Best amps for MBL101e's?

Osgorth, yup, supposed to try the apex whenever they actually let me know they have wires to try. I only live like 5 miles from their factory. Right now I am using (and I know sounds counterintuitive) Acoustic Zen Satori on the highs and Nordost Tyre on the bass. Not bad, but not "perfect". I am using synergist resolution for the pre-amp to amp connector, but I just got some info that said because the 6010d starts single-ended, not balanced, that I should really try the single-ended ICs first. I'll be done with this about the time I have to sell the system for a retirement apartment:)
thans,
Chris

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, trying Tara cables today, gonna see what they do. I tried single ended yesterday, I do think that the balanced are more relaxed, but then again it was old transparent musicwave ultras against Synergistic balanced. I think the single ended was a little more defined though, at any rate, today will be fun!

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.

Osgorth Tara 1's.. and I bought them.. bi-wired speaker cables. I did not want to try any of the better ones for fear I might want to buy them. I have a great sound now, defined, crisp bass, organice mids and highs. I also bought a Tara 1 power cable for the preamp. I was very surprised at the difference it made, the bass came into focus, and the soundstage widened. I had a guy over who is a neophyte, and he was really shocked at how that cable made a difference. I now highly recommend messing with power cords on the 6010d. I had never spent much money on them, I was using Essence and Acoustic Zen cables.

Adding the Tara cables ended up making the whole system sound more like tubes, except for the bass. I imagine they are very colored, because I had to switch the back of the MBLs to "attack" which only previously was good for tube amps. However I now get the deepness and bass definition of solid state with a pretty damn glorious midrange. I also had to change the tweeter setting, but once I did all of that, the rig be jammin'. :)