Should I?

Great re impedance. I am surprised you only need 31 inches from the wall. These speakers sound like they are a lot more practical than I thought they would be. My friend checked them out recently in Singapore and was blown away but fell for the allure of the Sonus Faber Il Cremonese. He rationalised away the MBLs saying that he thought he would need a bigger space (and his room is bigger than mine). Sounds like that perception is wrong.

I always thought the same thing myself. More space is better, but they are designed to work with AT LEAST 31 inches from the center of the Radialstrahler to the surrounding walls.

I played Adele's 19 and 21 albums the other day on the 111F's and it was honestly like hearing those albums again for the first time.
 
How many statement speakers do you want in the shop? Trident? M6? What ever's coming next at CES 2019 or Munich 2019? How much to commit to each brand?

I do love MBL, and the 101 in particular.
 
How many statement speakers do you want in the shop? Trident? M6? What ever's coming next at CES 2019 or Munich 2019? How much to commit to each brand?

I do love MBL, and the 101 in particular.

M3 and 101e mk2 would definitely fit the bill. I think some Trio's too. :)
 
350 into 4 would be fine. For example, playing the 111F's at HIGH SPL's with the Pass X350.8 (700 into 4) doesn't even make the needle move.

350 watts is about right for most speakers especially the MBL so i dont see this as an issue. I know some audiophiles not sensitive to clipping like running no more than 75 watts on their speakers and may find 350 outrageous ..

Regards
 
Mike if I was you I would really have MBL commit that the 101eMKII's can be driven by their newer line of amps such as the one you posted above. I know the 9011's and 9007(?) do the job. Not every amp is up to the task. I was stunned by how much my 1.2k's left on the table as compared to the Momentum's when I brought them home to demo.
 
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Well, remember what Oscar Wilde said: The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it ......
 
MBL has assured me it is. My own findings with the 111F's would concur. As the old saying goes, we shall see.

Mike
Make sure they are the "right" watts. 1200 watts of 1.2k could not control the bass of 111f's properly. When I first demo'd my original Momentum's the difference in control was so dramatic that I reconnected the 1.2ks to make sure I hadn't been listening to them connected out of phase.
 

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Mike
Make sure they are the "right" watts. 1200 watts of 1.2k could not control the bass of 111f's properly. When I first demo'd my original Momentum's the difference in control was so dramatic that I reconnected the 1.2ks to make sure I hadn't been listening to them connected out of phase.

Thanks Jim. Yes, I would agree based on what I've heard with the 111F's. You want high damping factor, high current amps.
 
Mike I know the MBL dealer in Virginia and have listened to his personal system numerous times. Hands down this is the best system I have ever heard. The 101 E MKII with an analog tape front end the reproduction is like living the experience at the time of recording. The MBL may not be everyone’s cup of tea but they push all the right buttons for me. I will have a pair one day for sure.
 
Mike I know the MBL dealer in Virginia and have listened to his personal system numerous times. Hands down this is the best system I have ever heard. The 101 E MKII with an analog tape front end the reproduction is like living the experience at the time of recording. The MBL may not be everyone’s cup of tea but they push all the right buttons for me. I will have a pair one day for sure.

You have described it beautifully.


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Mike

I have heard those speakers in the Singapore dealers showroom, only playing digital. One the best sounds I have ever heard and definitely the best upper frequencies.

YES. :heart:
 
Mike,

Just out for curiosity, is there some special feature in the MBL amps that make it more suited to drive the MBL 101 speakers or would any high current & high damping factor amp (such as Soulution, Burmester, Audionet) do an equally fine job?
Thanks,
Anshul
 
Gentlemen,
Another great thread!

I hate to be the party pooper here, but not all 350W amps are the same. Unfortunately, most will not be able to drive the 101s right. For example, my local dealer had the 101s with Pass XA and X, and, unfortunately it *Sucked*. (Pass is great with Wilson, Martin Logan, and many others, and obviously with 111, but not 101.)

The 101 is a completely different animal than the 111. The difference is the melon, which covers the vital frequency range from 105 Hz to 600 Hz.

It's magical - when driven properly, and it's the premium one is paying for, over the 111. But it's also a B*TCH to drive properly. One needs A LOT of current. Yet very few amps could do it. If one is not willing to drop $110K on the big MBL 9011 reference amps, it sounds fantastic with the new Noble Class D amps.

Few other amps will work, exceptions being Bryston, bigger Musical Fidelity models, Symphonic Line Kraft, old Krell, and maybe a few others. And even if some of these are able to drive the speakers, one may not always like the result, of say, a dark old Krell or a Bryston with the 101s.

And once one finds the right monoblocks, doubling them is really worth while. :)

So unless one really wants to experiment with a lot of different heavy amps to uncertain results, the short path to happiness is to drive the 101s with MBLs new Noble Class D (or if the budget allows, the 9011s).
 
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