In absolute terms, the 585 isn’t the most transparent or highest resolution device you’ll find – although it actually delivers far more detail and spatial information than you might at first think. Its warm balance and slightly closed in top end make it sound less airy and obvious than the brighter, lighter competition, but they also act to put the musical whole first. Listen into the performance and you’ll find that the sense of spatial and temporal organisation keeps everything in its place, rather than standing out like a sore thumb. No frequency specific star turns or spotlights here. Instead, the emphasis is firmly on the holistic aspects of the performance, the way the parts fit together, whether those parts comprise a girl and guitar, a solo voice in a defined acoustic or the full orchestral march past. The matching speaker adds flavour, leaning the perspective and balance one way or another, but the Levinson keeps things securely anchored. With the 585 in the system you always know who’s the boss – and that’s the performers playing the music.
The 585 integrated has become an even more indispensible member of the reviewing team than the 383. A genuine one-box solution and a joy to use, with the ability to scale its effort to both the music and the partnering system, it has become a vital tool when it comes to ringing the changes and keeping things real. Simply inserting the Levinson into the average high-end system generally reduces the overall price significantly. The fact that the amplifier sits so comfortably in such situations means that you’ll see it referenced in a multitude of different reviews. It might not be part of the MLAS Reference range, but for me it has become just that – an essential benchmark against which to measure and assess others – as well as a trusted unit that can be relied on to restore order out of chaos. Sometimes, working with high-end components and systems you simply lose your way. That’s when I reach for the 585, one amplifier that always seems to know which way is up. The safe pair of hands might not always seem like the sexy choice but trust me – with all that musical integrity and dynamic authority, the Levinson 585 integrated is much, much more than that.
Technical Panel
Type: Solid-state DAC/Amplifier
DAC Chipset: 32bit ESS 9018K2M Sabre D/A
Inputs – Digital: 1x AES/EBU (XLR), 2x S/PDIF (RCA)
1x asynchronous USB-B, 2x TosLink optical
Data rates: 32-bit 192k, DSD256
Inputs – Analogue: 1pr balanced XLR, 3prs single-ended RCA
1pr MM/MC phono (optional)
Outputs: 1pr Line-level,
Speaker binding posts for spades
Input Impedance: >45 kOhms (XLR and RCA)
Total Gain: 40.7dB
Rated Output: 200 W/Ch into 8 Ohms, 350 W/Ch into 4 Ohms
Dimensions (WxHxD): 438 x 193 x 507mm
Weight: 32.6kg
