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MBL omnidirectional speakers. How do they sound ?

Please share your experience, whether you only heard them somewhere or have them in your system. And associated electronics. Also, how do they sound with tubes or hybrids ? Where do they stand compared to other top speakers like Lansche, Venture, JM Labs Grand Utopia, Rockport, big horns etc. ?
Not thinking of getting them anytime soon if ever, simply interested in people's impressions.
inna
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,505 posts
 
Well they definitely do not sound like most speakers, that much is for sure.

Teh best mbl demo I have heard (at dealer, set up almost nearfield with large space both behind me and the speakers) perhaps sounded the most like real music to me of any, mostly due to the wide and deep holographic soundstage with orchestra members placed cleanly within it.. Others not set up so well (at shows) were quite mediocre at best. So like most things it would seem to depend. I heard this setup with CD, phono and RTR tape source. All were impressive but the RTR was the most lifelike by a clean margin
inna OP
7,458 posts
 
Of course, tape rules.
So..they are for large rooms and require $100k amplification, bass integration can be questionable, imaging unusual.. Properly set-up can be considered by some among the very best.. Interesting speakers indeed.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,505 posts
 
inna,

not sure I'd generalize to that extent.

There are smaller models that might work well in smaller rooms but distance to walls is probably almost always desirable.

I'm sure there there are much less expensive amps up to the task of driving them well.   However, all demos I have heard have been with MBL amplification TTBOMK. 

I don't know why bass integration would be any harder than with other speakers.   

Imaging is different, perhaps unusual, but I'd say the soundstage and imaging characteristics of omni's/radials in general are what distinguishes them.   Each may either take to it or not.   It does take some getting used to, but I find once you do its hard to ever go back.


larryi
4,117 posts
 

I have heard them numerous times at shows and in a couple showrooms.  At their best, they sound VERY good.  The best that I heard them sound was in quite large rooms, rooms that were closer to small auditorium than even a large living room.  Also, they really sound their best at somewhat high volume and are not as lively and dynamic sounding when playing softly.  The depth of image, sense of envelopment and the ability to sit off axis and still get a good image is really topnotch with these speakers; they are not quite as good at doing the extremely distinct and sharp center image. 

There is a touch of the hard, almost mechanical sounding edge to the initial attack of notes; whether this is a characteristic of the speaker or of the amps, it is hard to say, but in any case, characteristic is common to most high-powered tube and solid state amps.  In a lot of rooms, the bass was a bit overwhelming and that probably accounts for why the bass also sound a bit disconnected or slow.  Overall, a fantastic speaker if you like your music loud.

rlawry
485 posts
 
Heard them several times at the Newport Beach Audio Show.

The smaller 116s in a small room were nothing remarkable.

The 101s, however, are perhaps the best-sounding speaker I have ever heard by a long shot.  They were set up in a double hotel room, driven by big mbl amps and the presence and soundstaging were nothing short of astonishing.  As I changed places in the room the soundstage perspective of the performers simply changed and the soundstage did not collapse as it does virtually every other speaker I have heard.  Detail and transparency was terrific.

I also heard the big Master References in a big room also driven by big mbl amps and using a digital front end.  MBL was only allowing people to stay for one session, so I was sorely disappointed to hear MBL play some joker's Michael Jackson CD, but even then the sound had the most lifelike dynamics, transparency, and speed I have ever witnessed, even if the soundstage was a little diffuse.  I am not a big fan of pinpoint imaging that one rarely hears live and IMO is a studio artifact anyway.  Luckily some other music was played and I heard several that I then bought.

Summary:  If the sound of the two big mbl systems was an A, every other system I have ever heard started at B-.
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