2. amps-preamps
  3. 1162746701

Best amps for MBL101e's?

I took the plunge and bought 101e's and restarting the upgrade bug. These speakers are not very efficient and in a large room. I have the EMM labs combo, and probably am going to buy the 6010d preamp that I am demoing right now (great phono section, has the ability to match levels for 4 different output channels). My bias in the past has been tubes (MC2000, VT100mkII)...any suggestions?

Thanks,
Chris
128x128mount_rose_music

Showing 3 responses by osgorth

osgorth
109 posts
 
Chrisla, you might want to try with some cables that has a bit more soul (as opposed to Valhalla). That could do the trick for you! :) I seriously doubt you'll find anything better suited to your 101E's than the MBL gear you already have, so now it's time to tune them a bit to your liking I think.

Try the Synergistic Research Apex wires for example (or Acoustic Reference for a much cheaper option), and by all means the various gold hybrid cables like Gabriel Gold, Jade Audio, Audio Metallurgy and so on. I would try IC from pre to power and speaker wires first. :)
osgorth
109 posts
 
Chris, let's hope you get some wires soon then. I think you're in for a treat. :)

I do not agree with going single-ended from pre-amp to amp. I have the 6010D and 8011AM's myself, and I find that a balanced connection is quite beneficial. The noise floor is even lower and I find the overall presentation a bit more relaxed. Perhaps subtle to many, but having tried both I for one can't go back to RCAs.

I'm currently running a Precision Reference XLR between preamp and amps, and that's a brilliant cable indeed. Be careful with Apex between preamp and amp - Synergistic says many people find the Precision better here so you might want to borrow both if you can, and compare.

Waiting for the Apex speaker wires myself, hoping to get them soon so I can give them a good workout! I've tried both Acoustic and Precision Reference speaker wires and they are both very good but not balanced enough for me. Since the Apex is in fact both these cables in one, it might be what I'm looking for. I find the tone of Acoustic superb, but compared to Precision it is lacking in speed and detail. Precision on the other hand is very detailed, extremely fast and airy, but also a bit too bright and lacks the warmth of the Acoustic. The combo should be perfect, I hope.. ;)
osgorth
109 posts
 
Ah, Tara cables, interesting.. Which model is it? I'd love to hear how they work in your system. I'm interested in Tara myself but I've found no dealer over here that I can borrow them from.
More to discover