MBL 101E Mk. II Listening Impressions Update

[musicfirst1]

The term neutral belongs to no speaker or system, but rather in the ears of the beholder IMHO. Bright, dark, warm, cold, detailed airy etc. are all descriptive terms describing departures from the listeners perception of neutral. Indeed it could be argued that describing a system's sound is all about describing these departures from 'neutral'.

I'm not hear to beat up on the MBLs. What they do well, they do better than almost all speakers in my opinion. The Bayz just does it better, and with none of the drawbacks. For my tastes there is no other choice, and I've heard all major contenders at shows, but especially at the homes and dedicated listening spaces of many kind audiophiles over the last five years, not only omnis, but of all types of SOTA designs before I spent my money.

I urge you to find out for yourself. Show conditions are OK but visiting a listening space like Bob at Rhapsody in Manhattan, or us here in Toronto is the way to go.

 

[Lagonda]

Thats a crazy story .
Quite a mix and match you have aquired .
Did you ever do FR response measurements to dial in your system ?
If your able to have it done somehow ,you should .

Brg hj

No, all done by ear with years of patience and experimentation.

 

[Zero000]

The term neutral belongs to no speaker or system, but rather in the ears of the beholder IMHO. Bright, dark, warm, cold, detailed airy etc. are all descriptive terms describing departures from the listeners perception of neutral. Indeed it could be argued that describing a system's sound is all about describing these departures from 'neutral'.

I'm not hear to beat up on the MBLs. What they do well, they do better than almost all speakers in my opinion. The Bayz just does it better, and with none of the drawbacks. For my tastes there is no other choice, and I've heard all major contenders at shows, but especially at the homes and dedicated listening spaces of many kind audiophiles over the last five years, not only omnis, but of all types of SOTA designs before I spent my money.

I urge you to find out for yourself. Show conditions are OK but visiting a listening space like Bob at Rhapsody in Manhattan, or us here in Toronto is the way to go.

I heard the Bayz at Hi-Fi Deluxe in Munich last year. Spent a while in the room thinking they looked curious and even had a chat for a while with a rep.

I was completely underwhelmed. I have always been more impressed with any MBL at shows, including 101E and Xtremes.

I need another exposure, obviously!

 

[musicfirst1]

I heard the Bayz at Hi-Fi Deluxe in Munich last year. Spent a while in the room thinking they looked curious and even had a chat for a while with a rep.

I was completely underwhelmed. I have always been more impressed with any MBL at shows, including 101E and Xtremes.

I need another exposure, obviously!

Well show conditions are what they are. I may be wrong, but think Zoltan's choice in demo music may be the culprit here...

 

[Lagonda]

I think the Bayz are interesting speakers and i am looking forward to more inputs from people not being involved in selling them MBL is such a known entity both performance wise and quality wise. Buying very expensive audio products from small unproven producers is always a gamble.

 

[musicfirst1]

I think the Bayz are interesting speakers and i am looking forward to more inputs from people not being involved in selling them MBL is such a known entity both performance wise and quality wise. Buying very expensive audio products from small unproven producers is always a gamble.

I agree on all points. One must at least try to only use any opinions, here or especially otherwise, to inform ones' must audition list.
I haven't made a buying decision solely based on others opinions in decades, and neither should anyone else.

 

[Skanda]

I think the Bayz are interesting speakers and i am looking forward to more inputs from people not being involved in selling them MBL is such a known entity both performance wise and quality wise. Buying very expensive audio products from small unproven producers is always a gamble.

yes completely agree. while mbl's drop in value like any other luxury good the resale is acceptable for this space. i'm not sure how the bayz (or other new brands) will fare. i also like that they don't introduce new models frequently...with the mk2 being some years old now a potential mk3 or something that would be a consideration for me - especially as it seems mbl improves the bass response and coherency each update.

to your earlier point about "dining by ear", i really like that phrase. tuning systems via parts and adjustments in room by ear is a lot of fun. while a mic and dsp can get it done better for sure, it takes some of the fun out of it - for me. my system is a labor of love and i've taken a nick or two from some amp heat sinks so we have the full "blood, sweat, and tears" as they say haha

 

[musicfirst1]

yes completely agree. while mbl's drop in value like any other luxury good the resale is acceptable for this space. i'm not sure how the bayz (or other new brands) will fare. i also like that they don't introduce new models frequently...with the mk2 being some years old now a potential mk3 or something that would be a consideration for me - especially as it seems mbl improves the bass response and coherency each update.

