Petit bémol sur Mark Levinson: beaucoup de lignes ont été écrites sur les fameux amplis ML et je voudrais partager des informations que j'ai lues sur les dernières évolutions de la marque. Récemment, la compagnie a été délocalisée deux fois sur le territoire américain afin d'éviter la faillite. Elle a par ailleurs été rachetée par Harman Kardon qui travaille dans l'entrée de gamme audio, reste donc à voir si ML va pouvoir garder les mêmes exigences.
Ensuite, le dernier lecteur CD Mark Levinson, le ML 512, a connu d'énormes problèmes (voir les forums américains). D'après ce que j'y ai lu, il semble que l'intégralité des nouveaux lecteurs comprenaient des problèmes de fabrication. Avouez que, pour environ 15.000 dollars, on peut au moins espérer que le lecteur CD/SACD a été testé en atelier. Des problèmes ont également été signalés sur le pré-ampli ML 502.
Tout aussi préoccupant, il semblerait que, vu les problèmes financiers de ML avant sa reprise par Harman Kardon, plusieurs ingénieurs ont quitté le bateau.
A lire avant d'acheter, neuf ou d'occasion:
07-02-09: Forbushman
I need to put out some friendly advice for my friends online who are considering buying a Mark Levinson product. Let me tell you what has happened with my Mark Levinson 502 and 512.
First I had had trouble with my Mark Levinson 40. I live in New York and there are no longer any Mark Levinson dealers in New York or New Jersey. I decided to trade in the Mark Levinson 40 for the 502. I did want the upgrades, I also want to get rid of the problems I had with the 40 that’s a Mark Levinson company was not equipped to fix. They kept promising me resolutions such as a new or refurbished unit and I never got it. The only reason I decided to get the other two products was that a friend of mine worked for Harman Kardon and said that they have straightened things out and that they were moving to New York. Within six months of their move to New York they announced that they were closing down their New York offices. Had I known that….
Mark Levinson 502: the first two units I got would not turn on. The third unit is slightly quirky but works. I do have to reboot it every couple of weeks. It may not be its fault, but I don’t know.
When I first got the Mark Levinson 512, a sacd/cd player it was the best sounding unit I ever heard. However, the first unit did not work the draw would not open or close. It is the second unit that sounded wonderful. Until a month later when it failed completely. I was told that virtually all of those units made had to be recalled. The third unit also failed. in addition to having sound problems the software was not correct for the machine. It had Esoteric software and not Mark Levinson. Let me be clear, the menu functions did not fully relate to the functions of the machine. I do not know if that is what affected the sound. I have waited almost ½ a year for the next unit to be sent to me. They don’t have any in reserve. When they got in new ones in it took about a month for them to be able to ship it.
A poster mentioned that he was informed by his dealer of the grounding problem that took out the machines. He mentioned that the dealer enabled him to get the part and the instructions to put it in. This confirms the universal problem. I used was just not assessable. I couldn’t get a loaner machine, more than that, he had a new machine that worked well but would not give it to me. Eventually he had told me that he was giving up on the Mark Levinson line and he would only help me if I were to buy a Krell unit, which had not been released. If he was local I would have gone in and complained loudly. Sadly, he had speakers that I might have wanted, but I have gone somewhere else.
At any price this is not worth the time the trouble the aggravation and the lack of a CD player. These can be great products but my great suggestion to you is to wait until the company is straightened out, that they get more dealers (which means that they are working with dealerships to get customers) and they have a reservoir of units to replace those that are defective. They are behind, that their own website does not list their current products, like the 512. Many people are surprised that the 512 is out there because it’s not listed anywhere.
But let me be clear: once I got to ML they were professional, friendly, helpful and basically terrific. They were frustrated too. HK is going through reorganization. I am just suggesting that you wait until there are done!
Sorry this is long, but I wanted to share this.
Forbushman (Answers | This Thread)
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» 11 Juin 2010 8:47 
