MBL 101E Mk 2 vs. Scaena - Please compare and contrast the sound
Music Lover -- Fri, 11/25/2011 - 23:09
Seems like these 2 speakers are for the same kind of listener. (Or are they?) Can someone please compare and contrast the sonic attributes?
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1999 - 2011 NextScreen. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
Dear Music Lover,
As a Scaena dealer, obviously I am biased. I am curious as to your point as you believe these two speakers have any similarities.
I will say that both of these systems are exciting products, but to me that is where any similarities end.
Scaena is a full range two piece linestage/subwoofer array
MBL is an integrated one piece speaker.
Scaena is highly efficient and can be run with any amplifier while the MBL generally requires big solid state.
Scaena offers truly room filling bass, and is a front radiating system so it is easy to integrate into a room.
MBL is a full range omni directional loudspeaker and is therefore much more influenced by room acoustics and placement.
The MBL is a shorter speaker so the soundstage is not as tall as the Scaena.
Both systems offer a very big spacious soundstage, both systems can play quite loud without distortion or strain.
I choose the Scaena's over many other reference systems including Magico, MBL and many others due to the Scaena's many attributes:
1: easy to drive,
2: plays extremely loud.
3: thunderous room filling bass which can be tweeaked to the room via the system's dsp based crossover/eq unit.
4: friendly with many different amplifiers including tube and solid state high power or low.
5: stunning, elegant appearance of the towers and they don't take up much floor space.
6: reasonable price for a true reference loudspeaker system.
7: upgradable modular design which allows the system to be changed as new parts become available.
8: gigantic realistic sized soundstage, effortless highs, and a very natural midrange.
In summation a properly setup set of Scanea's sounds quite close to live music, the only caveat is the extremely treble can be a bit polite, and they lack a tiny bit of sparkle/resolution on the top, however, my pair may not have the latest copper caps which extend and open up the top end a bit more.
If you want to stop by our shop we are located in Jersey City NJ just three miles outside of NYC!
My shops reference system is the Scaena 3.2 with the CJ ART and GAT, with an Esoteric/Qsonix front end, with Kubala Sosan Cabling and runnning Springs Power Conditioning, Vibration isolation is the remarkable Stillpoints products. You can check us out at www.audiodoctor.com