Mark Levinson No. 585 Integrated Amp

[musichal]

Well, in a previous thread (three in all, this is 2nd) [ http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/in...separates-to-integrated-amp-long-post.788690/ ]I mentioned an Audiogon seller who I failed to come to terms with on a used No. 585. He called me an hour or two ago because, though he had sold his, another seller had contacted him to find whether he'd had any serious inquiries. The long and short of it is that I have ordered a 6-month old, pristine No. 585 from an authorized dealer who took it in on trade for ML separates, that should be shipping out this week. Original box, remote, cord, of course.

I am excited. The amp includes a killer good DAC built in, making it a great value for its used price. My goal was to buy my last (main-system) amplifier, and this is the one.

Description: No. 585 solid-state integrated stereo amplifier.

Preamplifier section:
Analog line-level inputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 3 pairs single-ended (RCA) inputs.
Analog outputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA).
Input impedance: >45k ohms (RCA, XLR).
Input overload: >5.5V RMS (RCA, XLR).
Voltage gain, maximum volume setting: 40.7dB.

Preamplifier section (digital):
Digital audio inputs: 1 balanced AES/EBU (XLR),
2 coaxial S/PDIF (RCA),
2 optical (TosLink),
1 asynchronous (USB-B).
Bit depths: up to 32.
PCM sampling rates: 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz.
DSD: Up to DSD256.

Amplifier section:
Speaker connections: 1 pair banana/spade connectors with hurricane knobs.
Output power: 200Wpc into 8 ohms (23dBW), 20Hz–20kHz. THD: <0.01% at 1kHz, 200W into 8 ohms.
Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.13dB; 2Hz–250kHz, +0.2dB/–3dB.
Output impedance: ±0.02 ohm into 20Hz.
Damping factor: >400 at 20kHz into 8 ohms.

Mains voltage: 100V, 115V, or 230V AC at 60Hz (set at factory).
Power consumption: 1000W maximum (power on) into 8 ohms at rated output.
Controller connectors: 1 RS-232 port (RJ-12 connector);
1 IR input (1/8" phone jack);
1 programmable 12V DC trigger output (1/8" phone jack), 100mA maximum;
1 programmable 12V DC trigger input (1/8" phone jack);
1 Ethernet port (RJ-45) connector;
1 USB-A input.

Dimensions: 17.1" (438mm) W by 6.8" (175mm) H without feet
or 7.5" (193mm) H with feet by 19.8" (507mm) D.
Weight: 71.7 lbs (32.6kg) net, 95.5 lbs (43.4kg) shipping.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/mark-levinson-no585-integrated-amplifier-specifications

Christine kicked in a grand for combined birthday/Xmas gift, Santa's early, bd late.
What a gal.​

 

[MikeT.]

Hooray! What a wonderful birthday and Christmas gift. Oh what our significant others do for us. Wow, what a good looking amplifier. The DAC is indeed killer. Shipping weight just under a hundred pounds....wow.

Congrats. The Klipschorns are gonna love this beauty.

 

[mgosdin]

I'm glad you got what you were looking for. A beauty indeed, oh and the amp is nice looking too.

Mark Gosdin

 

[davidb1]

71 lbs!

 

[SPEC2man]

I'm a longtime Levinson fan ...

 

[SPEC2man]

I bet it's going to be a sweet setup,

Good luck.

 

[stish]

Congratulations on finding your desired "last amp". It is an absolute beauty, and will no doubt provide endless hours of pleasure.

 

[whyaskit]

Awesome. Not to many amps that I truly get envious over but this is one of them.

Enjoy!

 

[musichal]

"Specified at 200Wpc into 8 ohms (23dBW), the No.585 exceeded
this power output by 1dB, clipping at 250Wpc into 8 ohms with both channels driven (fig.20).
Into 4 ohms with both channels, the Levinson clipped at 390Wpc (22.9dBW, fig.21),
though it is fair to note that the wall voltage had dropped from 122V AC with the amplifier quiescent to
117.5V AC at the clipping point into this load. When I repeated the test into 2 ohms with one channel driven,
the No.585 turned itself off at 395W (fig.22), its front panel displaying "Over Current."
Again, unplugging the amplifier from the wall restored it to normal operation."
- JA, from Stereophile link above
​

Maybe it's just enough power for Klipschorns.

 

[Todd Dodds]

Congratulations. That was pretty good of the original seller to hook you up with this one.
Looking forward to your review, and that of your silent partner investor.

 

[whoaru99]

I know my ML No. 23 is a beast with a pair of Thiel CS3.6.

I'd expect the 585 probably won't even know there are speakers connected if the comment about Khorn is true.

 

[guiller]

Congratulations!!!!!

 

[musichal]

I know my ML No. 23 is a beast with a pair of Thiel CS3.6.

