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

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

Thanks for the info. Jzach much appreciated, Exlibris another member who has a thread showing his system with the 101E's actually lives close to me so hopefully we will be able to hook-up so I can hear.

dev October 11, 2007 01:05

Jzach thanks for the info. How far apart are they from the inside of the speakers.

How low do these go bass wise, do they need subs? I noticed another member who has the 111's has two subs set-up with them. When I listen too music that has low bass impact I like to feel it, to me bass is important as I feel it is the foundation of music.

So I should not be concerned about set-up, they are not that hard to set-up.

dev October 09, 2007 22:26

Jzach nice looking set-up. I was in the past looking at getting a pair of 111E's to compare with my current set-up but after info I had received from others and reading some reviews that seem to be similar referring to the speakers being very difficult to set-up and if not set-up precisely then they sound awful along with being very sensitive to associated gear being used, needing to be in a room that is treated well and hard to drive I put them on a back burner. I don't go by what reviews say and the others feeding me their thoughts don't actually own them and you do so I have a few questions for you if you don't mind.

I noticed in your picture the right speaker is fairly close to a wall but can't tell from the pic regarding your left speaker, noticed they are quiet toed-in also.

What is your room layout and speakers set-up within?
How hard are they to actually set-up and to get amazing sound out of them?
How low do these go, bottom end?

My current set-up, this set-up is not my main designated room but a living room space which is fairly large with different height ceilings from 9ft to over 28ft.

Eggleston Andra 2's (replaced my W/P7's)
Pass X-600.5 mono blocks
Audio Research Ref3 pre
Accustic Arts Tube Dac
Oracle 2000 transport

I will say that I'm getting amazing sound right now but have always wondered what the MBL's would sound like and unfortunately there are no dealers around to be able to get a pair to listen to in my place never mind even being able to listen period.

Thanks

dev October 09, 2007 03:06