mbl 101e vs 116f vs 111f

I think that the MBL electronics, if within a price range that's possible, would be the perfect match--the synergism of the product line becomes very obvious at that point.
I've tried the MBL in my home and it's very Gryphon-like in its sound. Not at all hashy or grainy, very smooth, nice staging. Possibly a little 'soft' sounding in the very top. I don't really know if it measures this way, but it sounds to me as if the last octave, (of what is considered human hearing) 10K to 20K is a bit honey colored, and overly smoothed over. This is NOT a deal breaker for me, as I prefer that over the other side of the spectrum.
This kind of overall voicing of the amp/pre and even integrated, may reflect their speakers propensity for a bit of forwardness in it's presentation in that region. So, the process of interactive voicing may be the reason for this result.

If you can find MBL used, (built like a tank by the way) consider that.
Good listening.

Larry

Sorry I misspoke above. He sold his 101's, he has the 111's still though. :)

[sorry for multiple posts, I dont see how to edit my other post]

Just to contribute to this thread, we've tried a few amps on the mbls. We owned a set of 101 and 111a (both earlier versions). The installer flew in from Germany and we were able to A/B some different setups.. wiring and amps. The MBL amps are definitely no slouch, and if money doesn't matter, go for it, but we didnt think they were worth the extra expense. We ended up powering the mbls with (dont laugh) crown reference I amps. I believe they were 1100 wpc and they powered the mbls no problem. These amps are as heavy as brystons, and I have tremendous respect for them. A friend of mine also used them and one was submerged in a basement flood. He let them dry out for a week and they powered up just fine! They're built like tanks!

I did at one time try the 111a's on some Outlaw audio 300wpc amps and it was definitely not enough. You could just sense that the speaker was not getting what it needed, and I've heard the mbls really shine before, so I knew what we were missing.

My dad has since moved on to yg acoustics, so thats why he has the 111a's for sale.. :)

This is confusing AND frustrating.
To say:

"The MBL amps are definitely no slouch, and if money doesn't matter, go for it, but we didnt think they were worth the extra expense. We ended up powering the mbls with (dont laugh) crown reference I amps."

This is tantamount to saying, 'While I liked the $180K Bentley, we decided on a $6K Yugo, not seeing the extra expense as worth it.'

IMHO, the difference between the MBL and the Crown, (not casting dispersions at Crown, as it's NOT A FAIR COMPARISON) is night and day, and if you can't hear and appreciate the difference, then I don't know where to begin.

Price WAS the factor, not performance, I'm thinking.

I am first to admit to subjectivity in Audio, hell, that's ALL we have in some instances, other than 'core measurements'...but the difference between products is generally so obvious that, if one can't hear and appreciate differences, especially like the difference between the Crown and MBL--I AM laughing.

Larry

The Crown and mbl pairing is an interesting one from a cost effectiveness perspective.

I have no idea how this combo would sound, but I believe that judgments on amps made with more traditional speaker designs often do not carry over to the more unique designs out there, like is the case with mbl and other leading omni designs in general.

In other words, all bets are off for me regarding how well an amp will sound with a design like mbl until I hear it.

The two things I would look for on paper with an amp for larger mbls are amps with hefty power supplies that are capable of delivering a lot of current and doubling down their power ratings into 4 and 2 ohms. Not sure Crown falls into this category, but I suspect teh results could still be quite good. However, if you own mbl 101s, it would be a shame to not invest as needed to drive them to the max in taht you have a machine capable of truly extraordinary things if you just feed it the right fuel.