CH vs FM vs MBL

[gian60]

My friend with MBL 101 MK II speaker tried in his home MBL pre and mono amp,i don't know the model,FM 266 and 711 MK II and CH L1 and M1.1 stereo and told CH was absolutely better in every parameter and will buy CH

When he will receive L1,X1 and M 1,1 mono he will be shocking

He not received yet pre and amp that already is thinking L1 no and C1 mono

CH is very contagious and a ill for our bank account

 

[Lagonda]

Gian, there truly is a wide margin between the different MBL amps, the smaller ones don’t drive the 101E’s competently enough, even in my mid sized room.
And synergy in cables can make a big difference too.
That said CH make great sounding products that probably sound really good
on MBL speakers, somewhat tube sound with solid state power.
MBL amps seem to multiply in my system and are hard on bank accounts to,
even when bought used in Italy
Thank for your help again !

 

[howiebrou]

My friend with MBL 101 MK II speaker tried in his home MBL pre and mono amp,i don't know the model,FM 266 and 711 MK II and CH L1 and M1.1 stereo and told CH was absolutely better in every parameter and will buy CH

When he will receive L1,X1 and M 1,1 mono he will be shocking

He not received yet pre and amp that already is thinking L1 no and C1 mono

CH is very contagious and a ill for our bank account

That's surprising to me. Their 9011 monoblocks have pretty good synergy with the 101e speakers although admittedly I have never heard them driven by CH.

 

[gian60]

I don't know which MBL tried,could be not 9011 mono

 

[MJB]

To me MBLs have typically sounded better with their own brand electronics. However, I have not listened to them with CH P (which I like very much).

 

[gian60]

For me M1.1 mono is absolutely the best amp

L1 is very very good but not in the class of M1,so waiting to listen L 10

 

[JackD201]

Me too. I placed my reservation for the L10 and M10 Monos. Such is my faith in the CH team.

As for FMA, their top of the line preamp remains one of the most satisfying pieces I've had the pleasure of listening to.

MBL I will always hold in the highest regard especially for the innovations they've given us over the decades. They seem to be rather static since the sale. I do hope this state changes and that we will see further evolutions from them.

 

[Lagonda]

MBL seems to be a company that has been able to think “outside the box”
product wise, while building up a in-house manufacturing capability rare
for its size. A lot of other high end producers have their CNC’ing done
by outside vendors, MBL do it themselves. Their product longevity is
above average, some, especially dealers might prefer a faster upgrade
pace, but as a customer i feel somewhat duped when a upgrade, “can’t live
without” new model is rolled out every few years by other companies

 

[Cellindo]

For me M1.1 mono is absolutely the best amp

L1 is very very good but not in the class of M1,so waiting to listen L 10

Dear Gian60, may I ask you which preamplifier model/brand do you like the most if not CH ?

Nagra HD maybe, to stay with Swiss Made product ?

 

[LL21]

Dear Gian60, may I ask you which preamplifier model/brand do you like the most if not CH ?

Nagra HD maybe, to stay with Swiss Made product ?

Would it be Kondo? I think JackD201 who loves CH as well and now uses it (and distributes it?) was a big user of Lamm. Arnie of Rockport Arrakis fame used to use VTL Reference Monos (2 sets!) and now also uses CH. So an interesting trend of conversion from SOTA TUBES to CH.

 

[JackD201]

I definitely still love Lamm but the gulf between the hybrid amps and their SETs have widened with the ML3 and later the ML2.1. I made the switch as these cannot drive my speaker of choice to full potential. CH gives me, like it does Gian and Arnie, that tubelike linearity at reference SPL while providing uniform power we require for top to bottom coherence. Strain is in my case the killer of natural sound. I think of it as having cake and eating it too having done away with heat issues, small but important musical improvements and fewer compromises. For the record I am a fan of the Sigfried II albeit in Triode mode. I am working with Leif and Damon to build speakers to be mated with these SETs for a project that after 5 years of saving is finally underway. We're looking at two years for that pair as VSA is very busy at the moment.

