Not much discussion around MBL

@prof 

I could not have said it better; really.

pokey77,

Of course these are subjective opinions.  But that's audio for you.

I've been comparing live vs reproduced sound for a long time. I had many speakers pass through my room and had live recordings I'd made of familiar sounds, my acoustic guitar, my sons playing sax, trombone, my wife's voice etc.  I used to play them through a new pair of speakers and compare them directly to the real thing, just to get a sense of what the system was or wasn't doing.

Nothing has reproduced those recordings with the realism of the MBLs.
They certainly pass the "other room" test with flying colors.   If I play the recording of my son practicing saxophone through the MBLs, at realistic levels, from outside the room it just sounds uncannily like someone is playing a real sax in there.  Same with my guitar recordings.  I've fooled a couple people that my son was playing sax in the next room when it was the MBLs.  It's not just the spaciousness or the way they energize a room, but the reproduction of instrumental timbre can be startling.

@prof 

I appreciate the further details. I do also appreciate they are subjective, but I do sense we probably like many of the same finer points of the MBL gear and certainly that includes the timbrel texture and realism, it just makes them sing so convincingly. I've never been in an MBL room I wanted to leave, some better than others, yes, but always that MBL siren-song calling you to listen just a little longer.

I've heard the big MBL loudspeakers a number of times and have always enjoyed them.  They remind me a lot of the Linkwitz LX521, which you can build for about $3000/pair.

(...backing up to audiotroys' comments...)

Well...yes, omnis Do Require some careful consideration and care when setting them up in any space.  One way to view it is to consider how one might build a stage for performances in a given space for a live venue...like a nightclub.  But one of the concerns is that you're not going to be able to have 'active re-enforcement' (think 'PA stacks') due to some arcane city regulation....noise, volume, etc.

So you have to consider 'reflections' and make them work for you.

Agreed, an oversized soundstage is to be avoided.  The old "901 20ft. wide pianos" were amusing only because we were trying to blast the plaster off the wall in the process...

As for the speakers under discussion....

MBL = Ferrari; if you can afford them, you'd better know how to drive them...and don't complain about the cost of tires, maintenance, etc.

You don't see a lot of Ferraris' on the freeways as a general rule, either.

Car or speaker, I admire and appreciate the technology and the craftsmanship....from afar....where I don't miss it...;)