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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 2 responses by nottop

nottop OP
19 posts
 
Shoot -

I was not trying to start a thread - are Maggie or MBL speakers the better choice?

I love the Maggies but have never heard the MBL's so it was be arrogant of me to state an opinion.

But I've put a lot into my room - not just stereo. New carpeting, new paint, new sofa, new artwork. I have incredible new electronics from Sanders and I'm passing on my old M. Levinsons to my son.

Now everything is ready but I'm sitting around for the new Maggies to be realeased. The dealer thinks sometime in March - but new products sometimes don't come out exactly on schedule

So it seemed to me that while I am waiting -
just in case -
might I consider a speaker other than the Maggie?

I greatly respect the comments from the people at Audiogon. I have no respect for the magazines.

From what I've read it looks like MBL might be a rational different choice from Maggie - but due to the issues of service I should just keep on with "Plan A"
nottop OP
19 posts
 
Hello Lrsky,

I was not bashing MBL. I said I've never heard them. As it is not easy for me to hear them locally I was just wondering if it would be worth the trip to hear them since the idea of servicing them in Germany is not a happy thought.

I said I thought they looked beaufitul and the idea of a whole room sweet spot is appealing.

I can bash things I've heard -

I think Levinson electronics are over rated and over priced.
I don't think having dimmable lights detracts at all from the sound quality of my stereo.
I think moderately priced cables appropriate to the equipment work about as well as very expensive ones I've heard.
I think big Maggies in a small room don't sound good.

These are all things I've heard and so I can express an opinion.
But I was not expressing an opinion about the MBL's - just a query.
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