No HiFi show would be complete without a visit with MBL. MBL systems do not look like any other hifi nor do they sound like any other hifi.
Germany’s MBL, presented by MBL North America, had two rooms at Axpona 2022—one big, one small—and they outfitted each with appropriately sized systems. The big system featured MBL’s Radialstrahler 101 E MK II Loudspeakers ($84,500/pair) and MBL 9011 Mono Amplifiers ($120,000/pair) front and center.
The MBL 6010 D Preamplifier ($30,000), MBL 1621 CD Transport ($31,500) and 1611 F DAC ($32,250) sat on a rack from Silent Running Audio (SRA).
The smaller system saw MBL’s Radialstrahler 126 Loudspeakers ($12,900/pair) powered by the MBL N51 Integrated Amplifier ($19,900), with the MBL N31 CD-DAC ($17,400) taking care of front end duties.
These two systems shared many a sonic trait and I found myself locked in to the smaller system’s room-filling sound. With MBL, music energizes the room in a unique manner that I find hypnotically engaging.
