MBL was very nice but have since changed direction and gone back to valves
having purchased an Ongaku. This hobby is full of surprises and you just
never know where it leads next,

jzach April 08, 2011 14:41

I sold off all my MBL gear to buy Burmester. I am glad though, that MBL is getting back on it's feet. I thought a awhile there, that MBL would not return to the US. You system is very nice looking!

talk2me April 05, 2011 23:48

Hi Jzach: I have also been an audiophile for many years and owned some great gear including the Duntech Sovereigns for 23 years. If you don't go for a lot of hype and have an open mind, please check out Roger Sanders Magtech amp on his website (Sanderssoundsystems.com). I have owned some great amps over the years and IMHO the Magtech is the best I've ever heard. Just read his website carefully. He is the most upright audio designer that I have ever dealt with. Just read his terms or give him a call. You have nothing to lose. All his products carry a lifetime warranty. Good luck Matey. Soundlock.

soundlock August 02, 2010 04:30

Dig your set-up.Bet it "slams" when pushed to do so.I see the big M.B.L. preamp and your 111e's also a nice array of other M.B.L. gear.Nothing sounds like a complete M.B.L. system. I too have a pair of 111e's that I'm running with big ol B.A.T. vk600se mono blocks...lot more "laid back" than having M.B.L. amps driving them...what do you think? ever run any other non-M.B.L. amplification? Also, how do you feel about sound absorbtion panels on the walls behind the speakers?
"

martinmobile September 12, 2009 09:20

Michael,

This is the 7000 arm shown in the photo of the Capella 2.

Regards John

jzach September 23, 2008 22:11

Hi John,

I got the MBL111B with the 12" woofer and my reason to take it compare with the 111E with 10"x2 woofer are similar to yours - they go deeper and sound better to me.

I BI-amp them and they sound much better. Bass kicking faster and tighter when bi-amped so you might want to try. I even use an active bi-amped output to feed into the passive crossover circuit and I actually like that better than just passive bi-amp.

Nice setup you have!!

Cheers to MBL!!! Took me trying 5 different styles of speaker to finally settle in MBL!!

Jeff

jefftsefu August 02, 2008 16:26

Dazzdax,

Yes the MBL 1621 is an amazing transport. Interestingly I owned a CEC TLO Mk2 before I purchased the 1621, and I can tell you with confidence that there is no contest.

The 1621 destroys the CEC which as you say is in itself a very nice transport. However the MBL is better engineered and built, more reliable ( I had to change the laser on the CEC twice in 2 years, and the belts, and I didn't put too many hours on it), plays discs the CEC couldn't play and sounds better.

On the whole the MBL gear is the most reliable and best sounding equipment I have owned in the last 25 years in this hobby.

Cheers John

jzach March 19, 2008 12:22

Jzach, you've got a beautiful system (both sonically and cosmetically, heheh). Recently I bought a used MBL 1621 transport. It's a wonderful thing. I'm combining it with an oldskool Goldmund Mimesis 10C+. The digital cable I'm currently using is the John Prator's new KCI Pegasus (pure gold cable without shielding!). The 1621 reminds me of the CEC TL-0 MK II with regard to sound signature, do you agree? I heard the MBL 121's recently. They sounded fine with an almost magical 3D soundstage.

Kind Regards,
Chris Hie (Netherlands)
[email protected]

dazzdax March 13, 2008 21:28

Daniel,

The metal grilles do have a negative effect on the sound, particularly in the highs which sound smoother when the grilles are removed.

Even though I prefer the look of the speakers with the grilles on, I do all my listening with the grilles off as the improvement in sound is quite noticeable.

A review by John Atkinson of the 111 in the Aug 2002 Stereophile also mentions the improvement in sound without the grilles.

Cheers John

jzach January 28, 2008 21:23

Very nice system !

Would you care to comment on the effect of the metal grill on the MBL speakers ? Does it affect the sound of the Radialstrahler ?

Thanks.

Daniel

danielcook January 27, 2008 03:40

Thanks. If I can ever afford another pair of mbl's I may have to give the Shakti's a try.

phatboy January 26, 2008 06:36

Phatboy,

Good question about the Shakti's. You are right in that the benefits aren't as prominent as they were with Horns and conventional speakers.

However the improvement the Shakti's make in the areas of bass control, soundstaging, detail retrieval and clarity is still noticeable and hence they have stayed in the setup.

Cheers John

jzach January 19, 2008 15:34

What a wonderful system! I had the 121s and was blown away. I have always had a “thing” for that mbl magic of which you speak – even when I was listening to the old 101Cs that were way too bright and had all sorts of other warts, I still though all the good they did far outweighed their negatives… and now that they have sorted most/all of these speakers’ flaws WATCH OUT!

