Would love to see some “trickle down” of mbl technology to smaller and more affordable products designed to work better in most people’s rooms.
MBL Insolvent
I apologize if someone else has started a thread I missed, but reports indicate that MBL has initiated insolvency proceedings under German law. Not all businesses succeed- its a feature not a bug in a free enterprise system- but hopefully new investors will come in and save the company. This seems to be following the way of Audio Research (fortunately saved) and others-lots of uncertainty surrounding Dartzeel, Krell, etc, which is unfortunate. So many of these manufacturers are small businesses, obviously without huge capital reserves and sometimes without a good succession plan when the founders move on. I hope MBL successfully restructures, it makes great products. I think we all benefit from a healthy, vibrant group at the top end that has the resources to create and innovate. Good luck MBL.
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@kerrybh I also appreciate your openness about the placebo effect. There’s a lot of ego in this hobby, and it’s refreshing to see someone say, may be it is placebo and that’s A-ok in my opinion. At the end of the day, if it improves your enjoyment, that’s all that really matters. We really do all hear differently, and approaching the hobby with curiosity rather than dogma makes the experience richer for everyone, IMHO. PS: I have added Schnerzinger EMI Protector to my wish list to try someday! |
"It is, in many ways, a strange hobby, and the rest of the world, if they think about it at all, think we are all nuts" Goes without saying. I've always been impressed/captivated by the MBL demos. Maybe a Euro equity group will acquire them and try to wring out what's left of the interest/mystique of the brand name. |
@lalitk "...That may be true, but what seems to hurt many of these high-end audio companies in the long run is affordability...." Correct. I am pretty sure that is exactly why Audio Research has just released their new affordable line. It has a name, but I don’t see it immediately. Some or all are under $10K. These are directed exactly at entry level. While that may seem like a lot of money. When I bought my first audiophile product in 1979 it was a Threshold s500 amp... in todays dollars it cost $20K or in 1979 dollars $5K. So, the new ARC amp is $2.5K in 1979 dollars half the Threshold cost in 1979. Another thought on the dilemma. Forty and fifty years ago, there was little budget competition in the field. There was no Schiit, Lumin, Dark Something, Cayin, PrimaLuna. These companies now supply the springboard.
https://audioresearch.com/new_website/new-products-coming-in-june-2025/ |
@ghdprentice I heard those at the southwest Audiofest, might’ve been the debut and I thought they sounded really, really good especially for the price |
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