Are MBL omnidirectional speakers worth the $$$?

[ahofer]

Only the listener can decide if they are worth it. At least they offer an experience that is legitimately different and relatively unavailable at a cheaper price.

I had Maggies for several years (II and IIIa, if I remember correctly, the latter with a ribbon tweeter). In the end, I think I prefer traditional forward-facing speakers with wide dispersion to the bipolar sound. I haven’t experienced true omnidirectional (unless those Ohm Walsh speakers count, and that was a looooong time ago in a showroom on Lexington Avenue).

 

[Matt_Holland]

Good for parties?
Keith

That’s probably a bit too dismissive. Yes the value proposition is tough to understand unless, like most of their clients, you purchase them because of their exclusive price and elite audio jewellery status, but that doesn’t mean they don’t [edit] offer a genuinely enjoyable, unique and high performance experience.

In my early career as a speaker designer I worked for, then startup, Amina Technologies (now know for invisible speakers). I experimented a lot with NXT based dipoles which had a fairly omni-directional dispersion. These would create a very nice 3-dimensional, albeit diffuse, stereo image. The effect was very “room-filling” and live sounding. Very pleasant to my ears despite the technologies other many shortcomings. For example, placed too close to the front wall and they sounded awful due to a huge upper-bass suck-out and lower mid peak developing.

 

[TankTop]

The typical MBL owner just goes to his other room/house/system for the single seat experience.

Which room and which system, probably many to choose from

 

[DanielT]

Good for parties?
Keith

If it's the omni speaker that makes the party fun, you can have a sound party every day.

Omnis, well why not. I would like to try that sometime. Whether I would like that omni smeared sound or not I don't know. Music that contains a lot of instruments then maybe omnis can have their advantages? Or as Matt Holland points out in #182 above, The effect was very “room-filling” and live sounding.
I don't know. It probably also depends a lot on how the acoustics are in the listening room.

Here's an omnitip. For those who have the time and desire. Mainly for those who live in countries where the Sonab OA 5 type2 speaker was sold (Sweden's best-selling speaker). Buy a pair, throw away the old Philips 9710 broadband element (which in most cases has run out of juice). Mount SB Acoustics SB20FRPC30-8 in them. Place a ball above them, like Duevel Planets did with their omnis.

Sonab OA-5 Type 2 - CarlssonPlanet

Sonab OA-5 is, without competition, the most widespread speaker in Sweden, ever. In the end of the sixties everybody in Sweden wanted a pair of the strange and wellsounding speakers. The standing matchbox design struck well with the pure design trends and the omnidirectional sound suited the...

carlssonplanet.com

Or, of course, buy a couple of real Duevel Planets and test the omnisound:

 

[Palmer]

It is worth noting that when MBL came out in the early eighties, they were in the exotic realm but not that crazy priced.
I heard the first iteration in an electronics emporium-style shop, and they were definitely not out of reach for that time.
Purchased a Micro Seiki BL91 with an SME arm from a department store, for about 1000.00 in 1982.
Isophon was big back then, Heco had pretty good drivers in kits for DIY. Sinclair ZX 81 - as a kit for a hundred bucks.
Good times.

 

[Wolf]

German Physik omnis sounded dead to me above about 5k. This was on the dual driver flagship. Coulda been major comb filtering and a bad design direction from the mfr, but it rolled off early.

This is one of the reasons Omnis don't have precision or focus in the top-end, radiation is at 90 degrees and this means off-axis at 90 degrees is the main axis. Some smaller ones can extend farther, but then you still have to pull the midband down to flatten them out. Even Ohm used a direct firing tweeter in their top-hats to fix the problem.

 

[Timcognito]

If it's the omni speaker that makes the party fun, you can have a sound party every day.

Omnis, well why not. I would like to try that sometime. Whether I would like that omni smeared sound or not I don't know. Music that contains a lot of instruments then maybe omnis can have their advantages? Or as Matt Holland points out in #182 above, The effect was very “room-filling” and live sounding.
I don't know. It probably also depends a lot on how the acoustics are in the listening room.

Here's an omnitip. For those who have the time and desire. Mainly for those who live in countries where the Sonab OA 5 type2 speaker was sold (Sweden's best-selling speaker). Buy a pair, throw away the old Philips 9710 broadband element (which in most cases has run out of juice). Mount SB Acoustics SB20FRPC30-8 in them. Place a ball above them, like Duevel Planets did with their omnis.

View attachment 400299

Sonab OA-5 Type 2 - CarlssonPlanet

Sonab OA-5 is, without competition, the most widespread speaker in Sweden, ever. In the end of the sixties everybody in Sweden wanted a pair of the strange and wellsounding speakers. The standing matchbox design struck well with the pure design trends and the omnidirectional sound suited the...

carlssonplanet.com

Or, of course, buy a couple of real Duevel Planets and test the omnisound:
View attachment 400300

Or buy Larsen 4.2 for $2500/pair and save some floor space.

