Tuning up
If you haven't read the sidebar yet, please do, because it will shed light on what follows.
While assembling my reference system, I've discovered that the options available to me for fine-tuning sonics involve switching between different-sounding 1) gray and silver balls in the Grand Prix Apex feet that support my rack, 2) cables, and 3) equipment supports. I can only switch the balls in the footers of a 200lb double rack loaded with heavy equipment if I hire weightlifters from my gym to help me out; evaluating on the spot and making further switches is quite chancy. Switching cabling can produce profound sonic changes that make it difficult to figure out what is causing what and require me to start from scratch to establish a new sonic baseline. Hence, when new equipment comes my way, it's most practical to switch footers until I find the combination that works best.
Before the review began, I had Nordost Sort Kones (mostly Titanium) under most front-end equipment and noise/power products, and Ansuz Darkz T2S resonance support feet with optional Titanium balls under the HDPlex linear power supply, Roon Nucleus+ music server, and D'Agostino Progression monoblocks. As for what I tried once I began listening closely to the N11's interaction with my reference system, it's time to get . . .
Taking the stage
As I began listening, I kept in mind a recent email from Ned Kuehn, whom I met at the 2019 Florida Audio Expo. Kuehn, who played in both band and orchestra in his youth, wrote that he'd recently tried the Benchmark LA4 preamplifier and discovered that its "detail, depth, decay, and dimensions" transported him to the recording venue and bettered what he heard when he relied exclusively on the dCS Vivaldi DAC's volume control. Kuehn's email inspired some of the dialogue with Reis that appears in the sidebar; it also impelled me to investigate in what ways the MBL N11 might alter and improve the sound delivered by the volume controls in the dCS Rossini and EMM Labs DV2 DACs.
Using the Rossini DAC/Clock and the N11 to listen to one of the more challenging test tracks in my collection—challenging for listener and system—the first movement from the San Francisco Symphony's digital-only release of 12-tone master Alban Berg's Three Pieces for Orchestra (24/192 WAV, SFS Media SFS0070), the N11 lent a subtle warm-and-velvety cushion to the sound. This effect proved to be consistent no matter the source material. On Marianne Crebassa and Fazil Say's recording of Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis from the album Secrets (24/96 WAV, Erato 564483), the N11 brought out the warm core of every note.
Turning to one of the many fascinating albums I've had neither time nor space to review, Clytemnestra (24/96 FLAC/Qobuz, BIS-2408) from soprano Ruby Hughes and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Jac van Steen, I was first seduced more by the colors of voice and orchestra than by Hughes's overwrought performance of Mahler's Rückert-Lieder. In that music, Hughes touched me less than Janet Baker, Kathleen Ferrier, and Jamie Barton do in theirs. But in Hughes's performance of Berg's Altenberg-Lieder, the beauty of music and sound, the plethora of colors, and the fullness of the bass drum won me over. The N11 brought me to the heart of the musical experience and enabled me to hear the subtle differences of interpretation, dynamics, and color that are the portals to the truth behind the notes.
Clytemnestra was the first disc I used to experiment with the N11's Unity Gain setting. The experience certainly changed when Unity Gain was engaged—the soundstage moved farther back and, while perspective was clarified, it felt as though the sound was less open and had lost a bit in transparency and bass. When I removed the preamp from the chain and relied exclusively on the Rossini's volume control, the recording felt more open and expansive. Was the perspective conveyed by the N11's Unity Gain setting actually more true to the source, and had I just become accustomed to what the Rossini produced on its own? That seems to be the implication of Jürgen Reis's comments in the sidebar. More experimentation was in order.
Sticking with classical vocals, I turned to hi-rez files of a recording I'd recently reviewed for the print edition, Ludwig Von Beethoven: Lieder • Songs, from baritone Matthias Goerne and pianist Jan Lisiecki (24/96 WAV, DG 4838351). The N11's sound with Unity Gain turned off was just wonderful—open, warm, and extremely transparent, with a sparkle to the piano that contrasted with Goerne's magnificent voice and made me want to listen more and more. The N11 clarified subtle tonal differences and the myriad overtones and undertones of Goerne's voice while rendering the piano more lustrous. What was even more significant to me than the N11's touch of warmth, sweetness, and velvety polish was how it pulled me deeper into the performance.
