Mark Levinson № 5805 and № 5802 Amplifiers Review
Read Review: [ Ссылка ]
Buy the № 5805: [ Ссылка ]
Buy the № 5802: [ Ссылка ]
Throughout the 70’s and early ’80s, the Mark Levinson brand became the industry standard for best in class preamplifiers and power amplifiers. As a testament to how well Mark Levinson components were made, many are still in use today and if you are lucky enough to find a used one, it will likely be worth far more than its original selling price. Our review today is on Mark Levinson’s brand new integrated amplifier. The amp comes in two versions: the № 5802 which is pure digital and the № 5805 offering analog and phono inputs. The sound was just extraordinary and when we popped the cover off, we could not believe how well made this integrated amp was!
The new 5802 and 5805 keep Mark Levinson’s timeless and elegant great styling. Their sculpted black aluminum front panel has two matte finish control knobs on each side. The slightly curved knobs adjust volume and input along with access to settings. In the center is a glass panel that contains the display, the power button, a full size headphone jack and the menu button. The red LED’s contrasting with the black and silver are beautiful.
Build quality is first class, but we should warn you, getting this integrated amp into its spot on your shelf will likely take another set of hands as it weighs in at 62 pounds! If you are like us and feel inclined to pop the top cover off to look under the hood, you’ll see a massive ultra low noise toroidal transformer in the center, flanked with two huge banks of heat sinks for its power amp section. If you appreciate great circuit designs, you’ll be impressed with the board layout of these integrated amps as well. The top panel is well vented and beautifully sculpted to allow the heat sinks to do their job.
The № 5805 gives you both analog and digital inputs. You’ll get a balanced analog in, two RCA analog inputs, a super flexible phono input, USB for computer audio, two Toslink digital, and one coax digital input. In addition, you have the ability to stream via Bluetooth AptX-HD. RS232 and Ethernet jacks are available for control plus the Ethernet connection gives you access to set up via a web based application. You’ll also find a pair of RCA analog audio outputs. These could drive a bigger power amp later or a subwoofer. There is also the option of a home theater bypass. It lets you connect your main 2 channel HiFi speakers directly to the 5805 for pure sound, yet route the signals from a surround sound receiver or processor through the 5805 for home theater use.
The rear panel includes a trigger loop and an IR input. We also like the fact these amps come with a three-pronged AC connection. We’ve noticed many products dropping the separate ground and opt-out for this one.
The № 5802 does not have any of the analog inputs but adds a fully balanced digital input and a second coax digital input for a total of 6 digital inputs. However, you do lose the home theater bypass option with the 5802 since it has no analog.
The included remote control somewhat mimics the front panel of the integrated amp. Like Mark Levinson remotes of the past, it has some heft and feels quite substantial. In a good sign of the times, the Ethernet connection not only allows most home automation control systems to talk to the amp but also allows you to do future software updates.
We learned Mark Levinson pulled in a lot of technology from their highly acclaimed 500 series preamplifiers. The №5805 uses Mark Levinson’s proprietary PurePath circuitry. All of the analog inputs are fully discrete, direct coupled and dual mono. This will translate into a complete lack of any noise. Your music should sound like it is coming from dead silence. Headphone lovers will appreciate the fact the headphone section has a unique design. There is no separate headphone amp inside, but a preamp output specifically designed to have enough current and power to drive any set of headphones and operate in pure Class A, the ultimate in power. A neat feature of the headphone jack is it remembers the last volume setting used, so when you plug in your phones, the amp mutes the speakers and sets the output to the last level. Pull the headphones out and the amp goes back to the previous level set for your speakers.
If you are serious about your 2 channel HiFi system, you will be astonished at how these will change your system. Your speakers will be far more dynamic than you have ever heard them with the music emerging from a totally silent background. We feel you should spend the extra $1500 for the № 5805 for its future option value for both home theater and analog inputs unless you are purely digital and plan to stay that way.
