Is MBL still available in the USA?

Music Lover -- Mon, 08/15/2011 - 15:59

I just visited the mbl usa site, and looks like they are trying to sell off their inventory. http://www.mbl-usa.com/
Have they quit the US market? Heck, the entire company has not gone belly up, has it?

Seems just recently Jon Valin reviewed their top of the line speakers...

staxguy -- Mon, 08/15/2011 - 21:25

Yes. I'm not sure what the issues were, but MBL Germany setup "MBL North America" to sell and service their equipment. Seems like MBL USA is still around, however, still selling MBL. There are BMW dealers, and there are BMW dealers. Likewise it looks like there are MBL dealers, and MBL dealers.

http://www.mbl-northamerica.com/

You can talk to MBL Germany if you have any questions, perhaps?

http://www.mbl.de/

I love some of the photos of MBL rooms!

SundayNiagara -- Mon, 08/22/2011 - 10:32

A while back I heard they were "selling out the back door."

MBL NORTH AMERICA -- Sat, 08/27/2011 - 13:16

Hi Music Lover, staxguy, SundayNiagara, and all avguide.com readers,

Thank you for your interest in MBL.

I am Jeremy Bryan, of MBL North America, Inc., a new subsidiary of MBL Akustikgeräte GmbH (the MBL product manufacturer and warranty provider). Rest assured, MBL products have been continuously produced in Germany since 1979.

I will give you some relevant background.

A company called "mbl of America" was an authorized distributor for MBL products in the past. An authorized distributor works in the wholesale market and that distributor supports an authorized retail dealer network in the territory where they are the factory-authorized representative.

The relationship between MBL Germany and mbl of America officially ended in 2010. Since that time, mbl of America has not been an authorized distributor of MBL products; they are not authorized to resell, repair, speak for, nor do anything for MBL.

To properly serve the important North American market, MBL Germany started a wholly-owned subsidiary company called MBL North America, Inc. in March of this year, as reported here on AVguide at http://www.avguide.com/article/mbl-assumes-direct-control-all-brand-activities-north-america

I run this company in conjunction with MBL Germany.

MBL North America, Inc. has been at seven Hi-fi shows this year, as recently as at the California Audio Show 2011, as reported here on AVguide by Jim Hannon: "MBL is making a major push on this continent, having established its own North American subsidiary, which is great news for MBL fans, audio enthusiasts, and music lovers." http://www.avguide.com/blog/california-audio-show-updates-us-product-premieres-magico-mbl-audio-research

The North American premiere of our new Corona Line of electronics will be at our exhibit at the 2011 Rocky Mountain Audio Festival in Denver in October. We will then be at CES 2012.

The only MBL authorized websites containing current information are http://www.mbl-northamerica.com/ or http://www.mbl.de/ Please visit these sites for all news about MBL products, from show reports to reviews to product details, etc.

Unfortunately, claims made by "mbl of America" have been at best disingenuous. Their site is unauthorized and factually incorrect. This situation is being dealt with through the proper channels.

Please note that the only way to verify MBL warranty coverage when the products are purchased from a non authorized seller is through the local distributor's access to MBL Germany with the serial numbers of the exact products in question. Unauthorized sellers do not have access to this critical information regardless of what they advertise.

If considering a purchase of MBL products from a non-MBL North America, Inc. authorized reseller, we urge you to please provide the serial numbers of the products you are considering and will receive if purchased and we can absolutely verify their date of manufacture/warranty coverage for you.

Many reviews of MBL's current products are in the pipeline from several sources, including The Absolute Sound. We are very proud to have just received a Golden Ear award from TAS for the mbl 101E MKII loudspeaker. Watch for these reviews in TAS and other publications.

Please logon to our YouTube channel to view our fun new corporate video, "The Music Lover." http://www.youtube.com/mblakustikgeraete

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Again, thank you for your interest in MBL.

Very truly yours,

Jeremy Bryan
President
MBL North America, Inc.
(212) 724-4870
info [at] mbl-northamerica [dot] com

http://www.mbl-northamerica.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mbl.germany