Once again, though, the switch to Unity Gain seemed to make Goerne a little less accessible, as though he was standing behind a thin translucent screen.
After indulging in the extended love scene from Verdi's Otello, on the new recording from tenor Jonas Kaufmann, soprano Federica Lombardi, and the Orchestra and Chorus of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia conducted by Antonio Pappano (24/96 WAV, Sony 611967), I listened only to material from the great big wonderful nonclassical world.
Gazing at choices in "Records to Die For," from Stereophile's February 2020 issue, and reviews in a number of issues, I noticed "Naima (Take 1)" from John Coltrane's new 1964 recording, Blue World (24/192 WAV)—thanks to the folks at Universal Music Group for this one—"They Say It's Wonderful" from John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (24/48 MQA/Tidal), "I Could Write a Book" from Sonny Rollins's Our Man in Jazz (16/44.1 FLAC/ Tidal), and the title tracks from John Paul White's "The Hurting Kind" (24/96 FLAC/Qobuz), The Brandt Bauer Frick Ensemble's Mr. Machine (16/44.1 FLAC/Qobuz), and Sun Ra's Sun Song (16/44.1 FLAC/Tidal). (The musical interest of the Sun Ra easily trumps its sonics.) Into the mix I threw a fascinating, exceptionally haunting, airy, and revealing new-music track from a choral recording by Morten Lindberg: Kristin Bolstad's "Mellom skyrene," performed by Stemmeklang on Tomba sonora (2L-155, 24/352.8 MQA/ Tidal). I also indulged in audio engineer Jim Anderson's recent gift of the hi-rez version of Patricia Barber's Higher (24/352.8 WAV, AS0171), the CD version of which was our "Recording of the Month" for September 2019.
Listening to these tracks over and over, as I switched back and forth between the Rossini solo and Rossini plus N11, confirmed several things. While the N11 is extremely revealing of subtle details and brings a lovely, glowing sweetness to recordings I find seductive and ideal for long-term listening without fatigue, its Unity Gain feature, with this DAC, reduced color saturation, richness, and transparency—unless I switched footers under the Roon Nucleus+ server/ streamer and the HDPlex linear power supply. Indeed, even after trying some of the eight types of footers available to me—I didn't bother with footers that I knew wouldn't work—I could never get the sound precisely right.
The last act
With a knowing nod to Captain Picard, the time had come to engage the very different-sounding EMM Labs DV2. In my system, this DAC may tone down treble brilliance and sound less open, but it delivers stronger, tighter, more awesome lower midrange and bass. With only a little tweaking of footers—I switched to Nordost Titanium Sort Kones under the HDPlex LPS that powers my Roon Nucleus+ music server/streamer, external USB hub, and the final Sonore optical Module—MBL's N11 preamp seemed an ideal match. Engaging Unity Gain provided the best bass control I'd ever heard from my system, save when I used the far more expensive D'Agostino Momentum HD preamp ($40,000), which in my opinion deserves a Product of the Year award. The N11's Unity Gain also toned down the noisy top ends of some recordings, making for easier listening. Tonalities were spot on, the range of colors varied and intriguing, and the listening experience a joy.
"God, does the N11 help a lot," I scribbled in my notes, as listening was unfortunately coming to an end. Sorry for the very late walk, doggies, but Daddy has work to do.
A day later, during one of the check-in calls that so many of us have been making during the COVID-19 pandemic, a long-ago neighbor from East Oakland mentioned her fondness for Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." After finding a hi-rez remastering of Led Zeppelin IV (24/96 MQA/Tidal), I marveled at how the DV2/N11 combo enabled me to feel how tactile the guitar sounded and clarified the textures of overlapping instruments. "Just perfect," I wrote in my notes, after I had turned my phone toward the Wilson Alexia 2 loudspeakers in a vain attempt to transmit a fraction of what I was hearing. "I've never heard Led Zeppelin sound this good at audio shows. The drum entrances are so exciting, and the music sounds really fabulous when everything gets going."
