From Pipedream to MBL 101e, any thought?

Well,

I will say one thing;

You wanted holographic imaging - you will get holographic imaging from the 101s. For your stated goal, I think you have made (IME, anyway) the best possible purchase.

My only advice is that bigger (as in the size of your listening room) tends to better with the big MBLs.

BTW, I'd be very surprised if you have any problems powering 101s with your ML amps.

Congrats on the purchase and enjoy!

Marty

This is the dream question...sort of who'd you rather date, Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock, or even Jen Anniston?

The Pipedreams are marvelous speakers...really, IMHO, one of the best, even with the so called 'comb-filter' issues that they supposedly have. Very dynamic, life size (if a bit overbig, NEVER A PROB for me).
The MBL's set up correctly, offer that last dimension that even the Pipedreams don't...360 degree dispersion.

The MBL's are terrific speakers and the Levinson will do fine with them. The question is, is that amp as good as the MBL?
While I haven't done an A/B/A comparison, I'd have to say no. But, as good as, is not as important as, will it work for this purpose? Yes.

The final step then, would be, to move to the MBL eventually--unless of course, you're different than almost all audiophiles (including me) and you're actually 'satisfied', lol.

Great choices, great post, and great reading.

Good listening,

Larry

Lrsky [...]The MBL's are terrific speakers and the Levinson will do fine with them. The question is, is that amp as good as the MBL?
While I haven't done an A/B/A comparison, I'd have to say no. But, as good as, is not as important as, will it work for this purpose? Yes.

Have to agree with Lrsky. A friend of mine is the local MBL dealer and I've spent hours in front of different versions of the MBL speaker. You don't mention room size or typical preferred listening levels but in general the 101 needs bags of current and I'm not sure you will maximize the potential of the speakers with your current amplification. The 101e would usually be paired with a pair of MBL 9011 amps at the shop (several kW or power!)

I have listen the Mbl e mk2 speaker . I had try the pass lad xa100.5 and the xa160.5 . The sound very good . BUT the mbl amp the matching a lot better from top to bottom . The top end a lot smoother and the bottom more power full and control the better than all the other amp . I hope it's help you . Thank

Hi guys, appreciate all your comments.

Dev, I'm especially excited about your opinion since you actually owned the 101e and matching them with amps other than MBL. It would have been too predictable and unchallenging if we are limited to an all MBL system in order to achieve MBL holographic sound.

As an audiophile, I love the challenge of setting up a new speakers without knowing the whole results in advance. That wouldn't be fun, would it? I'm totally with you when you said it may take some time and effort to get the 101 to sound right. That's what I'm planning to do.

For those who doubt that the ML 33s will be a match with the 101, I also share your skepticism, which I posted in my original threat. However, if you compare side by side the specification of ML 33 vs MBL 9011, the numbers can be much closer than you thought.

MBL 9011 Rated continuous power at 8/4/2 ohm 440/840/1390
Mark Levinson No.33 rated power at 8/4/2 ohm 300/600/1200

Not to be overlooked, I am going to use TWO ML33s to drive each of the 101e so the effective power will be double and considerably more than just one pair of 9011. The ML33s may or may not suit the 101e, but lacking of power or current definitely is not the reason, in my humble opinion.

Dev have made the point that I may be the first to drive the 101e with such amplification and it's very interesting to see the outcome. I can hardly wait.

By the way, my room size is 18x27x10 ft.
My front end consist of Boulder 1010 pre, Dcs Verdi/Purcell/Elgar Plus with Big Ben sync clock. Tw acoustics Raven Two, Orthofon arms and Zyx Airies3 cartridge with ASR Basis Exclusive Phono stage.

Many thanks again for all your kind comments and looking forward to any further discussions or questions about this subject.

Happy Listening.
Suchart