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
In general I will not buy any expensive product that does not have a solid support system behind it.

Personally, prefer the sound of the Maggie. The dozen or so times I've listened to the MBL it never connected to me musically.

Every time I hear Maggies I'm impressed and enjoy their natural presentation. The 20.1 was the other speaker I was considering when I purchased my Megalines. The 20.7 should be nothing short of amazing.

Good luck with your search.
Yes MBL speakers are a safe speaker to purchase!

What model of speaker are you actually referring to?

MBL 101E's

Huge discounts, possibly when dealers were being dropped and unloading theirs.

Reliability, I am not aware of anyone having issues to date and I communicate with many owners and I have owned mine for a few years now.

Like any speaker if you have an issue and they are large will cost you if you send directly to the manufacture, personally if something happens thats the only place I would want to send mine anyways.

The crating is tops, for my model anyways. Shipping wouldn't be all that bad if you work with the manufacture. They ship all over the word and get great rates.

It really is going to come down to a personal preference, I owned Magie 20.1's years ago and they are very nice but no way in comparison, I prefer the 101E's by far.

Most if not all have only heard MBL's set-up in not so ideal situations, that being at shows playing way too loud and with solid state electronics or at the most in showrooms so comments made above to me are not relavent and did not see the OP asking such.

My speakers are way more engaging than my Maggies,I owned the Maggies for years, did I say they are a great speaker? but sorry no way in the same league as the MBL's and I have owned both.

When I read such statements in relation to sound of MBL's tells me only one thing.

Haven't heard a proper set-up in a real world situation or possibly you just don't like them which is okay.

In the end it's all about music, so do enjoy!

Albert you are a dealer for Megalines right?

With all due respect, the question here is, 'Should I buy MBL?', not which speaker does one like the best.
Personally, I prefer the MBL, but can fully understand, given the variability of sound at shows, that one might, 'not have connected with their sound.'
Call...you remember phone calls right? That's what we had before the internet, and web sites...you know, 'Hi, My name is Bob...I'm thinking about purchasing your speakers, but wondering about service in the United States.'
Really simple.
I have spoken to the folks at MBL, they're unfailingly helpful.
I don't think I'd have any compunction about purchasing, but then I haven't researched them diligently--recently.
Do that, find out what THEY, not we have to say about warranty and subsequent service...that should give you your answer.
Good luck...them's mighty fine speakers, my favorites.

Larry
Dev,

When I read such statements in relation to sound of MBL's tells me only one thing.

Haven't heard a proper set-up in a real world situation or possibly you just don't like them which is okay.

In the end it's all about music, so do enjoy!

Albert you are a dealer for Megalines right?

No, never represented Dali, Maggie or any other speaker line. Not except when I was the factory rep for JBL many, years ago. Probably before you were into Hi Fi.

Yes, I've heard NBL in many situations both in private systems and at dozens of shows. Not my cup of tea as they say.