Mark Levinson No. 334 Acquisition and Questions

[meta_noia_]

I’ve been searching for a Class A amp stable into 2ohms for under about $2K. While on a road trip this week, I picked up a Mark Levinson No. 334 a few hundred dollars below that limit, which is far below what they have been selling and listing for on eBay.

I really took a gamble buying it only knowing that it powered on and off. It was purchased by the previous owner in 2008 and never serviced. It has been stored in a climate controlled environment and unplayed for the last 5 years. At first blush, the gamble seems to have paid off. I have been using a pair of 4ohm Smaller Advents that I have with me (yes, I take a stereo on vacation). Both channels work and play without distortion although I only have about an hour play time in so far before loading the car and heading home. I measured DC Offset at the speaker terminals after letting the amp stay on for a half hour: both terminals measured under 2mv.

It seems I got a great deal, but I wonder about hooking this into my main system. I plan on using this amp to power two pairs of AR-LST’s running in parallel. The speakers are rare and obviously I want to protect them.

Is there any benefit to having a technician look this over provided its DC Offset is clean and it’s playing distortion free? I’ve read (after purchase) that even ML authorized service centers aren’t servicing this model anymore.

Does anyone have experience running very low impedance loads on the 334?

Is there anything I should look out for on the 334? I’ve seen earlier 33X models had cap problems but the 334 seems more reliable.

Should I just stop overthinking and enjoy what may have been a steal?

 

[toroechado]

As a technician myself, If it plays fine, the the DC offset is ok and the heat the amp produces after around 1/2 hour is warm but not to the point of burning your hand and is even in both sides, I'd not worry about having it checked.

 

[meta_noia_]

As a technician myself, If it plays fine, the the DC offset is ok and the heat the amp produces after around 1/2 hour is warm but not to the point of burning your hand and is even in both sides, I'd not worry about having it checked.

Thank you for the advice. I played music through the ML for over an hour yesterday running a 2 ohm load. It warmed up but not much above room temperature. Reading the manual, it shouldn’t get too hot for Class A because it had an adaptive bias circuit.

It’s playing without distortion, without excessive heat, and with good dc offset. I’m going to take your advice and leave it be.

 

[toroechado]

The thing with the electrolytic capacitors is real but not an emergency. It's usually very expensive to do a full recap to an amp like yours. Consider it down the road if you want to keep if for long.

 

[Namlook]

The thing with the electrolytic capacitors is real but not an emergency. It's usually very expensive to do a full recap to an amp like yours. Consider it down the road if you want to keep if for long.

There are very few caps in this amplifier (less than 10 electrolytics total). The main filter caps will be the most expensive. I would certainly not charge as much for a recap on this unit than say a late 80s Pioneer receiver like an SX-1050.