That led me to turn to the 2011 remaster of another classic, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (16/44.1 FLAC/Tidal or Qobuz). Yet again, I fell in the love with the N11's warm smile, which in this case was enhanced by Unity Gain's smooth-and-warm presentation, superbly controlled bass, and low-range clarity. While I'm not convinced that there's a bright side to everything, the N11 shone a light during the dark days of the pandemic and delivered week upon week of listening pleasure.
The ovation
As a preamp designed and tuned to mate perfectly with other MBL Noble Line products, the NI1 preamp's intrinsic sonic signature brought a velvety smooth, subtly warm, and immensely pleasurable finish to the sound of both my reference DACs and made listening a joy. It proved a better fit for one DAC than the other.
The N11 preamp's Unity Gain feature affords it a flexibility and potentially perfect synergy that many other preamps lack. In my system, however, its effects were DAC and setup dependent. With one DAC, it left me wondering if it was moving me closer to or farther from what recording engineers and artists hoped I would hear; with the other, it left me wondering if it was exactly what I had needed all along to achieve ideal system synergy.
The N11 could very well be a performance you never want to end. It's a looker, for sure, one whose presence in my system I already miss.
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COMMENTS
Some preamplifiers like the Parasound JC2 BP come with input gain controls ...... Also, some power amplifiers like the Parasound Halo JC-5 come with input gain controls ....... Do those pre-amps and power amps work similar to the 'unity gain' controls like the MBL N11 pre-amp? ..... May be JA1 could shed some light on this matter :-) ........
Distortion levels 0.0005% ..... SNR better than 20 Bits :-) ......
I mean seriously. Chrome Gold? Yuck. I guess that appeals to the 70 year old audiophile.
And adds nothing of value. For the record, the version I reviewed, on which I based my visual assessment, was black and chrome.
You're right Jason. Ageism, like racism, is ignorant and offensive.
Having said that, putting a single knob or dial in the middle of a component's front face is pretty much the definition of design dullness (like the Cambridge Audio Edge). And MBL has made it not only dull, but ungainly, and gratuitously bling-ey as well. Not good moves.
And here we have a $14,600 pre-amp that you can't be sure will work well with whatever your DAC is. What a wonderful world we modern audiophiles are living in!
First and foremost, thank you. Ordinarily I do not call people out for stuff. But you're right on. These divisions of rank and privilege based on age, race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion / spiritual path / or lack thereof, country of origin, and all the rest must be addressed and named for what they are.
We all have our differences in taste and aesthetics, which I respect. Even if you think this preamplifier is ugly as sin, you are not my enemy, and neither of us need defend our opinions. As with many products these days, the N11's front is minimal because, unless you use the remote, all functions are controlled by that one knob and six buttons, and displayed on the big screen. Some would say designs of the nature beat 4 knobs, 8 toggle switches, and the like, but others would not. Diversity is what makes the world go round.
However, the issue of what preamp will or will not work well with your DAC or amps or speakers or whatever is one of system synergy. System synergy is always an issue with audio components, whether audiophile quality or not. It's just that when we have little money to spend-there was a time when all I could afford was a used turntable, basic cartridge, used $25 headphone amp, and some aging and not very costly Sennheiser headphones-many of us see ourselves as "beggars can't be choosers." Undoubtedly there were more harmonious pairings of $25 or $30 headphone amps and Sennheiser or Koss or whatever headphones out there, but I never even knew that a simple change of one or the other could make an audible difference. When it comes to naïveté, I was "in the garden," so to speak, albeit not the one that Joni Mitchell sang about in "Woodstock."
There is one thing that I find dismaying about the comments so far. People have focused on words, attitude, income, cost, and looks. But no one seems to have paid much attention to this:
"I concluded my measurements of the Benchmark LA4 preamplifier in the January 2020 issue by writing 'Benchmark's LA4 is the widest-bandwidth, widest-dynamic-range, lowest-noise, lowest-distortion preamplifier I have encountered.' Its performance on the test bench reveals that MBL's N11 now takes that crown.—John Atkinson"
Although, subjectively speaking, the N11 may not be the most neutral or mind-blowing preamp I have ever auditioned, it is the best-measuring preamp that John Atkinson has ever had on his test bench. We're talking about four decades of testing. This is a major component, and worthy of consideration as a Best of the Year. John wasn't as impressed, measurement-wise, with the D'Agostino Momentum HD preamp I reviewed, but I consider it another worthy contender for all the reasons I detail in that review.
