From Pipedream to MBL 101e, any thought?

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

Whow how great!

ONE pair of ML-33's should be more than enough especially if you have a 220V
outlet feeding them. but would the "tonality" of ML amps affect the speaker in a negative way? one can only try the combination out IN YOUR ROOM to see
if it works out or not. i heard great sound at a stereophile show years ago from the 101's in a "motel room" without any EQ as far as i could tell. I seem to recall M.Fremer did a review of the speakers (awhile back) and did alot of tweaking to get them to sound good to HIS ears. so his conclusion was that they were "fussy" but great if you could "tame" them. i was impressed WAY in the OTHER direction at the show. yes, the MBL amps were in use, but with wire everywhere and people standing around everywhere it sounded really quite excellent, and i was standing off to one side. laugh all you want, but EMPIRE used to make a gorgeous 360 speaker with a marble top that sounded that way too (on a smaller scale). it might have been mid-fi but the Beatles' White Alblum sounded incredible anyway...

Hi guys, I know it's been over a year since I last posted but I just want to give you all some updates. First, The 4 ML 33s are performing great with the 101e, but it's certainly not easy or simple to bring out the best from this speaker. Secondly, After an optimum setup is achieved, I must say the 101e surpasses the Pipes in almost every aspects. And I have been living with the Pipes for more than 5 years. Lastly, I can definitely say that while a pair of ML33s may be just enough for the 101es, two pairs are definitely better. Much better such that once you heard the latter you don't want to go back.
More details later.