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mbl - is there a problem?

For a while now I've been planning on purchasing the new Magnepan 20.7's when they become available.
However I've always been intrigued by the idea of the MBL's - partly because they are so pretty and partly because it would be nice to have a speaker with a larger sweet spot.(I've owned and listened to Maggies for about 35 years but have never had the opportunity to hear the MBL's)
Since I've already purchased mongo electronics to power my new Maggies I think they would likely also power the MBL's.
And with the new discounts on the MBL's, they become more price competitive with the Maggies.
So I was thinking of flying somewhere to actually hear the MBL's.
But the website for MBL was disconcerting. Partly is is because the discounts are so large. 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.
I have a fear of purchasing an expensive set of speakers and being unable to fix a problem.
From everything I've read on Audiogon these seem like wonderful speakers and maybe I should buy a cheap airplane ticket to where I can hear them. But I worry about the service. Maybe I'm just better off purchasing speakers from Magnepan - this company must be so succesful that even if the whole town was destroyed by a large meteor somebody else would pick it up.
Does anybody know if MBL is a safe speaker to purchase?
nottop
nottop OP
19 posts
 
Hello Lrsky,

I was not bashing MBL. I said I've never heard them. As it is not easy for me to hear them locally I was just wondering if it would be worth the trip to hear them since the idea of servicing them in Germany is not a happy thought.

I said I thought they looked beaufitul and the idea of a whole room sweet spot is appealing.

I can bash things I've heard -

I think Levinson electronics are over rated and over priced.
I don't think having dimmable lights detracts at all from the sound quality of my stereo.
I think moderately priced cables appropriate to the equipment work about as well as very expensive ones I've heard.
I think big Maggies in a small room don't sound good.

These are all things I've heard and so I can express an opinion.
But I was not expressing an opinion about the MBL's - just a query.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,951 posts
 
WHen I heard a good mbl demo, it sounded like an orchestra playing in the dealers showroom more so than any other demo I've ever heard.

Not hifi. Real sounding! That demo set one of the highest bars I've heard.

In that demo, the vinyl bested the CD and the RtR bested the vinyl and sounded more realistic.

I'll suggest that if an mbl system does not sound good, its not because of what the speakers are capable of. IT may take more time and expense than many are prepared for though to really get to the point where one can push them to their absolute potential. These are exceptional speakers that require exceptional setup and equipment (and expense) up front to do what they are capable of doing.

It's all too much for me. I'll happily stick with my OHMs for now.

THe smaller mbl monitors might be more manageable than the larger full range floorstanders. I need to hear those sometime.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,399 posts
 
You can disagree all you want but to me, they sound like German tanks coming down the Rhine. If you need service what do you do??
lrsky
1,118 posts
 
Synopsis...MBL Problem?
No...
Buy with confidence...
International distribution works.

Larry
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,951 posts
 
String,

Can you elaborate a bit on how the German Tanks sounded?

DId you detect very accurate location of the tanks within a large and deep soundstage?

IF not, then something was not right.

mbl done right is a unique experience. It might take time to retrain your ears to hear what's happening if not used to it. That has been my experience with omnis in general.

mbl done poorly sounds like an unimpressive hifi system. That is what I have heard at shows even when done by the same dealer that did it right in their showroom. That tells me that it is very hard to get the setup right in most rooms.
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