 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | High-end audio |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founder | Mark Levinson |
| Headquarters | |
| Products | Audio equipment |
| Parent | Harman International Industries |
| Website | www |
Mark Levinson is an American high-end audio equipment brand established in 1972 by eponymous founder Mark Levinson, and based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is owned by Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.
Mark Levinson Audio Systems Ltd. (MLAS) was founded 1972 in Woodbridge, Connecticut (a suburb of New Haven) by Mark Levinson. Original MLAS products were designed by John Curl (Hence the JC abbreviation to many of the early products) under the supervision of Mark Levinson, with a team of associates. Audio pioneer Dick Burwen, Levinson’s first electronics mentor, helped Levinson start the company with the iconic LNP-2 Preamplifier. [1] Chief engineer Tom Colangelo, who brought visionary audio circuitry to the company, died in a tragic car accident in 2007. [2]
By 1980 MLAS was in serious financial trouble. Levinson then asked Sandy Berlin, a retired executive in the audio industry, to invest in MLAS and to aid in the management of the company, which Berlin did, personally investing $480,000 in the company and persuading several others to invest an additional $300,000. At Berlin's request, Levinson entered into an Employment Agreement with MLAS from December 1980, under which Levinson agreed to convey to MLAS the permanent and exclusive right, title and interest to the trade name "Mark Levinson". He also agreed that, should he leave MLAS' employ, he would not engage in the audio business "anywhere in the world". [3]
In October 1984, three creditors forced MLAS into bankruptcy and Mark Levinson Audio Systems, Ltd. ceased to exist, with Madrigal Audio Labs acquiring "all of [MLAS'] equipment, inventory, parts, finished and semi-finished goods, office furniture, blueprints and trademark and tradename rights including those arising under agreement between Mark Levinson and MLAS. [3]
Since 1990, the Mark Levinson brand and trade name have been property of Harman International Industries. Mark Levinson produces audio amplifiers and digital audio processors that have a characteristic black anodized chassis, a design associated with the brand since the beginning. Harman also makes Mark Levinson audio systems as an optional upgrade for Lexus luxury automobiles. Harman's Mark Levinson automotive audio systems are designed in collaboration with sound, electrical, and design engineers who produce Mark Levinson audio electronics. [4] [5]
Certain Lexus models have featured Mark Levinson sound systems as an option since 2001, [4] [6] with prices varying based on the vehicle and its specific components (~US$2,500 for the LS 460, ~US$1,600 for the ES 350, ~US$1,440 for the IS 350, etc.). The first Mark Levinson car 5.1 surround sound system appeared on the Toyota Crown Majesta in 2004. [7] Current US Lexus models available with the Mark Levinson Audio System include: IS 300/350/500, ES300h/350, RC & RC F, NX 350/350h, LC500/500h, LS500/500h, RX350/350h/500h, GX460, and LX600. [8]
This was Levinson’s tri-amped active replay system. Each of the two channels comprising a woofer using a 24” Hartley drive unit, a pair of stacked Quad electrostatic speakers for the midrange and between the two Quad speakers a Decca (Kelly) ribbon tweeter for the treble, the latter modified by having the horn removed. Each speaker was driven by a separate ML-2 amplifier fed by a LNC-2, this in turn being fed by an ML-1 preamp. [10]
An audio power amplifier amplifies low-power electronic audio signals, such as the signal from a radio receiver or an electric guitar pickup, to a level that is high enough for driving loudspeakers or headphones. Audio power amplifiers are found in all manner of sound systems including sound reinforcement, public address, home audio systems and musical instrument amplifiers like guitar amplifiers. It is the final electronic stage in a typical audio playback chain before the signal is sent to the loudspeakers.
Nakamichi Corp., Ltd. is a Japanese consumer electronics brand that originated in Japan and gained a name from the 1970s onwards for original and high quality audio cassette decks. Nakamichi is a subsidiary of Chinese holding company Nimble Holdings.
Harman Kardon is a division of US-based Harman International Industries, an independent subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. Harman Kardon was originally founded in Westbury, New York, in 1953 by business partners Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon.
Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is a Danish high-end consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures audio products, television sets, and telephones, originally from Denmark, founded in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, who designed a radio to work with alternating current, a product of significance at a time when most radios were still running on batteries. Bang & Olufsen are also known for contributing to make speakers for Ford cars such as the Ford Puma.
The Mark Levinson ML-3 was a 200 watt per channel dual monaural Class AB2 power amplifier that used toroidal transformers. Produced between 1979 and 1987, the ML-3 consisted of two electrically separate amplifiers in one chassis, hence the name "Dual Monaural". It also featured discrete circuit construction; no integrated circuits were incorporated to keep the signal pure. The design was by Thomas P. Colangelo.
The Mark Levinson No. 26S Dual Monaural Preamplifiers used Teflon circuit boards to supposedly differentiate the No. 26 and the 26S models, produced between 1991 and 1994 by Madrigal Audio Laboratories. This unit utilizes Camac coaxial connectors, which were used in the medical industry as well, because they break hot before they break ground when unplugged. No shorting electronics means a safe preamp and safe ER patients. An external power block, the PLS-226, was used to keep interference to a minimum.
McIntosh Laboratory is an American manufacturer of handcrafted high-end audio equipment headquartered in Binghamton, New York. It is a subsidiary of McIntosh Group, which is under the ownership umbrella of Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm.
Founded by David Hafler and Ed Laurent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1955, Dynaco was an American hi-fi audio system manufacturer popular in the 1960s and 1970s for its wide range of affordable, yet high quality audio components.. Its best known product was the ST-70 tube stereo amplifier. They also manufactured other tube and solid state amplifiers, preamplifiers, radio tuners and bookshelf loudspeakers. Dynaco was liquidated in 1980, and the trademark is now owned by Radial Engineering Ltd.
Robert W. (Bob) Carver is an American designer of audio equipment based in the Pacific Northwest.
Madrigal Audio Laboratories was founded in 1984 by Sanford Berlin, when he took over the Highend audio-company Mark Levinson. Further brands of Madrigal were Audioaccess, Proceed, Madrigal, Imaging. 1997 the subsidiary Revel Audio for high quality loudspeakers was founded.
Harman International Industries, Inc., commonly known as Harman, is an American audio electronics company. Since 2017, the company has been operating as an independent subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.
Crown International, or Crown Audio, is an American manufacturer of audio electronics, and is a subsidiary of Harman International Industries, which has been part of South Korea-based Samsung Electronics since 2017. Today, the company is known primarily for its power amplifiers, but has also manufactured microphones, loudspeakers, and a line of commercial audio products, as well as digital audio networking products.
The Lexus RX is a luxury crossover SUV sold since 1998 by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota. Originally released in its home market of Japan in late 1997 as the Toyota Harrier, export sales began in March 1998 as the Lexus RX.
The Lexus NX is a compact luxury crossover SUV sold by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota. Introduced in late 2014, it is positioned between the subcompact UX and the mid-size RX in Lexus’ crossover SUV lineup.
Mark Levinson is an American audio equipment designer, recording and mastering engineer, and multi-instrumentalist musician. He was formerly married to the actress Kim Cattrall.
Daniel Hertz S.A. is a high-performance audio company based in Switzerland. The company makes high-efficiency loudspeakers, power amplifiers, pre-amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, and audio processing software. Daniel Hertz provides consulting services to major companies like LG Electronics of Korea and semiconductor firm Intersil of the USA.
The Dynamic Force engines are a family of internal combustion engines developed by Toyota under the brand's Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) strategy. The engines can be fueled by petrol (gasoline) or ethanol and can be combined with electric motors in a hybrid drivetrain. The engines were developed alongside the TNGA family of vehicle platforms, as part of a company-wide effort to simplify the vehicles being produced by Toyota.
The Lexus TX is a full-size luxury crossover SUV with three-row seating produced by Japanese brand Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota. Produced since September 2023, it is exclusively marketed in North America. The TX is constructed upon the front- and all-wheel drive TNGA-K platform, shared with its Toyota Grand Highlander sibling and the mid-size XU70 Kluger. The TX was revealed simultaneously with the J250 GX on June 8, 2023. Replacing the RX L, it takes the position of being the brand's only three-row crossover SUV.
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