Mark Levinson 431, 432 manual

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The physical and sonic properties of the Nº432 and Nº431 are built upon the Mark Levinson power amplifier tradition. The power supply is the foundation that all of the audio circuitry is built upon. Each channel benefits from a massive, dedicated, independ- ent linear power supply. Our listening tests continue to confirm that abundant clean power is essential for high performance. Precise control of this power reserve is the task of the power amplifier’s voltage gain and output stage circuitry. Mark Levinson power amplifiers have always featured precision circuitry designed to fully exploit balanced signals. Rather than simply duplicate circuit- ry for both halves of the balanced input signal as many power amplifiers do, our power amplifiers have featured an advanced topolo- gy for greater efficiency, performance and sonic benefits. The Nº432 and Nº431 contin- ue this practice. Though similar to the Voltage Gain circuit in the 300 series power amplifierss that they replace, this new genera- tion of power amplifiers features a more elegant topology closely related to the Nº436 and Nº434 mono power amplifiers.

As with all Mark Levinson power amplifiers, particular attention is paid to the layout of

Nº431

circuitry and precise location and routing of connections. All circuit board layout is performed by our engineers rather than by a computer program. These new power ampli- fiers outperform their predecessors in part because of the refinement of circuit layout. Additionally, the ultra-high performance parts that make up our balanced circuits are able to work to their full potential because they reside in the most neutral circuit board mate- rial we know of: Arlon®. The matched output transistors continue to be the best performing parts available for this application and they are mounted directly to the exposed internal black anodized aluminum heat sinks.

The Nº432 and Nº431 carry on the Mark Levinson tradition of combining brute force with finesse while avoiding the common mistake of imparting their own fingerprint on the sound. They are welcome additions to the impressive Nº436 and Nº434 mono power amplifiers and worthy successors to the 300 series. The Nº432 and Nº431 are capable of providing remarkable performance to provide years of listening enjoyment.

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Contents Nº432 & Nº431 Nº432 & Nº431 Page Nº432 & Nº431 Dual-Mono Power Amplifiers