R
EINVENTING THE
P
OWER
A
MPLIFIER
– A
GAIN
The Mark Levinson
®
ML-2 power amplifier,
introduced in 1972, flew directly in the face
of conventional wisdom, demonstrating
beyond all doubt that a solid-state amplifier
could outperform its vacuum-tube counter-
parts. A 25-watt pure Class A monaural
power amplifier, the ML-2 set Mark Levinson
engineers on a path – designing and building
the world’s best-performing linear power
amplifiers – they’ve been traveling ever
since. But technology continues to advance,
often relentlessly, and Mark Levinson
products advance with it.
The N
o
53 Reference monaural power
amplifier is a landmark, the first-ever switch-
ing power amplifier from the Mark Levinson
brand, and the first Mark Levinson power
amplifier to earn the Reference designation
since the N
o
33 in 1994.
Switching power amplifiers are not new,
and although they offer several advantages
over linear designs – more power, increased
efficiency, compact dimensions, lower
weight and less heat dissipation – they’ve
been generally maligned by audiophiles
for inferior sound quality. The audiophiles
are right – there are significant technical
limitations inherent in conventional switch-
ing designs. But Mark Levinson engineers
have successfully overcome the limitations
with the N
o
53.
