To clarify,
In my example contrasting MBL vs Soundlab, it was not my intention to suggest that Soundlab would fo a poor job with Van Halen. It WAS my intention to suggest that the big MBLs would do a better job (at least to my taste). The delta is probably more significant on the flip side - The MBL wouldn't be my first choice for chamber music, while the Soundllab might well be. Both speakers sound good with a variety of source material, but the MBL (in particular) shines with loud rock music IMO.
BDP used his car analogy, and I think there's some merit there, tho I might go with a different variation on that. Some performance cars are designer around higher output motors and live with higher weight. Others prioritize low weight and might trade away horsepower to keep the whole thing light. The design starting point influences the end point.
I do think the designers of the Soundlab and MBL started in very different places. 'Stats and omnis inherently offer different potential and I believe that the respective designers look to optimize the basics that they're working with. In any event, they do sound very different from one another. I prefer the MBLs to the Sounlabs (and probably anything else) on electric rock at high volume. For a real-world variety of source material, I'd probably choose Soundlab.
That statement is based on my auditioning both speakers, not the observations re: design.
