. This special connection is called a Folded Cascode and it is a
hallmark of the Pure Path circuit: high gain with low noise, wide bandwidth,
and excellent linearity.

Superior Volume Control: The
R-2R Ladder

The basis of many volume controls is the
venerable analog potentiometer – a device with a number of performance
drawbacks. The mechanical connection wears out, creating scratching or
crackling noises; it is nearly impossible to manufacture an identically performing
pair, and mismatches in a stereo pair can cause level imbalances between the
two channels; and due to their varied reaction to parasitic capacitances at
different volume settings, the sound changes depending on where the volume is
set. Rather than attempting to improve upon this flawed design, Mark Levinson
engineers abandoned it. Instead, they employed a complex circuit architecture
called an R-2R Ladder.

In the R-2R Ladder, a string of resistors, all
with identical resistance (R), form
the side of the ladder, with another set of resistors forming the rungs, all
identically with double the resistance (2R).
This unique circuit takes whatever current appears at its input and
successively divides it in half at each “rung” of the ladder. Different combinations
of “rung” currents can then be selected and added together, precisely
delivering nearly any output current, and thereby, volume setting.

An R-2R Ladder is a highly accurate device. The
currents through the rungs are determined by fixed resistors, capable of very
tight tolerances, able to be closely matched to one another in value. Analog
switches “steer” the currents, are precision devices, and have no mechanical
contacts to wear out. In short, the R-2R Ladder solves all the problems
inherent to potentiometer-based volume controls. That’s why it is a cornerstone
of Mark Levinson Pure Path design philosophy.

Military Grade Components

All Mark Levinson equipment employs electronic components
carefully chosen for their specific task. Gain-stage JFET pairs have high gain,
low noise, low distortion, and because they are encapsulated in the same
package, the two devices operate under nearly identical conditions. Capacitors
used in critical filtering locations are film types, noted for their consistent
performance regardless of temperature and frequency. Finally, resistors in
critical gain-setting and feedback locations use tantalum nitride thin-film
elements. An extremely costly material, tantalum nitride typically finds use in
sensitive military equipment because it is unusually stable with respect to
temperature, exhibits very low noise, and is unaffected by magnetic fields. In
fine audio equipment, those characteristics make the sound even more revealing
and effortless, free of the low-level nonlinearities caused by lesser resistive
materials as they heat and cool under dynamic conditions. Housed in an aircraft-grade 6063-T5 extruded
aluminum chassis, the № 523 features extremely high build precision, to exceedingly low tolerances.

Pure Phono: Class A for a
Classic Medium

Preamplifying
from turntable to line level can a difficult task, and it is an area where some
equipment makers skimp on components and design. The № 526 and № 523
preamplifiers introduce a new Mark Levinson phono stage, Pure Phono, itself
following Pure Path design principles including discrete design, free of op
amps. The Pure Phono stage operates exclusively in class A throughout,
employing tantalum nitride thin-film resistors polypropylene capacitors with
punishingly low tolerances. The Pure Phono stage also contains physically
separated channels and balanced inputs for purity.

The Pure
Phono stage offers a fixed-gain MM section with five capacitive
cartridge-loading settings, and an MC section with three gain settings and 10 resistive
cartridge-loading settings. And an ultrasonic filter intelligently compensates
for rumble and warping.

Completing the Signal Path

The № 523 offers five line-level analog inputs: two balanced (XLR),
three single-ended (RCA), in addition to the Pure Phono (RCA with grounding
pin) input. The preamplifier delivers its signal to balanced (XLR) and single-ended
(RCA) stereo outputs, as well as a 1/4-inch (6.3mm) Main Drive Headphone output
integrated into the front panel metalwork – a first for Mark Levinson.

The Main Drive Headphone amplifier
circuit
drives up to 32-ohm headphones in class A by employing the main output circuit
rather than a secondary signal path: a perfect example of reducing clutter in
the circuit design.

A selectable
fourth-order, 80 Hz high-pass filter enables seamless integration of a single
or dual subwoofers for full-range performance with a wide range of loudspeaker
setups.

System-integration connectivity
includes Ethernet/IP control, RS-232, USB for monitoring and configuration via
web page, plus 12V triggers and an IR input. An included machined metal remote
delivers the robust feel and precise control befitting of a component of the
preamplifier’s caliber.

Designed and Handcrafted in the USA

Like all Mark Levinson equipment, the № 523
is proudly designed and handcrafted in
the USA. A dedicated Engineering Center of Excellence in Shelton, CT
houses Mark Levinson engineering and product development, just a state away
from small-batch production at Mack Technologies in Westford, MA by a team of
craftsmen who bring all Mark Levinson equipment to life.