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I currently have an Odyssey Stratos Plus power amp which I have used for I guess going on 20 years and have been pretty satisfied with. I was thinking about upgrading it as these have gone from the Plus model to Extreme models. Klauss of Odyssey is now offering a Kismet amp. I can get my Stratos upgraded to the Kismet pcbs with a larger power supply for a fairly reasonable price. However, I ran across an opportunity to get a Mark Levinson No. 23 for around the same price as upgrading the Stratos. Reliability is a large factor in my decision. I've read a number of threads on diyaudio related to repairing Mark Levinson gear, and most of them seem to be a massive PITA to work on. This amp is no exception. The amp I am being offered would be coming from a Chicago dealer. It was repaired by Stereo Rehab in Chicago with some thermal issues (one bad channel). The explanation given doesn't really make a lot of sense to me, and I can post that if anyone wants to see it. Stereo Rehab is not an authorized ML repair facility; they do warranty the work done on this for 1 year. My only interest in this amp relates to the superlative reviews it got, and thoughts from some that these still hold their own with pretty much anything on the market. They apparently were very well built (and designed), using high quality parts, but the parts and architecture of these is jam packed together. Cosmetically, the amp looks virtually new, at least outside. Any thoughts on this appreciated. Right now, I'm leery and leaning against going for this.

Happy Birthday Antonio!

RIP Michael Madsen. Only 67. Enjoyed him in Quentin Tarantino movies in particular. https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/03/entertainment/michael-madsen-death

I'm sure the B2 pilots would be tickled to know they were flying fighters...

Started watching that last night (1-3) and it is good and kept our attention. I'm going to take a look at the other one (Survivors) mentioned as well. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Kerry!

If anyone was considering buying an M4 Mac Mini, you might want to reconsider. Read a poor experience/review of this on diyaudio, from a user who has an M2 Mini which he has been very pleased with (as am I of my M2 Mini). Here is the thread: https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/macmini-m4-is-it-still-of-known-apple-quality.426147/

I wouldn't use that without at least teflon tubing over the crossed-over leg, particularly at these voltages.

Happy Birthday!

Check the Do It Yourself thread. There aren't any white papers or build guides available. There are gerbers for the boards (check the Stax thread for the location for board files and for schematics), and you should be able to find BOMs, etc. though it might take quite a bit of reading and effort. The board search works well for that (searching a thread).

Happy Birthday Brent!

Happy belated Rob! Sounds like you had a nice day!

Happy Birthday!

So sorry for your loss Steve. As others have said, mother-sons bonding is very real. It was nice that you were able to speak with her.

Really enjoying Tom Hardy in this.

Happy Birthday!!

So sorry Todd. RIP Sam.

Probably not going to do anything. I'm pretty sure that I prefer PCM to DSD. I still really like the Res. Audio Opus 21 I bought, and still have my Rotel RCD-991 (PCM63) and RCD-855 (TDA1541A) if needed. I use the 991 as a transport for the Opus as the shitty DVD drives they used back in the 2000's given most of the good mechs had been disco'd by that time leave a lot to be desired. I can't tell any difference in sound between the internal drive on the Opus vs. the Rotel -> S/PDIF -> Opus. I did build one of Pedja Rogic's AYA DAC something or other back in the day. @morphsci has that or at least did.

Binged that over the weekend. Very well done (I thought) and scary as this kind of shit could actually occur/be going on. A bit disturbing!

I saw some of your traffic over on diya regarding this. What/whose board of scheme did you wind up going with for this?

Happy Birthday Doug! I hope you have a great one!

I'm so sorry Al, and my deepest condolences to you and your family. Losing a brother is tough. Rest in peace Tom. Fuck Cancer!

Very nice! Is that aluminum? I wish I had a CNC. What machine do you have?

I've been watching that as well Steve, and concur; pretty good and enjoyable!

Happy Birthday Al! I hope you have a really great one!