MBL 101E V. Dali Megaline

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Diamonds

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Well I am thinking of upgrading my speakers to one of the following either:

1. MBL 101E
2. Dali Megaline

I know this is a Martin Logan thread but you guys/gals have always been very helpful and are easily the nicest least pretentious audiophiles on the web.

So what do you think I should upgrade to if I decide to leave the Martin Logan family????

Thanks for your comments in advance.
 
Well I am thinking of upgrading my speakers to one of the following either:

1. MBL 101E
2. Dali Megaline

I know this is a Martin Logan thread but you guys/gals have always been very helpful and are easily the nicest least pretentious audiophiles on the web.

So what do you think I should upgrade to if I decide to leave the Martin Logan family????

Thanks for your comments in advance.

never heard of either one (MBL sounds familiar...)

I would never leave ML!!!!!
:rocker:

BUT, if I did, I would take a look at the B&W 800 line. This, of course, depends on the price range. I want to say the 803s are roughly the same price as the Vantages.
 
So what do you think I should upgrade to if I decide to leave the Martin Logan family????

These speakers are in a price range where the dealer should
fly you to their dedicated listening room in Europe for an
all-expenses-paid auditioning weekend. I don't think you can
go wrong with either, but many auditions are warranted.
Also, you'll probably need to change your entire front end.
What works with ML may not work the best with these
very different speakers.
 
These speakers are in a price range where the dealer should
fly you to their dedicated listening room in Europe for an
all-expenses-paid auditioning weekend. I don't think you can
go wrong with either, but many auditions are warranted.
Also, you'll probably need to change your entire front end.
What works with ML may not work the best with these
very different speakers.

I am think I am going to stick to Pass Labs amps and pre (maybe the hi-end CJ premap). I am also going to stick with my Esoteric X-01 limited CDP.
 
Well I am thinking of upgrading my speakers to one of the following either:

1. MBL 101E
2. Dali Megaline

You KNOW what I am voting for! MBL 101e ALL THE WAY! Of course saying that I have not yet even listened to mine (and they are the a model anyway which will not have NEARLY the base of the e model, but the upper portions seem to be identical).

Depends which you prefer the looks of and frankly the sound of. They are both going to be AWESOME speakers, but there is a certain amt. of personal preference to how they sound as well.

Sound being equal I like the looks of the MBL ANY DAY!
 
Megaline with outboard active crossovers are sick. Contact Albert Porter on audiogon and see what he says.

Joey
 
I vote for MBL on looks and "coolness" factor alone. I have never heard either speaker and imagine you can't go wrong either way. Probably the best way to go is to buy both on the used market, listen to them in your home for a few months, and then re-sell the one you can live without.
 
I've listened to both and can say that they are both World Class speakers that I would be proud to own.

The mbl's have a sound that I would say is closer to what we hear from our Martin Logans. There is that sense of music simply originating is space. You know what I mean if your system is properly set up. Images seem to occupy the space they reside in, and they don't seem to originate from the speakers themselves. As with our Logans, the speakers themselves seem to just disappear. The mid-range and top end of the mbl's is simply astounding. The mid-range is easily as good as what I hear from my ReQuests (which along with the CLS I consider to be the mid-range champs of the Martin Logan lines), and the treble is much more extended and smooth than what I've heard from our electrostatics (yes, they do have some limitations). The low end is good and provides a good solid foundation, but can be augmented by a well integrated sub. Still, these are magical speakers with an amazing ability to sound just as good off axis as they do in what we would traditionally consider the sweet spot.

The Dali Megalines are perhaps the best dynamic linesource speakers I've heard - easily in a class with the older Pipedreams. They are definately a "Full Range" speaker with great extension at the frequency extreems. Their sound is similar to their appearance - being both delicate when called for and impossing when called for. They are both large and svelt when you actually see them, being very tall and deep, but not very wide, so they actually don't take up as much space as you might think - similar to our Logans; but they are much larger.

Great dillema to be in, you'll have fun making your choice I'm sure!
 
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I haven't heard either...and I'm a huge fan of line source speakers, but the MBL design intrigues me much more, and I'd likely go with those if I were in the same dilemna. I agree with Mitt that a good sealed sub should be used to augment the MBL bass, to prevent them from working too hard at the bottom of their range. Never been a big fan of ported subs, unless they're ported VERY low, too quick a drop off in response to sound natural to me otherwise. (and port chuffing can be audible around/below tuning frequency if not correctly designed.)

