I just noticed your comments on the MBL 101Es and the Rives PARC. I also own the 101Es and spent a few weeks with the PARC. If you want to see just how much HARM the PARC does, don't hit the by-pass switch. The PARC is still in the signal path. You have to remove it. You would probably be shocked. Yes, it does improve the bass, but the penalty you pay is way too great. One evening, a month or two ago, Eric Lichte, the musical director from Cantus was at my house and we were playing a new Cantus yet to be released CD recorded live in a Midwestern college. He did the recording along with Atkinson (Stereophile) and also used to sing with the group. We were listening to one of the cuts and the voices sounded vague, and Eric commented that there were 7 (as I recall) voices spread across the stage. But it was impossible to know that through the speakers. Something is wrong, he said and he asked me to remove the PARC from the system. First, I did the by-pass. The bass was worse, but nothing much else changed. Them I suggested removing the PARC. I did and we listened again. Voila! 7 voices clearly there. The sound was so much more real. That's the way it sounded when I recorded it, he said. We all (there were 3 of us) looked at each other and laughed. He remarked, "I would never use that equalizer." The sound really is so much better without it, and that is a shame because it does make life easier regarding the bass. I sold the unit two days later and never looked back. It did force me to deal with the bass in another manner. I ended up using 9 RealTraps which cleared up any bass issues - without eq. I hope this helps you out.

molly November 14, 2007 03:34