Scansonic mb serie

" I'm really concerned that these things sound so bad out of the box that people are giving up on them almost immediately and selling them."

I'll admit they don't sound all that great out of the box and need 2 -300 hrs to really open up. The lows will be fairly thumpy for about the first 50hrs. Another thing is positioning. They will sound best about 9ft apart and toed in pointing to your shoulders. They are bottom ported and can be pretty close to the side walls but a couple of feet from the rear wall is recommended. So if you can't position correctly they won't sound their best. IMO when setup properly they will sound a lot better than the 3.6k retail.

Last year my local dealer sold 10 pairs at Axpona so it is possible there are quite a few show specials.

XTI16, Thanks for your reply.  I plan on going to Axpona this year and hopefully they will have these available for a listen.  

Betty writing here. I'm Alfred Kainz's wife ( of highend-electronics, inc. ). I don't usually write in forums, I just happened to see this discussion. I realize it's been a while, but I thought it still might be helpful to someone to know that we're a Scansonic dealer located in Apple Valley, CA, about 1 1/2 hours north-east of LA.

We usually have all 4 models in stock. We have a listening room (by appointment), so anyone close enough is more than welcome to give them a listen.

Happy listening,
Betty

Davegoodrich - My local dealer will be at Axpona showing Raidho. I'll ask if he will demo Scansonic 2.5's again like last year. Have a gut feeling he'll want to show the MB6's and Raidho's new Dx.1 series.  

Davegoodrich, I bought my MB-2.5's from Alfred without listening to them first. Luckily there were Audiogon members like Xti16 who advised me during the initial setup and break-in period. I like my MB-25's a lot and they sound way above their price point even at the $3.6k MSRP. As good they sound, there are things to be aware of still:

1. Room size and placement: These speakers are not designed to fit into a small room. My listening room is 14x20x10. I place my speakers 9' apart and 3.5' from the front wall as Xti and other members suggested. Their sweet spot is a little bit narrow but much better than the planar speakers.

2. Break-in: They didn't sound good at all when they were just out of the box. They need at least 200 hours or more break-in time to start sounding good. The difference is night and day. For those who sold their 2.5's with less than 100 hours, I feel sorry for them since they haven't heard the real sound of the 2.5's yet.

3. Room treatment: Don't be fooled by their slim size. The 2.5's produce high volume of bass that could be excessive for rooms with hard surfaces and glass windows. Bass traps and sound panels are tweaks may be considered.

4. Source, amplification and cabling: The 2.5's are very revealing. They are lean, clean and fast. I think they are power hunger but there are members on this forum have successful experience with low wattage amps. Since the 2.5's are so revealing, the selection of source and cabling will also significantly impact the outcome of your system.


Since audio is a very subjective and personal hobby, I'd still suggest you go listen them first before making a purchase if possible.