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.

kerrybh

@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. 

I was in business for 45 years.  If you want to sell ultra high end products, you must realize the air is pretty thin up there.  Maybe someone can take that wonderful technology and try to make a more affordable product.

Sad to hear but the ultra high end 2 channel market is so minuscule and the prices they are asking sometimes costs more than an Audi SUV or even a Rolls Royce, it is not surprising.  The economics is just tough...

"take that wonderful technology and try to make a more affordable product." For example, Linear Tube Audio worked with David Berning and did that with his ZOTL technique.

 

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