 

[Tango]

Your system and room has to be so clean and right to get the Lamm to portray a recording venue closer to the way CH does. While you have to season your CH with the right cables to hear tangibility and organic dimensionality closer the Lamm. They offer two very different presentations. Both Gian and Jack are very open to different sounds imo.

 

[JackD201]

MBL seems to be a company that has been able to think “outside the box”
product wise, while building up a in-house manufacturing capability rare
for its size. A lot of other high end producers have their CNC’ing done
by outside vendors, MBL do it themselves. Their product longevity is
above average, some, especially dealers might prefer a faster upgrade
pace, but as a customer i feel somewhat duped when a upgrade, “can’t live
without” new model is rolled out every few years by other companies

I can't see how they can improve on the 9011 for people using any generation of 101s and Xtremes. The digital side of MBL is what appears to have slowed down. They appear to have put their energy into the C line. While I think this is a great thing as it brings the company to a wider market, I can't help but wonder what they can do for the Reference line without Herr Wolfgang. It has been a few years now and that is why I ask the question. My fear is that like many companies sold by founders, only the brand will remain after a decade or so. We are somewhere at the halfway point so I am getting a little jittery since this is a company I think the industry needs to help keep it on its toes.

 

[JackD201]

Your system and room has to be so clean and right to get the Lamm to portray a recording venue closer to the way CH does. While you have to season your CH with the right cables to hear tangibility and organic dimensionality closer the Lamm. They offer two very different presentations. Both Gian and Jack are very open to different sounds imo.

Good music to me is like good food Khun Tang, delicious is as delicious does

 

[moby2004]

Dear Gian60, may I ask you which preamplifier model/brand do you like the most if not CH ?

Nagra HD maybe, to stay with Swiss Made product ?

Hello

I would be very interested as well as I am currently considering changing my preamp /amp front ends. How would you compare CH P vs other brands like Soulution series7,NagraHD, Dag or big class A amps ( Accuphase, Gryphon ) particularly with transparent and hard to drive speakers ?

Thanks
Alex

 

[gian60]

I never listen Nagra HD

I compare at home and had at home
CH with Kondo M7 KSL,GE1 and 2 Souga to biamp my speaker,( 97 db),With MActone otl mono M 8 V,and in shop of my friend
with Lockport Cygnus,Pass XS and XS 300,Pandora and Mephysto,Esoteric Grandioso,Rowland 925, and other shop CH with KR pre and mono and stereo top amp with Sonus Faber Lilium and Martin Logan

In every situation CH always better for me,for more natural sound,a mix with top triode magic mid and top transistor bass and top high with power and dynamic infinite.

Never compare top preamp vs my L1 with X1

But i understood at high level always need pre and amp same brand,synergy is always perfect

 

[ashandger]

Just FYI, there is a great, and very detailed, review of LI (stereo and mono versions) + X1 in the current issue HiFi+. They rated it extremely highly.

 

[zbub]

Hard to imagine 101E not sounding better with MBL monoblocks, but I am happy to learn CH M1.1 amp could be more "univeral" than imagined.

Did your friend tried mix and match different brands of pre/amp combo? I am willing to bet FM preamp with CH M1.1 amp would sound fantastic. Need to reverse the speaker polarity though.

 

[gian60]

No,he tried only same brand because shop and distributor brought some day to try and then take back

 

[han_n]

I had a good friend coming over from Singapore last weekend, who is well experienced with regard to high end HiFi, has heard many very good systems throughout Asia, (including but not limited to set-ups greatly exceeding US $ 500k in dedicated rooms) and his opinion when he heard the CH Precision electronics including the L1 and M1.1 monos was that he had never heard anything this transparent, with such speed, attack and dynamics. Of course, the Gryphon Pendragon speakers I'm using do contribute quite a lot as well, but yes, CH Precision L1/M1.1 is a combination right at the very top. It is the reference to which other brands/designs will be compared to. Whoever is in the market for amplification in this high end segment should include CH Precision in their search.