These are all valid points and must be considered. But PLEASE hear Bayz before deciding on anything else. Weigh all aspects and make YOUR OWN decision.
I did.

 

[Skanda]

These are all valid points and must be considered. But PLEASE hear Bayz before deciding on anything else. Weigh all aspects and make YOUR OWN decision.
I did.

with all due respect, I already said I will be listening to both speakers in detail before making a purchase. i get that Bayz works well for you and appreciate your earlier comments - however, I don't know what type of music you like etc.

i come to forums to discuss audio with like minded enthusiasts and i find it tiresome to be told to go demo. demo's require time and, while VERY FUN, are pretty useless too - you don't know a speaker until it's sitting in your room. however, experience reports are fun to share and it doesn't need to be an academic exercise. i'd just rather get mini reviews from people not being paid to write reviews (kiethr's dream speaker search thread is a great example of this). also with our current lockdown situation, i am not going to be out and about demoing speakers.

when i listen to gear i try to have some takeaways to share. did the imaging impress me? how did vocals sound? simple stuff and just my impressions. we don't need to tip-toe around comparing speakers the way audio magazines do. we're all after the same thing: quality sound and with different definitions and price targets. i'm certainly not going to buy a speaker on someone else's opinion alone nor am i going to hold them to their comments. another great example of this is Ron Resnick's comments on the 101e and specifically his comparison of his own experience to PeterB's comments and reviews. While I found Ron's comments extremely helpful, I believe I probably have similar tastes to PeterB re preferring something on the brighter side. i've been a long time lurker but anytime i'm interested in a speaker i read all that i can about it because it's my hobby. i have been to many dealers who actually don't know the history of a speaker or technical specifications to the same level i do - i thank wbf and other forums for enabling me to acquire that depth of knowledge but i never confuse that with the knowledge earned from experience/ownership of a speaker.

so, certainly not trying to be an a-hole here but if you can't offer impressions or compare and contrast a new speaker vs. an age-old industry war horse, then i'm not sure there is any point in posting further. again, i appreciate your earlier comments and rhapsody's comments on both being great near field candidates have certainly piqued my interest in bayz. it might be a passing comment to other readers but it is a big deal for me.

 

[musicfirst1]

with all due respect, I already said I will be listening to both speakers in detail before making a purchase. i get that Bayz works well for you and appreciate your earlier comments - however, I don't know what type of music you like etc.

i come to forums to discuss audio with like minded enthusiasts and i find it tiresome to be told to go demo. demo's require time and, while VERY FUN, are pretty useless too - you don't know a speaker until it's sitting in your room. however, experience reports are fun to share and it doesn't need to be an academic exercise. i'd just rather get mini reviews from people not being paid to write reviews (kiethr's dream speaker search thread is a great example of this). also with our current lockdown situation, i am not going to be out and about demoing speakers.

when i listen to gear i try to have some takeaways to share. did the imaging impress me? how did vocals sound? simple stuff and just my impressions. we don't need to tip-toe around comparing speakers the way audio magazines do. we're all after the same thing: quality sound and with different definitions and price targets. i'm certainly not going to buy a speaker on someone else's opinion alone nor am i going to hold them to their comments. another great example of this is Ron Resnick's comments on the 101e and specifically his comparison of his own experience to PeterB's comments and reviews. While I found Ron's comments extremely helpful, I believe I probably have similar tastes to PeterB re preferring something on the brighter side. i've been a long time lurker but anytime i'm interested in a speaker i read all that i can about it because it's my hobby. i have been to many dealers who actually don't know the history of a speaker or technical specifications to the same level i do - i thank wbf and other forums for enabling me to acquire that depth of knowledge but i never confuse that with the knowledge earned from experience/ownership of a speaker.

so, certainly not trying to be an a-hole here but if you can't offer impressions or compare and contrast a new speaker vs. an age-old industry war horse, then i'm not sure there is any point in posting further. again, i appreciate your earlier comments and rhapsody's comments on both being great near field candidates have certainly piqued my interest in bayz. it might be a passing comment to other readers but it is a big deal for me.

You're not the OP, and as this is a public forum and not a private thread, my comments were directed at not just you but everyone who reads them.

It bears repeating, that if one wants to learn even more about the Bayz, then please read this thread.

