MBL’s Magic

With MBL’s sonic excellence long established in these pages, I lingered in Jeremy Bryan’s room just long enough to confirm that the sound was as gratifying as usual. On a cut from the Reference Recordings’ classic of Rutter’s Requiem—happily not the “Pie Jésu” that everyone and their mother chooses—I was immediately seduced by the beautiful air and warmth of the Radialstrahler 111F loudspeaker ($42,000/pair) fed by MBL’s Corona line C31 CD player ($9200), C11 preamplifier ($8800), and C15 mono power amplifiers ($25,000/pair).

COMMENTS
K.Reid's picture

There's just something special about MBL's Corona line and 111F (Noble Line). Perhaps it's the unique appearance, seductive sound or maybe it's the peace of mind knowing that all MBL products' origins, design and manufacture are all in Germany...and to a large extent handmade. It's easy to see the care, thought and precision which goes into making such exquisite and aesthetically pleasing products that we audiophiles crave to see and listen to. The other factor that makes the MBL suite the star at audio shows is the attention given to taming unruly hotel room acoustics. I heard Corona line and 111F loudspeakers in a riveting, compelling multichannel demo at the NYC audio show. In 2 channel configuration, the sound is no doubt just as transparent and dynamic. Jason Victor Serinus is right when he says...sonic excellence.

Pro-Audio-Tech's picture

The after hours master tape event with the UHA deck was the best sound my friends and I have heard from this show, period. The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Stimalla (whoo! whoo!) were like being at a concert. Huge soundstage, starteling dynamics, and complete tonal balance top to bottom. The drums on Stimalla were crushing our guts and the high end just soared into infinity with zero etch or grain at the concert SPL's that were being played. WOW!

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