Scansonic mb3.5 vs mb5b

I am a Scansonic Dealer and am happy to help.  PM me if you want to discuss prices. 

The MB 3.5B and MB 5B are fundamentally different designs and several factors are accounted for in the price.  The 3.5B has two, side firing 6.5" aluminum drivers while the 5B has two 4.5" carbon fiber bass drivers.  

Few things -
-The CF drivers are much pricier than the aluminum drivers.  This is a practical incremental cost  
- The cabinet on the 5B is both taller and deeper than the 3.5B.  Even small changes can have an impact due incremental material costs and challenges in machining.  I can do a 15" x 7" x 11" cabinet that is half the price of an 11'' x  11" x 11" due to raw material sizes and how they lay out.  
- R&D costs.  The front firing designs getting achieving a 2 hz difference in bass response with 4.5" drivers vs 6.5" drivers is nothing short of miraculous.  I am certain that was not easy and took a LOT of time to get right which has to be recouped.  
 
In terms of performance - In practice, these speakers are best with 9' of space between them.  The 3.5Bs require a minimum of 4' in incremental space to either side.  This means the smallest room they work in is 17' and 20' is better.  The 5Bs can be place right effectively against the wall and be just fine so an 11' wide room is fine.  

Finally, the bass, although not as deep, is going to be a bit more refined with the 5Bs.  

I asked Raidho this question.  Pricing differential is driven by higher end drivers and larger cabinet.  FYI...everything from Raidho is made to order. 

They shut down for summer vacation from July 10th to August 3rd.  If you want speakers before August, we might be able to squeeze it in under the wire.  

Thanks verdantaudio for the very informative reply. Based on everything you said it makes sense why the mb5b would be more costly than the mb 3.5b. As it is, cost wise the 3.5 would make more sense as I would just be experimenting with the scansonic brand. But based on what u said its possible the mb5b would be a better fit in my current environment. Basically the room is roughly 20' wide and 15' deep w 8' ceiling. The only problem I have w the mb5 over the 3.5 is its a bit taller. 2 inches might not seem like a lot, but when it comes to tight spaces too much can be too much, if u catch my meaning ;)
Anyways, all that aside, at the moment I'm sporting Dynaudio C1 platinum for the front L & R. For their size the bass is astounding, and transparency is better than anything I've ever heard in my life.. period. Price wise I know the comparison is a bit skewed, but I still fear I'd be missing out on transparency and detail. Alas, the new Dynaudio Confidence 30 is thousands of dollars more costly than either scansonic model i originally inquired about. Im just wondering if I'd be content with any of the smaller floor standing models from scansonic or if id be disappointed in respect to my current Dynaudio C1 Platinums.

My first experience with Scansonic was a demo of the MB6 side-by-side with the Magico S1mkII and the Kaiser Chiara.  The Kaiser won but at $22K, was not an option for me.  I liked the Scansonic better than the Magicos.  They are very good.  That being said, I do think the MB3.5Bs will be a little less refined under 60hz compared to the MB5Bs.   I think you will find the MB5Bs are going to be brilliant and I think will go toe-to-toe with your Dynaudios.  

That being said, comparing the Scansonics vs. the Confidence 30s would not be terribly fair.  In that price range, the Raidho C2.1 is really the right point of comparison.  The raidho tweeter and drivers are a clear step forward compared to Scansonic and are brilliant in terms of detail and the imaging and soundstage are just obscenely good.  That being said, Raidho are my second favorite speakers behind my own line.  My Blackthorn 1 with go toe-to-toe with the Confidence 20 in terms of detail and transparency but I am not making a small floorstander yet to compete with the 30. 

If you have interest, we could do something like you demo the Scansonics for a few months.  If you really like them and want to step up to the Raidho's, I could give you full value back for the Scansonics on trade. 

If you want to discuss pricing, PM me.  I am all about creative solutions.    

Hi @verdantauduo. Nice to hear re the Scansonic's. I have a pair of MB5B'S. I can't get them more than around 8 feet apart, due to furniture in the room. 

What do you lose? I have them at least 1m away from the side and the back wall. 

8' should not be the end of the world.  What you should expect is an immersive experience where the soundstage envelops you.  Especially with some volume, it should feel like you are in an arena.  If you get too narrow, the experience will seem smaller and less immersive.  At 8' that should still come together.  At 6' I would expect that to fall apart.  

This assumes proper setup with the speakers toed in slightly at 10 degrees maximum.