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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

Showing 3 responses by albertporter

albertporter's avatar
albertporter
4,949 posts
 

Personally, prefer the sound of the Maggie. The dozen or so times I've listened to the MBL it never connected to me musically.

Every time I hear Maggies I'm impressed and enjoy their natural presentation. The 20.1 was the other speaker I was considering when I purchased my Megalines. The 20.7 should be nothing short of amazing.

Good luck with your search.
albertporter's avatar
albertporter
4,949 posts
 
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.
albertporter's avatar
albertporter
4,949 posts
 
Dev, your comment:
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.

Is your comment directed at me? The only line I can find that could be mistaken as a mistype of MBL is:
I was the factory rep for JBL many, years ago.

That text is correct, JBL is not intended to be MBL.

"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!

MBL was not around when I was rep for JBL, as I said it was a long time ago. The auditions were during the Stereophile show in NYC at a private residence and also when I was on location doing photography several years ago for Southwest Airlines. I've attended many audio shows in the past 29 years. MBL has been prominent at multiple locations over the years.

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."

Mostly with MBL electronics which is the obvious pairing for their speaker.

Also when one sugests "not their cup of tea" is a polite way of saying they don't like which is okay

Everyone here have preferences and when providing a response it's obvious the statement represents ones own feelings. Silly to have to state the obvious every time.

The opening post of this forum Nottop stated that he had owned and enjoyed Magneplanar for 35 years. It's not out of line for me to suggest his satisfaction is well deserved.

As for others feelings about MBL performance their opinion is as valid as mine and all of us should feel welcome to state such in the forums as long as we are respectful of each other.
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