MBL Insolvent

@ghdprentice 

I am digging the updated LS series. The chassis build quality went up few notches and appearance, subjective as we know, looks is pretty solid and inviting. 
 

@yesiam_a_pirate 

”A sad fact is that the 2 channel high end audiophile is aging out and dying off.”

That’s hardly a ‘fact’ ….I believe there’s hope. There are younger listeners who are getting into vinyl, tube gear, or desktop systems, even if their entry point looks different than ours. Maybe the future of this hobby won’t be exactly what it was but that doesn’t mean it’s gone. It might evolve into something more diverse and accessible, and maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Still, for those of us who value the 2-channel experience, there’s definitely a sense of time passing and a responsibility to share what we’ve learned while we still can to somewhat shape the narrative for future generations. 

I'm not a MBL fanboy-never owned one of its products, and MBL leadership obviously didn't execute a viable plan. I hope MBL survives-I respect what they do. I've never been really tempted by ARC but I know it makes really good stuff and think the hobby is better off that it came through. I think MBL's entry level integrated is around 12 and entry level speaker is about 15. Whether that's affordable, I suppose, depends on where you sit. Certainly not competitive with ChiFi entry level stuff, which can be very good, but not through the roof either.

I suspect the fact that MBL speakers are so different and its reputation is that MBL stuff doesn't play well with others-they try to leverage customers into the whole MBL ecosystem- may be contributing factors, but that's just a guess.

Raises an interesting question though- I suspect we all agree with the wisdom of selling "affordable" gear, but what is that price point? Is it $1,000 speakers, $5,000? I don't know, but an interesting question.

@kerrybh 

"..Raises an interesting question though- I suspect we all agree with the wisdom of selling "affordable" gear, but what is that price point? Is it $1,000 speakers, $5,000? I don’t know, but an interesting question."

Yes. Absolutely, An important aspect is that an audiophile company cannot sell an inferior product. I have been in this for fifty years. Every time I have purchased and audiophile product, it has performed at a very noticeablely higher level... not subtle. Never subtle. If and audiophile company produces something that is mid-tier then their public image gets confused. Then communicating I have a Boulder amp... suddenly means nothing... your have to start asking if it is a consumer one or one of the good ones. 

It’s one thing to have a consumer company stretch up... but there is real danger in an audiophile company making products that are not audiophile grade. Let's not get hung up on the word audiophile... the bar that sets the great stuff from the good. 

@kerrybh

but what is that price point? Is it $1,000 speakers, $5,000? 

 I think it's about turning the music lover into an audiophile. It's hard and not that hard. 99% of people will never become audiophiles for $5000 no matter how wealthy they are. Significantly better sound for a $1000 than what the subject has ever heard before? Absolutely possible. Even a $500 active speaker, placed correctly can drop jaws. 

I remember when I stumbled onto the Upscale website before my audiophile (mid-fi) days. I was angry. 10K for a turntable!? It's all about the perspective. You get what you pay for but it may be meaningless if you don't know what you are doing.

Of course the house sound of equipment varies greatly... so while it might be of the right quality and one does not  like the house sound. Also, there are differences in how well designs are executed among companies. But I would say the lie between mid tier components and audiophile (or maybe call it high end) at this point is around $10K and up per single function component or $15K and up for speakers. No, there is nothing absolute about this... just a generality. The higher you draw the line the safer the conclusion.