This, ultimately, is the reason why my reply is so long. This preamp is worthy of consideration by anyone who can afford it and who likes its looks and sound. It could very well be "the" preamp for many Stereophile readers.
One more comment. In the last two years, I've reviewed products that cost between $600 and $52,000. I kinda lose track of what review will be published in what issue,, but I think that my next product review is of a DAC that costs 1/4 - 1/3 the price of the MBL N11 (depending upon whether you purchase the DACs optional outboard power supply). I like the sound of that DAC a lot.
By nature, I do not automatically resent people who have more $ than I do, who drive nicer and newer cars than my '94 Toyota Corolla DX, or who retired when they were 30 years younger than I am now. I do have strong feelings about people who make their money by exploiting others, but that's a completely other issue in my book. I know people who work just as hard or far less hard than I who nonetheless make or who have made far more money through honest labor that serves humanity's highest good. Some of those people can afford and care about the five-figure products I sometimes review. I wish them all the happiness in the world.
Stay safe, my friend, and be well. And I say that to everyone, even my harshest critics and those who are contributing to the spread of COVID-19.
I appreciate all that you say. As far as whether I "automatically resent people who have more $ than I do," I don't. What I resent is that money seems to dictate what is popular, or even ideologically or politically correct, with respect to stereo stuff -- such as tone controls or balance controls -- and that leaves a lot of us out of the game. Tone controls for example are prevalent on cheap receivers, but rarely, if ever, on expensive equipment, and there is no justification for that in audio terms. Those of us who want to use them (I use then rarely, but occasionally they're very helpful) of course understand that there may be some tiny price to pay in terms of distortion or noise, but we consider it worth it. Yet the idea of "signal purity" is used to reject tone controls even by the same kind of people who put up with high levels of distortion in tube equipment. These things are not dictated by consumer needs, but by fashion, or ideology, or audio political correctness, and it's obviously the high end that is dictating those things, not the mass market. There actually was one pre-amp in recent years, by Luxman, that did have wonderfully versatile tone controls, and I would like to buy it but at $5,000, I can't really afford it (and I don't like messing with tubes). Actually I could afford it if I hadn't already bought the $4,000 NAD M32 which came "highly recommended" in Class A by John Atkinson. After buying it I found that (in addition to the tone controls I wanted) it had hard, brittle sound that made it fatiguing and unlistenable to me. So now I know that I can't trust Atkinson's ears and I ignore that aspect of his reviews, even if I find his measurements invaluable and I read them religiously. I applaud the fine measurements of the MBL. And resentment of money isn't the issue here. It's the stupidity and narrow-mindedness that makes people like me feel left out that creates resentment. And the casual recommendations of reviewers who don't really care about items that aren't in the stratospheric range of components they normally listen to and they don't care to live with them long enough to find out how they really sound. (I know what you're going to say in his defense -- whatever.) LTL
Hello L-t L,
Please understand that when I was discussing resentment on the part of people who can afford equipment we can't afford, I was not thinking about you personally (or impersonally, since I have no idea who you are). I was making an observation about a recurring trend I see in the comments section.
Your comment about tone controls is interesting, because I just reviewed an integrated with tone controls. It will take two months for that review to appear here, and less for it to appear in print (and available, along with recording reviews and comments and letters that are not available online, to subscribers for a whole $12.95/year). I didn't like the effects of those tone controls at all. I'm rather relieved that in my discussion, I didn't invoke "signal purity." The thought wasn't even in Ms. Ivory Snow's mind. I just know what I heard.
I find John's ears extremely acute. I wouldn't be surprised if his recent Esenvalds recording, to which I gave a RotM and which Gramophone praised highly for its engineering, scores a Grammy nomination in the engineering department. It is possible, however, that the NAD was a far better match for his system than for yours. This could lead to a whole discussion of the "absolute sound" of components. But a simple mention of that myth is more than sufficient, as far as I'm concerned.
