The Mark Levinson No. 526 is the definitive preamplifier for today's music lover. Twelve analog, phono, and digital inputs travel through the Mark Levinson proprietary Pure Path discreet, direct-coupled, fully balanced, dual monaural signal path for breathtaking purity and performance. With precise control and processing, including a discrete, balanced R-2R Ladder Volume Control, the perforated 32-bit Precision Link DAC, class A Pure Phono stage, and HARMAN Clari-Fi® music restoration technology, the No. 526 preamplifier offers uncompromising performance regardless of the source. In a 6000-series aluminum chassis, like all Mark Levinson equipment, the No. 526 is designed and handmade in the USA.

Inputs and Outputs

The Mark Levinson No. 526 offers six digital inputs for system flexibility. One balanced AES/EBU (XLR) input and two coaxial (RCA) inputs use high-speed differential receivers to reject noise and deliver clean digital waveforms to the Cirrus Logic digital audio receiver chip. For direct connection to a computer, the Mark Levinson No. 526 also provides an asynchronous USB Type B input, which is built around a CMedia USB audio processor chip. Using the high-speed USB 2.0 standard, the CMedia chip reliably and accurately receives sound data over USB in PCM format up to 32-bit, 192 kHz; or in native DSD format at up to double speed (5.6 MHz). The CMedia chip transmits the USB data asynchronously, getting as much data as possible when it is available, rather than synchronizing the data with music playback, reducing demands on the computer and allowing the processor chip to control the flow of data to the digital-to-analog converter.