Any comments on the MBL 121 Compacts

They are the best sounding speaker under $20k that's where the MBL 116 speakers are priced. I have listened to everything out there for the last 20 years, compared to MBL other speakers are just cheap drivers in a box. I assume you know the drivers in even an expensive speaker (costing $10K or more) only cost a couple of hundred dollars. The MBL drivers are made by MBL and are truly revolutionary and different. The Radialstrahler drivers in the 121 are the same tweeter and midrange in the $48k MBL 101 speaker! Warm, rich, fast, and 360 degrees of huge sound is what the MBL speakers give you. Buy a pair now you'll be glad you did!

I assume you know the drivers in even an expensive speaker (costing $10K or more) only cost a couple of hundred dollars

Quite often true, but MBL is not the only manufacturer that make their own drivers. A few others use expensive drivers too.

BTW: MBL has an absolutely fascinating design...reminds me of Robby from the Forbidden Planet. The 101e has got to be one of the coolest designs out there!

For me, the problem with the MBL 121 is the MBL 116. If you are going to add the MBL sub to the 121 (I would), the cost approaches the 116. Even though the 116 doesn't match the bass extension of the 121+sub, I prefer it overall.

In turn, the problem with the 116 is the 111 (I think that's the model). At the end of the day, as much as the speakers impressed me, I couldn't pull the trigger on any MBL as trade-offs in the bass performance kept pushing me toward the 101 and I'm just not ready to spend $40K.

I would agree, however, that MBL makes very impressive speakers.

Marty