amps for MBL 121's, help please


Hi there

After researching and reading quite so many from internet I am getting insane , the more I read the more I am confused.

Some says MBL's work best with MBL amps, other says there are many available options besides MBL.

I read several long threads about amps for MBL's at audiogon and other sites, then found a MBL gent suggested 250wpc 8ohm amps matching with the speakers. However, there are many say they use valve/amps with around 3-100wpc to drive MBL's and results are still amazing.

At the moment I'm quite dead on MBL 8011AM but after reading a long review about those amps, this make me wondering, shame on me when I have never listened to them. Other amps like Chord 1400E and Leema Altair are very very good IMHO...
sonrock
Sonrock, as you can already see from reading the few threads posted above even more amps are thrown into the ring, there is no best just different and unfortuantly you will have to be the one who decides what you prefer and the only real way to do this is to have such within your own set-up and live with for a while.

There's allot more going on than just changing your amps, your room, rest of associated gear and set-up.

My personal flavour when I used solid state amps is to have them paired up with a tube pre-amp.

Good luck and have fun!

Hey Dob, hows it going he doesn't have 101E speakers.

Spectron mono blocks with both upgrades, I had the opportunity to hear a pair within another members set-up who raves about his system as a whole, I was not impressed and without getting into a debate I was not familiar with the system as a whole so who knows what was contributing to this but now I bipass this persons threads posted because the credibilty just isn't there.

The prices of these amps sure have dropped, only a few years ago they were listed with both upgrades for close to $21K and now you can get them for .... substantially less.

Joule, I had the opportunity hear their mono blocks paired up with the MBL 101E's and it was very nice indeed. I was looking at purchasing a pair but then a opportunity came earlier this year "had to book a flight" to hear the 101's paired up with the VAC Statement 450 mono's.

I was there for three days, for me I have never heard anything like this before so I pulled the trigger.

Any changes within your set-up?

@Dob...

Hi, would you mind posting some links to comparisons between the Spectron and JC-1, not being snarky just missed this in my research.

Thanks.
hi guys

thank you so much for your inputs. i am sorry as I cannot reply earlier due to my personal business and quite busy at the moment.

some of you mentioned i am completely not familiar with and i doubt i can easily get them in the UK with the right price, as i am after s/h or ex-demo product only. i cannot support for brand new sparkling kits.

at the moment i am using combo chord 1200C and cpa 3000, source is esoteric x-03se, interconnect cables are 2 pairs of KS1036, and speaker cables are heavens gate audio ultra silence mk2 (i made a big mistake on this one due to my silly english - not mother tongue - then have to spend alot more than i was expected to).

whats i am looking at the moment might be goldmund telos 200, linn klimax 500, perreaux 750, audionote p4, mcintosh mac1000. they are the only available at the moment with affordable prices which i can find in the market here. I have also been offered for MBL 9007 - but single amp - and use it as a stereo, not mono blocks. one audiophile friend suggested me to use Belles amps but I cannot afford as well due to buying new only, no s/h or ex-demo

to be honest, i am quite interested in chord 1400e and leema acoustic altair. but it is hard to find them, and the price is very very high for me (the altair ones). regarding passlabs and other brands, it is also very difficult to find one in the market at the moment.

so in case I cannot find mono blocks which I want to go for, I might sell up my current combo then go for a decent intergrated amp.

all of your contributions are deeply appriciated. please give me more advices and suggestions if you think neccessary.

best regards,

thanh

p.s: I have registed with gon very long ago and just going here to read and check classified. sometime I am very tempted to buy something, but worried too much as I have never anything outside the UK, besides importing tax and delivery. as suggestion or help to make me confident tod deal with oversea business and taxes?
any one heard DartZeeL or Goldmund with MBL's? please give some infos and reviews about those matching.

also any idea about Krell KAS-2 monoblocks?
I'm currently using the Parasound JC1 with my MBL 121. The drive is great! Before with JC1, I was using the Ayre V1x and it was a bad match - lifeless and slow. I need to crank up the volume all the up to squeeze out some activity from the speakers. That explains much. When I changed to the JC1, the speakers seem to be awaken from the slumber with the Ayre.