Stay Safe

 

[Skanda]

as i mentioned in my post, i've read most of the threads on any speaker (or gear) i am interested in. i specifically posted on the mbl thread to ask mbl owners who may have heard a bayz recently as, compartively, not as many people own bayz as mbl. i don't have strong data for that but i am confident in this assumption. i want to know from people who have experience with mbl what difference in sound did _they_ hear. it might not be what i hear, but i would like to know. and listening impressions from real users matter. caesar's comments on the kraft over the years encouraged me to pull the trigger when the opportunity arose and I couldn't be happier - i can also safely say that my impressions echo what he has been saying over the years. it's also great to get real life input vs an audio mag where everything is the best thing they have ever heard. without going into my life story, i work with immensely large data sets to distill insights. stitch enough impression reports from people together and you can get an idea of what magic a certain speaker is capable of but i doubt anyone on this forum thinks thats a replacement for listening.

your comments are helpful and i would like to believe you chose bayz purely because of sound quality. however, because you are a dealer and distributor of bayz i have to take your comments with a grain of salt because, ultimately, you get the bayz speakers for a very different price than i would and, unfortunately, that matters.

i'm sure its a great speaker but when a buyer has 40k, 50k, 60k, w/e to spend on a pair of speakers comparison questions are completely fair. i bought my magicos and at msrp, i think they are pretty damn great and not sure you could do better. if you doubled the msrp i still think they are a great speaker but you could probably do better for that price point. if i got 50% off msrp they would be a no brainer vs. other options that trade at that msrp. if someone want's to chime in and say i'd be a dummy for letting go of magicos and that they think it's better than mbl or bayz that's fine too. it might not impact my decision but it fosters good conversation and that's certainly something i look forward to.

sorry if my response seems prickly but the whole "go listen for yourself" is a pet peeve of mine as i consider that a base axiom and if we all had the time to do that there would be no point in having a forum. if you are interested in continuing this conversation, it would be more helpful to detail what about the mbl's you did/didn't like and how was the bayz or any other speaker you were interested in different.

 

[musicfirst1]

as i mentioned in my post, i've read most of the threads on any speaker (or gear) i am interested in. i specifically posted on the mbl thread to ask mbl owners who may have heard a bayz recently as, compartively, not as many people own bayz as mbl. i don't have strong data for that but i am confident in this assumption. i want to know from people who have experience with mbl what difference in sound did _they_ hear. it might not be what i hear, but i would like to know. and listening impressions from real users matter. caesar's comments on the kraft over the years encouraged me to pull the trigger when the opportunity arose and I couldn't be happier - i can also safely say that my impressions echo what he has been saying over the years. it's also great to get real life input vs an audio mag where everything is the best thing they have ever heard. without going into my life story, i work with immensely large data sets to distill insights. stitch enough impression reports from people together and you can get an idea of what magic a certain speaker is capable of but i doubt anyone on this forum thinks thats a replacement for listening.

your comments are helpful and i would like to believe you chose bayz purely because of sound quality. however, because you are a dealer and distributor of bayz i have to take your comments with a grain of salt because, ultimately, you get the bayz speakers for a very different price than i would and, unfortunately, that matters.

i'm sure its a great speaker but when a buyer has 40k, 50k, 60k, w/e to spend on a pair of speakers comparison questions are completely fair. i bought my magicos and at msrp, i think they are pretty damn great and not sure you could do better. if you doubled the msrp i still think they are a great speaker but you could probably do better for that price point. if i got 50% off msrp they would be a no brainer vs. other options that trade at that msrp. if someone want's to chime in and say i'd be a dummy for letting go of magicos and that they think it's better than mbl or bayz that's fine too. it might not impact my decision but it fosters good conversation and that's certainly something i look forward to.

sorry if my response seems prickly but the whole "go listen for yourself" is a pet peeve of mine as i consider that a base axiom and if we all had the time to do that there would be no point in having a forum. if you are interested in continuing this conversation, it would be more helpful to detail what about the mbl's you did/didn't like and how was the bayz or any other speaker you were interested in different.

Being a dealer & distributor, I understand that the appearance of bias is hard to avoid. Any opinions a DD expresses of lines one carries are suspect to "salt". I've already expressed my opinions on the Bayz, both here and in the Counterpoint thread. There is nothing I need to add.

However, if you want me to be more specific, especially how the Bayz compares to other omnidirectionaI designs including the MBL Extremes and the 101E mkIIs, I would be more than happy to share my perspective further and more specifically with you in a PM. Just reach out if you'd like to take this conversation off line.

OW I'm not going to hijack Ron's OP any further.

Peace Out.

 

[HughP3]

FWIW I heard the Mbl 101’s at 2019 Axpona, one of my top 5 for sure. Especially surprised at how good the bass was. + really cool looking