Mbl Magic?

I think the richness and liveliness you hear from a well set-up pair of MBLs is due in large measure to the unusually well-energized, spectrally correct reverberant field they generate. In this area, the MBLs replicate the soundfield characteristics of a live performance better than most speakers do; most speakers generate a reverberant field that is much weaker (relative to the direct sound) than one would find at a live performance, and that weak reverberant field is often spectrally dissimilar to the first-arrival sound. MBL isn't the only manuracturer who gives these characteristic high priority.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

Jtwrace, you know me all too well. Yup I like the SoundLabs a lot. My bipolars actually copy the radiation pattern of the A-1 over much of the spectrum, at least in the horizontal plane: 90 degrees, front and back.

Assuming the upper end of our hypothetical price ballpark is the MBL 116, others contenders include the Wolcott Omnisphere, Duevels, big Shanihians, Genesis 5 series, and in my opinion even big Maggies.

I agree with Shadorne that the MBLS (as well as other omnis, dipoles, and bipoles) should be placed far enough away from walls to give an adequate time delay before the additional reflected energy starts to arrive. If such placement isn't possible, you're probably better served by monopoles. The tiltback of the Shahinian's drivers helps to delay the arrival of the reflected energy by bouncing it off the walls at an upwards angle, so these are probably the most small-room-friendly speakers in this general category.

Duke