MBL Noble Line N11

LINE PREAMPLIFIER

- JASON VICTOR SERINUS

During the four years that I’ve reviewed for Stereophile, I’ve had the privilege of evaluating products from some of the world’s best-known audiophile companies: Audio Research, Bel Canto, CH Precision, dCS, D’Agostino, Dynaudio, EMM Labs, Jadis, Krell, Nordost, and Wilson, among others. But one long-standing manufacturer whose exhibits at audio shows invariably inspire ecstatic reports, Germany’s MBL, has remained outside my purview.

It thus came as a delightful surprise when MBL North America’s Jeremy Bryan informed Jim Austin and me that the MBL N11 solid-state line preamplifier ($14,600) was available for review. Part of the company’s middle-level Noble Line of electronics, the N11 differs from the Reference Line’s 6010 preamp in one key respect: the notion— specifically, designer Jürgen Reis’s notion—of how it should sound.

In a series of Skype interviews, Reis explained, “The lines don’t differ very much in measurements. In the 35 years, I’ve developed preamps, I’ve had a lot of experience with different audiophiles. I have spent a lot of time at the homes of Reference Line customers, and I know their taste, how they’ve constructed their living rooms and the sound they prefer. The typical Noble Line customer has a different living room and different tastes. Therefore, the answer to the question, ‘Which is the better preamp?’ is, ‘The preamp that works the best for you in your room.’