Pros and cons of the Magico Mini vs MBL 101E

The only answer I can see to your issues with the 101E is that the jumpers for the bass were set in a careless manner. There is a switch on the back that lets you change the bass output so it better suits your room. If incorrectly set this will lead to a too heavy or too lean bass which isn't too nice.

Other than that, MBLs require little room treatment and as long as the room isn't too small they should play fine anywhere. On the other hand, they can sound weird if put in a heavily treated room. This is certainly not recommended.

When correctly setup and configured I haven't heard anything that matches it regardless of price.

Yeah, it could well be that they choose to bump the bass a bit to make it sound more impressive on the show.. A really bad practice if you ask me! When my local dealer got his first pair I experienced this. It had a lot of bass, overpowering to my ears, I didn't like it at all, and it certainly didn't sound the way it sounded when I heard them in Germany earlier. The switches were discovered and it was set to neutral, and after that they sound as alive and engaging as I remembered. The difference was far from subtle!

I hope you get the chance to hear them the way they're supposed to be, it's a real experience. :)