Pros and cons of the Magico Mini vs MBL 101E

The only answer I can see to your issues with the 101E is that the jumpers for the bass were set in a careless manner. There is a switch on the back that lets you change the bass output so it better suits your room. If incorrectly set this will lead to a too heavy or too lean bass which isn't too nice.

Other than that, MBLs require little room treatment and as long as the room isn't too small they should play fine anywhere. On the other hand, they can sound weird if put in a heavily treated room. This is certainly not recommended.

When correctly setup and configured I haven't heard anything that matches it regardless of price.

Thank you Osgorth. Your suggestion about the jumpers for the bass on the 101Es is very probably the reason for their disappointing sound at the NY show. I didn't know about the switch that allows one to tune bass for room accoustics. If I had known, I would have said something to the dapper gentleman who was in charge of the demonstration, and perhaps he might have altered the balance. A design allowance for fine tuning a loudspeaker is, in my opinion, a major positive factor, and I think that MBL's advertising has missed an opportunity by not informing readers of its incorporation into the 101E's design.

Yeah, it could well be that they choose to bump the bass a bit to make it sound more impressive on the show.. A really bad practice if you ask me! When my local dealer got his first pair I experienced this. It had a lot of bass, overpowering to my ears, I didn't like it at all, and it certainly didn't sound the way it sounded when I heard them in Germany earlier. The switches were discovered and it was set to neutral, and after that they sound as alive and engaging as I remembered. The difference was far from subtle!

I hope you get the chance to hear them the way they're supposed to be, it's a real experience. :)

I haven't heard the Magico, but I have heard MBL overload the bass at an LA show. For some reasons of their own choosing, the company demo'd the 101 in a (large) room at unbearably high volume. But...

I heard the smaller (111?) MBL floorstander at a dealer in a better room at manageable spl and was more favorably impressed. At both the show and the dealer, the MBLs produce a feeling of "you are there" that is pretty much unique in my experience. The 111 doesn't do the bottom octave, but sounded very good to me.

IMHO, MBL doesn't do themselves any favors with their demos. Try to find a dealer to get a better sense.

Good luck,

Marty