mbl 101e vs 116f vs 111f

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.

Pass Labs XA160.5 or Bryston 28SST Square with MBL 101E?

I'm driving my MBL 101E with LSA Integrated(e.g Standard) and it sounded pretty good. Just don't crank it up too load..:)