But I do have a question for you: you are using the Shakti Hollographs with the mbl’s, and yet I was under the impression that these worked poorly with omni-speakers. Have you really gotten positive results with these or are they hold-overs from your direct-radiator (horn) days?

I remember using VPI magic bricks for quite a while after I got a new (air-suspended) rack because they worked so well on my old (rigid) rack. Then, one day, I took them off to prove to a non-believer friend that they did, in fact, “work” only to find that they had simply been KILLING my system, draining its life away, when placed on the new rack! It was not that the bricks were bad per se, just that they did not work synergistically in that set-up.

I wonder about the Shakti Hollographs, but then maybe you know something about them that I do not? I am interested in your observations. Cheers, nice system and happy listening.

phatboy January 12, 2008 04:33

Hi there, I also heard the MBL system at Heathrow and boy was it fabulous. Unfortunately I'll never be able to afford it unless I win the lottery (some hope!!!), lucky, lucky you.

Christine Anderson (female enthusiast from Scotland)

chriscornton November 05, 2007 23:26

Mribob,

Glad to hear you had a chance to audition the MBL gear. I am not surprised at the outcome having gone through the same process myself.

Look forward to hearing how you go when you get it all set up. Also I agree it is great to have a helpful dealer to assist.

Cheers John

jzach November 03, 2007 23:09

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the feedback, I will try out the TL power cord suggestion. BTW love your room and system, agree with all you say about the listenability and purity of the MBLs.

Cheers John

jzach November 03, 2007 23:05

Jzach: I had my final audition yesterday at a dealer here in LA;for the 111E's, and compared the MBL's 8011 with more powerful Parasound JC-1 halos; MBL won hands down...I also auditioned the Usher Dancer BE-10's, and W/P, and B and W 802d; found the MBL's to be best speaker: fabulous detail, warmth, of course outstanding sound stage; and totally engaging without any fatique. I will be placing my order in time for the holidays...I appreciate all the tips and tweaks shared in this tread; and once I start experimenting with cables; etc; I'll let you know. Dave Weihart has been fantastic to work with; and a big help in auditioning journey.

mribob November 03, 2007 00:22

Great system, I love MBL gear myself. It reminds me of cool, pure, running spring water. I had watt/puppies for a bunch of years, and IMHO Wilsons are probably a tad more accurate, but the MBLs are infintely funner to listen to, and I never ever get listening fatigue, first speakers I have been able to run SS with in 12 years. If I could make a small suggestion, it would be to try a TaraLabs the One power cable on your pre-amp. You might be very very surprised at the gains, I was never a big power cord upgrade guy until I heard it. At any rate, welcome to the MBL band of brothers.

Cheers!
Chris

mount_rose_music November 01, 2007 05:35

Dev,

Congratulations on your new speakers. I'm sure you will find them a very satisfying and musical speaker.

Cheers John

jzach October 31, 2007 21:31

Jzach, well I decided to get the 101E's and placed my order last week and was told I should get them in about three weeks. I'm looking forward to getting them and once broken-in and once I'm happy with the set-up I'll have to introduce some MBL gear to compare. Right now the gear I have was a really nice match with the Eggleston's (actually just sold the Andra's last night) so I'm curious what they will sound like with the 101's.

dev October 30, 2007 10:38

David,

It is interesting to hear from someone who has had similar experience. The MBL gear does have a certain magic which is hard to go pass once you are exposed to it.

As much as I tried to capture the same quality with my previous system by changing cables and other tweaks it just wasn't the same.

Like you I recently purchased some acoustic treatment which added icing to the cake. If you get a chance you should also try Shakti Hallographs. I'm certainly envy your generous room dimensions, the 101s must sound great in that space.

Happy listening John

jzach October 17, 2007 13:57

JZ,

Sounds like we have taken a somewhat similar audio path. I used Trios, driven by a number of wonderful single ended triode amps (the Tron was by far the best of the dozen plus I owned), and I bi-amped them with fabulous custom-made woofers and equalized the bass. The horns were run full-range and the woofers run through a high quality lo-pass filter.

Then, I ended up purchasing a pair of the MBL 111Bs and quickly moved up to the MBL 101Es. My room is large enough to accomodate them (21 x 31 x 10)and they do many things I have never heard from any other speaker. I am currently driving them with either the BAT 600SE which works very well, or a pair of mono MBL 9007 amps. Either is up to the task.

