mbl - is there a problem?

Dev,

When I read such statements in relation to sound of MBL's tells me only one thing.

Haven't heard a proper set-up in a real world situation or possibly you just don't like them which is okay.

In the end it's all about music, so do enjoy!

Albert you are a dealer for Megalines right?

No, never represented Dali, Maggie or any other speaker line. Not except when I was the factory rep for JBL many, years ago. Probably before you were into Hi Fi.

Yes, I've heard NBL in many situations both in private systems and at dozens of shows. Not my cup of tea as they say.

omni sound in general and mbl specifically done well is radically different. IT can take some time to get it. But I I believe once you do many will never look back at anything else.

It's almost like throwing a switch in teh way you are trained to listen, once you get it, which can take some time. Once thrown, its hard to go back.

I owned OHM Walsh speakers since ~ 1982. Also, Maggies and various more conventional designs. WHen I upgraded to the newer Walshes recently, it took me several months to tune in properly and be able to hear what the newer and more refined Walshes were doing, despite all those years of exposure. Once the lightbulb went off, that was it though, save for tuning the system to maximize the performance of what I was hearing further. Its an apples and oranges kind of thing.

I've heard mbl sound very good in a proper dealer setup (10-12 feet of space behind the speakers and not a typical rectangular room configuration back there, rather the width tapered down further back)) and also sound very mediocre at shows in more conventional setups. THere can be a huge difference. WHen they sounded good, the soudstage and imaging overall was practically in a league of its own, especially in terms of soundstage depth and precise location of musicians or recording elements within the large and deep soundstage. I think that is the mbl sound's unique claim to fame. The extent to which this is realized is largely what will separate mbl from others soundwise. Otherwise, there are many ways to skin the cat out there, many of which are no slouches in the imaging and soundstage departments either, just not to the extent of the best mbl setup I have heard.

Heavy stuff! Expensive too. My mbl demos have been brief so I cannot comment based on extended exposure, but it is a quite unique experience that could take some time to process.

If one had to ship large mbls to GErmany for support, that would be deal breaker for me especially in conjunction with the overall cost of ownership for mbl gear. There appears to be a lot of technology that goes into the mbls. Maybe they are relatively low maintenance in general though. Dunno.

Hi Albert,

thanks for clarification but I thought I recalled you mentioning such in a discusion of your specific Dali speakers you own.

What's NBL? Most likly a error on your part as I have done many times in pushing of the wrong key and suppose to be MBL right.

I wish they would allow us to edit.

You mention you have heard in private "systems" and dozen shows; shows as mentiond and you know are far from ideal but you mention listening in "private systems".

"Systems" meaning more than one, I'm very curious please share some more information, who's systems were these and how long ago? Were they when you were that JBL rep that you made mention of many years ago and before I was into HiFi, Ha! Ha!

What was the associated electronics because what you wrote above saying "The dozen or so times I've listened to the MBL it never connected to me musically." totally contradicts my own exsperience so something must have been wronge.

I can fully appreciate it's your own opinion but most defiantly not their characteristcs so others reading specifically the OP who is possibly interested needs to read another members opinion who has actually owned the Maggies mentioned and continues to own MBL's, obviously the OP needs to listen to make up their own mind.

but none of this was apart of the OP's question and getting of topic but due to you saying such I feel it's important to offer another opinion.

Also when one sugests "not their cup of tea" is a polite way of saying they don't like which is okay just like when I made mention a while back that the Durand Talea arm wasn't my cup of tea and others whom I know since using it feel the same way right?

"Partly it is because they say that and warranty work now has to be arranged from Germany. As an experiment I tried to see what to do if I had an MBL speaker that needed to work and what would I do and I did not find an easy answer."

Does this mean that all repair work is done in Germany? I wouldn't read it that way, certainly warrants a deeper investigation.
What Lrsky said - Call 'em up.

Okay, it appears to be a bit more complicated than anyone here has addressed, but here's what (I think) is going on:

Audiogon links you to the web site of the former American MBL distributor (MBL North America, evidently an independent company) which is unloading inventory at 50% (or more) off. I'm guessing that these serial #s won't be serviced by the new (parent company owned) distributor MBL-USA.

As Larry advised, make some phoe calls....but be sure to call both firms.

Good Luck

Marty

BTW, I like both MBLs and Maggies very much...different strengths. The Maggies might be more neutral, but - if you can get the bottom two octaves reasonably balanced in your listening room, the 101s are showstoppers (IMHO).