Hi, it’s good for you to join us and I hope that this is of use to you.
I understand why you are asking but there really is no answer to your question. MBL and dCS are both excellent products. There is no objective “best”, only what is best for you and only you can decide what this may be. Many factors bear upon this as well including your musical preferences, how you like to listen, room sizer etc.
You seem to have decided that MBL provides a natural organic sound. So does Vivaldi ( you would need DAC, Upsampler and system clock for your stated epurpose). Bearing in mind my remarks I would strongly suggest that you speak with an accredited dCS dealer, have an audition and, if possible, see the this can be arranged for your home so that both your existing system and environment can be taken into account. You may be about to spend a large sum with the dealer so I would expect him to take the trouble to fully meet your needs.
Hi Wally. I have the dCS Vivaldi Apex running into a CH Precision L1 preamp. I use active ATC loudspeakers so do not have CH Precision Power amps. I assume by “too straight” you mean too direct or bright or in some way unnatural. As Pete says you have to make up your own mind by listening but personally the set up I have is certainly not bright or unnatural and those who have come to hear it comment on how realistic it sounds. By the way, before deciding on the ATC actives I auditioned the system with CH Precision power amps and it was wonderful to my ears. The only reason for not going that route was my ultimate choice of active loudspeakers. I have never heard MSB so cannot offer a comparison. Good luck and enjoy doing some auditioning.
I run a Vivaldi 3 box stack into Halcro pre, MBL 9008a monos and MBL 101e mk2’s (and a couple of subs). I’m entirely satisfied with the synergy between dCS and MBL. Not sure how your CH amps will affect the balance though.