The break-through for me was a purchase of 9 RealTraps room treatment panels. They look very nice and do they ever make a sonic difference. They eliminate all peakiness and really work wonders for the awesome MBL bass, which can overwhelm a room. You should check them out - I consider them a must for MBLs.

Also, the BAT REX line stage and Kubala Sosna bi-wire speaker cables have a wonderful tonal balance for the MBLs. Get the cables and room treament right and the musicality of the Trio/single ended triode amps will be there for you.

Good listening!
David

molly October 16, 2007 12:19

Hi Dev,

Thanks for sharing your listening experience at Exlibris's place. It sounds like you enjoyed his system and got a reasonable handle on the MBL sound.

I heard good reports on the Stealth Indra cables so I'm not surprised at the improvement it brought. Also I think that you are correct in your assessment on the impact the location has on soundstaging and imaging particularly with the "football" driver on the 101s which does need room to breathe.

In this area I feel the 111Es could be easier to locate in your room based on what you say. It's good to see that Audio comradre is not dead with Exlibris kindly sharing his system with a fellow enthusiast.

Hopefully you will get a chance to hear a pair of 111Es to be able to compare the sound and room interactions. I wish I could assist however I think it is a long way to come "down under" to hear a pair, so hopefully you will find some one closer that could assist.

Cheers John

jzach October 14, 2007 08:35

Hi Jzach I thought I would do a follow up regarding my listening experience of the 101's, I went and heard Exlibris system today. His room is actually smaller than yours, 18'X 12' with 7.5 ceiling height, set-up on the long wall. Very nice system, he had a unfortunate situation come up with his pre-amp causing him some issues so I did not get to listen to his ideal set-up so we had to make do and I brought my ARC Ref3 but it doesn't have a built-in phono so he hooked-up another external phono he had on hand.

I'm not a vinyl guy but Redbook cd so unfortunately I was not able to listen to pieces that I'm very familiar with but the pieces I did hear was very nice. Totally different from my listening experience.

Over all this is what my thoughts are;

The stage presence was a more realistic experience than my current set-up like you are there within the performers, notice I refer to within and not just there.
What I noticed while was that his RIGHT speaker did not have the same space allowance beside it as the LEFT speaker did so the LEFT speaker images allot better along with producing images clearly outside the speaker which is absolutely amazing but on the other hand the right speaker did not do so. My conclusion regarding set-up is that these speakers ideally need to be balanced on both sides equally, I suspect 4-6 feet would be ideal with no obstacles in the way. With my current speakers I do not have these same issues to deal with because they don't throw off a 360 dispersion pattern.

The images within the stage are realistic holographs with air around the performers which I really enjoy but I'm sure others would find fault some where. The voices sounded very realistic along with instruments. I have been told to be aware as the speakers can sound disjointed, the drivers not matching, I did not find there to be any issue with this.

I can't wait to hear them again once Exlibris pre is back in. I also brought a Stealth Indra cable with me, we replaced a Cardas cable with it from the pre to amps and all I can say is WOW!

Once the Stealth cable was in place everything just changed, the stage presence was even more realistic, more precise everything just opened up, unbelievable is all I can say. Prior to us putting in the Stealth cable I found the sound not as precise as my current set-up, well guess what? not anymore and everything changed for the better. I was actually sitting off to the side initially for the first piece of music and could immediately hear the difference, when it was my chance to hear a piece that I had already heard I was very impressed and have to say the focus was now as good as mine or possibly better which absolutely shocked me.

All I can say is I'm am very fortunate that Exlibris offered me to hear his system which I appreciate greatly, guess what is on my list to get now?

but the only unfortunate part is I don't think they will be ideal to replace my current speakers do to my current set-up configuration. I'm in a similar situation although I do have a very large space but do to my open concept my right speaker the closes side wall is around 12'+ and my left speaker only 3-4' off a wall so I think I'll run into the same issue as what I heard today which I don't want. I have a designated room 28' X 23' with 9'3" ceilings which I believe these would be ideal for so I'm wondering if the 111E's would work in this set-up. So anyone with a pair of 111E's with the 12" bass not the two 10" drivers let me know.

dev October 14, 2007 01:51

Mribob,

The 8011 is a fine amp and depending on the size of your room and listening levels they should provide adequate power, particularly as the 111s are not as hard to drive as the 101s.

Marshall Nack did a very positive review of the 8011s on positive feedback which would be worth reading.

As far as cables I use a combination of Cardas Neutral reference interconnects with Kondo Anspz speaker cables. I've also heard that Cardas golden reference goes well with MBL gear. Hope this helps.

Cheers John

jzach October 12, 2007 14:17