I'd expect the 585 probably won't even know there are speakers connected if the comment about Khorn is true.

Well, I guess I could use it in the bed-room with Fortes, or the guest room with Debut B6, or Minimus 7 in MIL's room, but Khorns-on-the-Main it is... maybe someday I'll get real speakers but until then I'll limp along as best I can. Life should be easy for this amp.

whoaru99 has one of these ML amps





No. 23 Power Amp
nice, love the heat fins​

 

[Mark B]

Congratulations!

I really like the design.

 

[Mister Pig]

Awesome news! Glad to hear the seller of the other unit was willing to go out of his way to link up you and the dealer. Sounds like you are getting a fantastic unit, heck its only has a few months worth of use. And you get credit card protection and don't have to pay a Paypal fee. It sounds like just the perfect deal to come along at the right time. I am sure you will love the sound.

Now we have to talk about speaker wire and interconnects LOL.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[musichal]

Awesome news! Glad to hear the seller of the other unit was willing to go out of his way to link up you and the dealer. Sounds like you are getting a fantastic unit, heck its only has a few months worth of use. And you get credit card protection and don't have to pay a Paypal fee. It sounds like just the perfect deal to come along at the right time. I am sure you will love the sound.

Now we have to talk about speaker wire and interconnects LOL.

Regards
Mister Pig

The Audiogon seller with whom I failed to seal a deal, I stated in the other thread "triggered my BS-ometer." While I did not like the idea of sending a stranger that much cash, I do regret writing the BS thing. Seems he is a genuinely nice guy with a love for audio, who tried to make it happen with his amp - perhaps our failure says as much, or more, about me as him - then went out of his way to help me get the amp I want. As I also indicated in the other thread, he is very friendly and a pleasant conversationalist.

Yeah, I've already been thinking about cable. Time for cable inventory. I have a few nice ones, but one or two don't complete a circuit, so I need to test them. I have better speaker wire here somewhere, too. One of the advantages of an integrated amp, of course, is eliminating the need for IC to a power amp, and having a built-in DAC eliminates another run. So there's that.

I anticipate the amp will ship Friday, or possibly tomorrow. I called the store a little while ago and spoke with one of the owners, who informed me he was speaking on a tube phone. Humorous fellow; claimed it was a cellular. I asked about the weight of its batteries. He replied it all got heavier when he upgraded his power cable. He said they would ensure the 585 has the latest firmware update prior to shipping.

Shipping is a worry. With a gross weight slightly under a hundred pounds (net 72), it will anger some handlers. Once worked the nightly sort at a UPS hub - I know what can happen - so I will be on pins and needles waiting for arrival.

 

[Todd Dodds]

Just under a hundred lbs? If you can share some video of her receiving and setting up...
My wife whined a lot when the Mac C2500 arrived, but a cattle prod got the job done without mishap.

 

[musichal]

Just under a hundred lbs? If you can share some video of her receiving and setting up...
My wife whined a lot when the Mac C2500 arrived, but a cattle prod got the job done without mishap.

We double-team heavy packages, which I can help with a good bit from a seated position. She's learned the way to decant audio gear, though I understand this particular behemoth has unpacking instructions when opened - we don't want it upside down if we can help it. Teamwork gets it done. Box and packaging weigh 23.8 lbs. That's a pound heavier than an AS-501.

Just in case, I'll check the price of a cattle prod on Amazon.

No. 585's DAC

"An option new to Mark Levinson integrateds is the No.585's built-in DAC.
Its USB audio receiver is based on a C-Media 6632A processor,
which is fully specified up to 32-bit 192kHz PCM and DSD256.
(Eichenbaum adds, "We have not evaluated it at 384kHz or DSD512;
it may or may not work at one or both of those.") The DAC itself,
based on a 32-bit ESS 9018K2M Sabre D/A chip,
is paired with a discrete current-to-voltage converter,
an antialiasing filter, and a proprietary jitter-rejection circuit.

"The No.585's menu lets the user pick one of three different filter
characteristics for digital streams with PCM content:
Fast rolloff, Slow rolloff, or Minimum Phase impulse response.
There's also the above-mentioned Clari-Fi algorithm, which,
according to the owner's manual, "analyzes compressed digital audio files
during playback and reconstructs much of what was lost
in the compression process." The circuit's software-based Intensity control,
available via either the amp's setup menu or a dedicated button
on the remote handset, adjusts the amount of reconstruction applied to the signal."

- Stereophile's review


Rear Panel



gotta love those hurricane binding posts - Christine will
​

 

[musichal]

The amp shipped today! I'm on pins and needles. I hope, I hope, I hope it arrives undamaged.

 

[IPADave]

The amp shipped today! I'm on pins and needles. I hope, I hope, I hope it arrives undamaged.

Wishing you good karma.

-Dave