Best amps for MBL101e's?

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'. :)

Chrisla,

This may surprise you but I would suggest that you try the Spectron Musician III Signature before investing in Amplifiers in the $20000+ range. I currently own MBL 111E's and the Spectron after attempted pairing with almost a dozen more expensive amplifiers.

Many audiophiles speak about "giant killer" amplifiers in a lower pricing tier that dwarf reference amps in the $20k+ range. Typically those forum reviewers #1) either work for the company -OR- #2) cannot afford the giant amps and want to make themselves believe that the less expensive "giant killer du jour" sound as good, or better, than amps they cannot afford.

"I" am neither #1 nor #2. Audio, like many other passsions, is subjective and also can involve ego.

Unsatisfied with the pairing of many amplifiers to my 111E's I finally discovered the Spectron through an Audiophile friend who is passionate about tube amps, especially CARY Monos.

At that time, I could not imagine owning a less than 60lb. class D stereo amplifier vs. my 304lb. Monblocks.

I like to think that I am an open minded individual. For for less than $6000, I ordered the Musician III signature amplifier.

I figured that spending an evening with my neighbor who is a reknowned Cellist doing amplifier A/B/X amplifier comparisons should at least, be educational.

I never returned the Musician III Signature and all of my Monoblocks have been sold.

I have spoken to a few other audiophiles who have experienced this same magic with Spectron amps and MBL Speakers. It is my understanding that someone recently upgraded from 111E's to 101E's and ordered 2 Spectron's with the intent to BIAMP. Apparently he decided that the 1 Spectron amplifier had plently of power and so he sold the other one. If this person happens to read this forum, I would enjoy seeing comments.

After searching for years and trying many Speakers, I arrived at MBL. The company is rock solid and Jeremy (their rep) is a really great guy. I also had the pleasure of meeting John Ulrick, Spectron's founder and engineer. After reading the John Ulrick BIO on the www.spectronav.com website, I assumed that John is a guy who knows what he is doing. After purchasing one of his amplifiers, I now KNOW that he knows what he is doing.

Happy Listening!