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MBL 101 (~1990) - amp suggestions.

Does anybody have experience with those speakers:
Designation was MBL 101, or MBL 101a/b/c (letters may designate colour).
They have _no_ cone drivers, only three 'Radialstrahler' units, the same size units as in later/current MBL 101 range, but lower crossover points. Subwoofers (MBL 201) were optional, I do not have them.
So far I have tried the following amps:
Pass Aleph 4: almost there, but feels like lacking authority. Also, female vocals seem to suffer (males fare better).
300B SET (glasshouse/hificollective): they make sound, even loud if pushed (circuit allows 300B to go A2), yet the match is poor, orchestra becomes a mess.
Moderate power SS AB amp ("INnovative Audio Ultrapath"): pointless. Sounds flat and gutless, worse than Aleph 4 or SET.
Mark Levinson 23: the best match so far. Controlled and effortless; merciless at times (poorer recordings are exposed for what they are).
-- Do you think I can [substantially] improve over ML 23?

inefficient
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,835 posts
 
I’d lean towards matched mbl amps for large mbl speakers if cost not an issue. That’s what dealers use. But otherwise in general you want a beefy amp with lots of power and current. I have very efficient BEl Canto ref 1000m Class D amps that might be had for reasonable cost if found used that would surely do the job well. They can pretty much drive anything to their max.   I use them with a pair of similarly large Ohm Walsh speakers.

Congrats on those mbls. Set up well they are in a class of their own.
audition__audio
1,304 posts
 
I heard one of these models with a pair of CAT monoblocks and it sucked them dry. Even at low volumes you could tell that these amps werent nearly powerful enough. Perhaps atma-sphere is correct, although I have my doubts, that it is the type of the tube amp. 
inefficient OP
40 posts
 
I will go active in bass and relieve MBLs from 100 Hz downwards: my 101s are super old and have no bassreflex box, which current 101s have; MBL themselves suggested pairing with their active MBL 201, but I will try home-made dipoles instead (I find room modes and booming ported box bass rather dilsturbing, reproducing bass that way does not recreate classical concert or opera experience too well).
kingharold
304 posts
 
I might be jumping to an obvious but wrong conclusion, But I think open baffle subs would be quite compatible with the MBLs.
inefficient OP
40 posts
 
- Just to clarify “would” or “would not” be compatible?
I like spaciousness of MBLs a lot - they just fill the room. However, they excited vertical room mode, Even with that caveat MBL bass is ok.
Then Gradients showed me that bass can be more tuneful - I am currently using Gradient 1.5 Helsinki, cardioid mids and highs with dipole below 200 Hz. There is a bit of placement difficulty (easy to get decent stereo image, but difficult to get optimal bass), but once in position I like the overall sound quite a bit, I just wish I could have more uniform sound in the room - like with MBLs. With clean dipole bass - like Gradient. Gradient 1.5 have one 12” driver per side. Seems barely enough. So I got something bigger (two BMS 18N862-8 per side).
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