 

[IvoDiy]

Just heard MBL 116F at the local hifi show paired with their electronics. This was one of those inspiring experiences in life. Symphonic music sounded like a live performance with dynamics like I never heard before, and I thought until now it was impossible with a pair of speakers.

The naturalness of the instruments just pulled me into music, and turned off all the critical listening descriptions running usually through my head.

I was curious how it sounds up close, so I came up 30cm from the tweeter, and the sound emanating from the tweeter was still so clean and natural, without any hint of harshness, sibilance or how we want to call it.

I was so impressed that I found this thread and needed to share the experience

 

[MattHooper]

Just heard MBL 116F at the local hifi show paired with their electronics. This was one of those inspiring experiences in life. Symphonic music sounded like a live performance with dynamics like I never heard before, and I thought until now it was impossible with a pair of speakers.

The naturalness of the instruments just pulled me into music, and turned off all the critical listening descriptions running usually through my head.

I was curious how it sounds up close, so I came up 30cm from the tweeter, and the sound emanating from the tweeter was still so clean and natural, without any hint of harshness, sibilance or how we want to call it.

I was so impressed that I found this thread and needed to share the experience

Another MBL fan! Preach it, brother!

You’ll get some naysayers, but you’ve experienced it yourself. I’d say the most lifelike sounds I’ve ever heard have come from various MBL loudspeakers, including the ones I owned. And yes, those tweeters are magical in what they can do. No other loudspeaker I owned managed to portray as much clean and naturally balanced sounding detail as those on my MBL speakers.
If I put on a good recording of someone playing a classical guitar, it was like the detail was effortless and endless down to hearing the delicate fleshy sound of human fingers plucking the strings. Not in an exaggerated overly detailed way where transient and details sound sharp or exaggerated, but in a balanced way, very similar to listening to a real person playing in front of me.

 

[Theta]

Good for parties, but not much else.
Keith

Wow, a new scientific evaluation, Of course you are entitled to your opinion. Here is mine: Some of the speakers on you retail website are not even good enough for parties.

 

[MattHooper]

Wow, a new scientific evaluation, Of course you are entitled to your opinion. Here is mine: Some of the speakers on you retail website are not even good enough for parties.

Even this forum is not immune to some people having bad takes on things.

 

[Purité Audio]

B&O state they are ideal for non critical listening and parties,

https://bangolufsenassistentgohe.blob.core.windows.net/manuals/SPEAKERS/BEOLAB_90/beolab_90_technical_sound_guide_version_9.pdf

Page 18.
Keith

 

[MattHooper]

Ah yes, the promotional literature of another speaker company talking about putting their loudspeaker into party mode. That certainly settles things.

 

[Purité Audio]

Omnis are fine for non critical listening, no one would listen seriously to them, no more than one would listen seriously to a very coloured design.
Keith

 

[MattHooper]

This is why you shouldn’t take every opinion on this forum seriously.

I’m awfully glad I didn’t have a certain audio salesman representing other brands, warning me off MBL omnis. It would be a bummer to have missed such a wonderful listening experience based on somebody else’s ignorance and lack of experience (“ you really need to hear loudspeakers in your home”) with those loudspeakers.

 

[Purité Audio]

I would never represent an omni loudspeaker whoever made them because I don’t consider them good design, merely an ersatz representation of a concert hall, no thanks.
No more than I would represent a coloured and thus poorly designed conventional design.
Keith

 

[Axo1989]

Ah yes, the promotional literature of another speaker company talking about putting their loudspeaker into party mode. That certainly settles things.

Given that those B&O aren't "an omni speaker" but in fact one of the very few with adjustable directivity, the comment you are responding to appears to be an obvious troll?

 

[MattHooper]

Given that those B&O aren't "an omni speaker" but in fact one of the very few with adjustable directivity, the comment you are responding to appears to be an obvious troll?

Correct.

 

[dshreter]

Omnis are fine for non critical listening, no one would listen seriously to them, no more than one would listen seriously to a very coloured design.
Keith

What do you have in mind when you say serious or critical listening? Like professional applications? Or even for careful listening for enjoyment?

Omnis can operate full range in a system and have good frequency response, so I’m curious why to categorically rule them out.

 

[ShadowFiend]

B&O state they are ideal for non critical listening and parties,

https://bangolufsenassistentgohe.blob.core.windows.net/manuals/SPEAKERS/BEOLAB_90/beolab_90_technical_sound_guide_version_9.pdf

Page 18.
Keith

here is audioscience forums. Using white paper from company is invalid, just like using white-paper from Meridian to show the supremacy of MQA.
Please shows us why omni loudspeaker is not good design, in technical terms.