The MBL is not the most transparent amp. FM Acoustics and Telos 2500 from Goldmund beat it at that. I own all of them so I know. I also own the Krell One which is equally detailed, maybe even more. The thing that the MBLs do well is that they deliver amazing power without sounding powerful. They are a good compromise between the super resolution of some of the solid states and the beauty of some amps like the Wavacs which come very close to the detail, are very refined but can not drive tough speakers with anywhere the performance of the 9011s. I have "only" heard the 2060 in my system from Boulder, my impression is that the differences you described are quite accurate. That was using the amps on the full spectrum with difficult to drive speakers in a smallish room.
Speakers really matter, to state the obvious, in assessing amps. My comments are based on the amps driving above 200hz with Gryphon Poseidons or the full range with Marten Coltranes. Actually, one of the better results was bi amping with the 9011 and Wavac 833 v1.3s. Although there are techincal reasons this would not be the easiest match on earth, it actually worked fine, especially with some equalization.
A lot of people really liked the 6010d preamp. I have owned it and compared it with many of the preamps people write about such as teh VTL 7.5 mkii, Krell Two, wavac, Lyra connoisseur, audio research ref3 and other. Again, a mid point, great bass but not at the caliber of some of the very best preamps (also not at their price).
In my view, the 9011s are one of the best products from MBL including their front ends which are even better.
At this level this is all about taste!!
