Review: Vienna Acoustics Mahler Speaker


Category: Speakers

I have owned many speakers, as my list of former speakers reveals, and auditioned many more. I have been on a long journey searching for the system and speakers that would bring me satisfication. I have finally reached the end of my journey with the Mahlers.

I've have always been partial to ScanSpeak drivers, and many of my former favorite speakers employed Scanspeak, but Vienna Acoustics has mated them with a pair of Eton woofers in each cabinet creating a speaker that brings it all home for me.

The Mahlers have it all: full range, powerful, highly detailed yet sweet, coherent, and superb imaging and soundstaging. Nothing is exaggerated or lacking.

In some systems or rooms, the bass may be to much, but my room is very heavily damped, so there is no problem with bass nodes or boominess.

They can play quite loudly and reproduce lifelike, concert hall effects, but may not be the absolute last word in reaching the loudest spl's. This is not an issue for me.

They are on the large side, 50" tall and 150 lbs, so they should be in a large enough room. The fit & finish is top quality furniture grade.

I'm not sure if they are available in the US anymore, but if you are able, I highly recommend them. Mine are not for sale...

Associated gear
Audio Research VT200 200wpc tubed amp;
Audio Valve Eklipse tubed preamp;
Classe CDP .5 cd player as transport;
Perp. Tech P-3A dac with Level 3 Modwright mods and Monolithic Power Supply;
Rega Planer 25 Turntable and tonearm with Dynavector Cartridge and Lehman Black Cube with upgraded PWX power supply;
All ZuCable wire;
Tritium Triphazers;
Commercially used balanced isolation transformers

Similar products
Listed are the speakers I have owned:
ProAc Response 2.5, and 3.8
Audio Physic Virgo 2
Talon Khorus
Avalon Radian HC
Magnepan 3.6
Coincident Super Eclipse
Dunlavy SC-IVa
Merlin VSM Millenium
VMPS RM2
Reality 3D
B&W Nautilus 803
audiojerry
I just bought a pair of Malher's 2 months ago and they are very sweet and dynamic to me. I love the rich bass and the sound of stringed instruments on them. I like the workmanship, too and the fact that they are not as wide as deep. They do not take up as much space as other speakers would. I only wish they would of offered a darker oak finish, I chose the rosewood. The only weekness so far is that mine seem to muffle the sound of horns. But I do not have expensive cabling which might be the cause of that. Since I mainly listen to bluegrass they are a super speaker for the money. If I was more into jazz, then I would be trying to find what is wrong with the horns being muffled. They are more wonderful for me than I thought they would be. I am 95% satisfied customer and my Mac equipment seems to be very fine for them. I am used to Mac speakers and they are worlds apart. Their will never be another Mac speaker in my house again for the main system. I can listen for hours with no fatique. Country rocks but bluegrass rules in my house.