Nº51
MEDIA PLAYER
Introducing the Mark Levinson
N º51 Media Player
The Nº51 is a milestone product for Mark Levinson. An all-new design, the Nº51 is the first media player to wear the Mark Levinson name. Its goal is to provide superb playback of DVD-Videos and Compact Discs. As such, it can be viewed as two products in one; a DVD-Video processor that provides extreme- ly high-quality picture and sound for the ulti- mate in movie cinema reproduction and a CD processor capable of music playback that exceeds that of high-end stand-alone CD players.
There are five areas of design in the Nº51. Each carefully crafted element surpasses its design criteria and integrates seamlessly with the other elements to create a product that performs well beyond the sum of its parts.
The Chassis
The Nº51 chassis is designed to integrate with the Nº40 Media Console and the 400- series Power Amplifiers. The front panel uti- lizes thick, machined aluminum pieces, a combination of brushed and painted finishes,
and laser-engraved artwork. The chassis cover is formed from a single piece of alu- minum which incorporates a secondary shield to provide a seamless electro-magnetic barrier. The chassis itself is partitioned to pro- vide electrical isolation for critical circuits where needed. In every respect, the Nº51 conveys the impression of a product built to withstand the test of time.
The Transport
The heart of any media player is the trans- port. The Nº51 starts with a solid cast alu- minum frame for exceptional rigidity and sta- bility. The drawer is precision milled from aluminum and is mounted on polished stain- less steel drawer guides. The loader assembly is comprised of custom-designed compo- nents, including the drive lift and the rack- and-pinion drawer actuator, which uses spe- cial damping material to isolate the drawer from nearby components. Optical encoders are used to send feedback to the motor con- trol circuit providing precise control over the drawer’s motion. To provide a better sound, the transport frame is shock-mounted, decou- pling it from the chassis and further isolating