Time to go running before the rain hits. Be well,
jason
Good for you. I think he needs to be a little more thoughtful in his reviews, and ask himself if what he is hearing is something he would really want to live with himself. Recommending the Aerial 5T for Class A, after describing how difficult it was to set it up to get good bass response -- and how he did that only by ignoring manufacturer placement recommendations, and only by using a $20,000 amp known for its bass control -- is one example. Also, I tried the NAD M32 with three different sets of speakers (one being his "Class A" Aerials), so sorry, it's not just that it was a poor match for my "system." With each of the three it sounded hard and digital relative to a (less expensive) solid state amp with the same power rating.
And again you express your dislike for tone controls. In every single review they are either ignored, or disparaged. Reviewers always say something like, "And then I got out my Reference Recording pressing of Bruckner's 9th by [fill in the name of an orchestra and conductor not known for playing Bruckner, since it's not really the music that counts here], which allowed me to hear the delicately filigreed highs..." Duh. Of course we never see: "And then I got out my 1939 Toscanini Beethoven 9th (or my 1958 Miles Davis "Miles Ahead," or my early '80s digital Karajan Bruckner), where the wonderful tone controls of the Luxman allowed me to tame the steely highs, and to hear more realistically proportioned weight in the bass." No, that will never happen. You'd rather "hold your ears and grit your teeth," or however it was that you once described it. That's not the audiophile experience all of us want to have. But we often don't have much choice in the matter.
May be JVS could review the two chassis flag-ship tube pre-amp, Mcintosh C1100 ($13,000) ...... Hi-Fi News measured 0.00009% - 0.0005% distortion levels for C1100 :-) .......
QUOTE: // “These divisions of rank and privilege based on age, race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion / spiritual path / or lack thereof, country of origin, and all the rest must be addressed and named for what they are.” //
You read all of that into a comment about styling of an audio component? The comment you condemn as somehow “divisive” is actually an accurate assessment of the audio component’s 1970s look. So now saying that a house is “turn of the century” is akin to lynching minorities or pushing grandma over the cliff?
Do you really believe this? Because if you do, you are the one perpetuating all of this “isms” you listed and showing that they exist primarily between your ears. Certainly not in reality.
Ask yourself who benefits from the feigned victim hood of manufactured divisiveness. Victim hood is Big Bisiness and the cornerstone of Fascist and Marxist revolutionary theory. Just saying ….
"purview" is 'Scope of Influence'
There is a wider definition of "purview." You may want to look at this one: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purview.
Purview is legal terminology typically associated with being outside the limits of your Job, authority or knowledge. i.e. a plumber offering legal advice.
Considering that the MBL person did the majority of the important parts of the review, this MBL review may very well have been outside your purview. I found his insights helpful and necessary.
Tony in Venice
ps. Oxford English Dictionary is the Standard. The 20 Volume Edition is appropriate for writers.
"purview" is 'Scope of Influence'
Anybody who can afford Wilsons, D'Agostinos, dCS, Nordost cables and Grand Prix Monza racks is 'privileged' :-) .......
and a bit of a snub to lesser peer groups.
There is an implied 'Velvet Rope' divider with this sort of attitude.
-------------
MBL is super nice sounding, gaudy gear that is probably hell on the cleaning lady. The entire MBL System is Jaw Dropingly stunning in appearance and Sound Quality ( if you are "privileged" enough to be in the Same Room with it playing Lang-Lang ).
Tony in Venice
1) That MBL preamp is stone cold guaranteed to match well will your Nagel prints! How’s that for synergy?
2) Anybody remember when the reference was “the absolute sound” and not comparative differences between pieces of gear? This has been a quantum shift that was discussed 40 years ago as a pathway we should be wary of. Now, we compare gear to gear.
Score two points for the Gipper.
That MBL pre-amp also matches well with the round meters on the Progression amps :-) ........
What is the point of this 'pre'-amplifier (indeed, all line-level pre-amps)? No digital source that I'm aware of requires pre-amplification to provide levels suitable to drive a power amp, and the only source that does require pre-amplification -- a phono one -- is not catered for in this pre-amp by the absence of a phono input. So what point this device?
All the rattling about "Unity-gain" being better than a competitor's over (pre-)amplified pre-amp is a straw-man argument as it side-steps the obvious (and usually $0, unless you want to spend $5K on an auto-former) option of having no pre-amp AND better sound.
While I don't question the ability of a $14K pre-amp to show a clean pair of heels to a $140 one, I do question whether there is any digital medium of any bit- or sampling-rate whose sound quality merits such expenditure or such a wide-window as will only throw the faults of that medium into sharper relief. Spend the $14K on sealed vinyl and play it through the $140 amp -- guess which will sound better.
Let's not get into the whole "...things sounded better with the pre- in-circuit than a passive ... more 'drive' etc" thing. If transparency and fidelity are the goal, then assuming appropriate impedance matching no preamplifier is better than a pre-amplifier that isn't needed when dealing with line-level sources. In a world where companies are falling over themselves NOT to offer phono inputs, why the hell does anyone make pre-amps anymore (and who the hell buys them?!)?
And yes, it's blingy and fugly. Looks like it belongs in a financial-adviser's kitchen...
At risk of being censored, here in the UK we would say that this is kit for "wankers", irrespective of the depth of their pockets.
"If transparency and fidelity are the goal, then assuming appropriate impedance matching no preamplifier is better than a pre-amplifier that isn't needed when dealing with line-level sources."
Err... Not really for me. Maybe it is for Stereophile. I just want coloration to enhance the recording so I can enjoy the music more, unless I only listen to audiophile recordings. I don't. Obviously I'm not a neutral or absolute sound type of audiophile. Other than that I agree with your assessment of this gear. It's really ugly. At least it has good engineering and measurements.
I can't help but mention the Schiit Magni Heresy headphone amplifier. It costs 100usd and has a preamp output. It is unity gain or has a switch for higher gain. It's distortion measurements are close to the MBL and does the same job, minus the switching and any phono preamp.
So basically, for digital it can do the same job. I think part of the difference in sound you are hearing between a DAC that has a volume control and using the MBL may be attributable to most of the DAC volume controls being digital. That makes for perfect matching between channels etc but you are listening to a must reduced dynamic range and possibly the low level detail is lost or distorted by comparison to full scale digital reduced in volume by a unity gain stage with an analog volume control. Something to consider anyway.
I certainly agree that the design is an acquired taste. Moreover, I would assume that most people would buy such a pre-amp for the long term. In that respect, I would be worried about the durability of the colour LCD screen and the possibility of getting a replacement after say 6-8 years.
That was the first thing that crossed my mind. Not only from a replacement standpoint, but the graphics alone could make it look dated. It already sort of looks like Sega Genesis.
very interesting article, especially the interview. I must confess, I was not aware footers would allow as much tuning toward ones own preferences, as e.g. the choice of cables (IC & power). I always thought there is a more general i.e. uniform gain in SQ by reducing component vibrations.
From https://gearpatrol.com/2020/06/30/whats-actually-the-difference-between-a-cheap-and-expensive-stereo-receiver/ :
In general, the bigger and better the speakers you have, the more powerful the stereo receiver you’re going to need to drive them. But power isn’t everything. For example, the Yamaha R-S202BL and the more expensive Cambridge Audio AXR100 can both deliver 100-watts per channel, but what makes the Cambridge Audio AXR100 better is the build quality of the built-in amplifiers. Not only are the components higher-grade, but the AXR100 also has both right and left channels, which contributes to more accurate sound.
50 per channel.
Mark Levinson 5805 integrated amp is specified as 125 WPC into 8 Ohms, by the manufacturer ..... Stereophile measurements show, it can also drive 2 Ohm loads with 370 Watts :-) ........
As I just bought the Benchmark HPA4 (line section the same as LA4), and sighed to myself, a bit deflated, but still smiling. It held the crown for a few scant months.. lol.
I love MBL designs, and I'm sure I would love silver and that white variant (I forget the color name). Otherwise a bit too blingy for my tastes.
That being said it sounds like it's a superlative preamp... though I would go with their speakers as a first purchase choice to...pretty much anything extant.
Great review as always, Jason.
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