Part of my reasoning is that if I were going to get a dynamic linesource, I'd rather build it myself, from top flight components ....whereas I am a long long ways away from being trying anything along the lines of the MBLs. So that may make my opinion less applicable to what you're asking.

Definitely would be more WOW factor from the MBLs, I think.
 
I have also heard them both and here are cons for each.

Dali Cons
1. You need 4 same mono blocks or 2 same stereo amps (with lots of power)
2. Because of the crossover you need two more sets of interconnects
3. They are huge!
4. Difficult intial setup

MBL Cons
1. Room Fussy
2. Need tons of power from great amps (will my Pass Labs x600.5 be enough?)
3. Kinda ugly (but have a wow factor)
4. Difficult intial setup

On the postive side, these two speakers are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. Outside of maybe jumping to 100k. They are so damn good I can hardly believe myself when I have heard them.

I will do some more auditioning over the next month or so and make a decision. Boy is it a large financail decsion but I am getting older (going to be 57 in a month) so why the hell did I work all these years.

I will keep you posted and please I welcome all comments.

Thanks!
Dennis
 
Here are pictures of the speakers for those of you have never seen them. A good reference point.

The first one is MBL 101e and the second is the Dali Megaline.

Thanks again!
 

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I have also heard them both and here are cons for each.

Dali Cons
1. You need 4 same mono blocks or 2 same stereo amps (with lots of power)
2. Because of the crossover you need two more sets of interconnects
3. They are huge!
4. Difficult intial setup

MBL Cons
1. Room Fussy
2. Need tons of power from great amps (will my Pass Labs x600.5 be enough?)
3. Kinda ugly (but have a wow factor)
4. Difficult intial setup

On the postive side, these two speakers are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. Outside of maybe jumping to 100k. They are so damn good I can hardly believe myself when I have heard them.

I will do some more auditioning over the next month or so and make a decision. Boy is it a large financail decsion but I am getting older (going to be 57 in a month) so why the hell did I work all these years.

I will keep you posted and please I welcome all comments.

Thanks!
Dennis

Based on your comments, I think it's fairly easy to break it down. If you think they both sound awesome, so that's a tie,

>Megalines look better for your taste (based on your list above) -- Is the "HUGE" factor of the megalines an upside or a downside? I know Dali's cabinets are GORGEOUS.
>Cost of Supporting equipment - When buying speakers at this level, it seems "relatively" minor...especially for the interconnects. My thought would be that you don't need the same amp driving all 4 channels. More power behind the woofers, and less behind the tweeters (as I'm sure they're more sensitive and have less power handling. And by "I'm sure" I mean, "I think") So it would mean getting maybe a 250.5 instead of another 600.5. At the same time, you're also more class A watts going to each section, which is a good thing...so has significant added benefit for the cost.
>Finicky in rooms may mean it won't fit your space idealy...and that's a big risk to take with speakers at that price.

Seems to me, based off the preferences listed, that you're leaning towards the megalines. I don't think you can go wrong, and since they both sound amazing, looks become a very important consideration.
 
Boy is it a large financail decsion but I am getting older (going to be 57 in a month) so why the hell did I work all these years.

I will keep you posted and please I welcome all comments.

Thanks!
Dennis

I love it.... :cheers:
 
Here are pictures of the speakers for those of you have never seen them. A good reference point.

The first one is MBL 101e and the second is the Dali Megaline.

Thanks again!

No contest...just look at thos MBL's! They don't even LOOK like speakers. When people hear sound coming out of that they are going to FREAK OUT! The others may sound just as good and they are beautiful, but there is NO DOUBT they are SPEAKERS! The MBL's could be heaters, lamps, ART...just about anything OTHER THAN speakers! That is really why I like them so much.

They are well known for wanting big power, and someday I hope I can put that behind mine! Mine get hooked up TODAY! I am going to get the amp and the 2 channel pre out of the car shortly and get started. The wife won't be home till about 10P tonight, so I have time to play and make a mess and get it cleaned up before she gets home! YEA!
 
Since both of these speakers have a WAF that dips into the negative numbers, I'd suggest that you go with the MBLs. They have it all over the Dali's looks-wise, and they will give you a soundfield that is much closer to what you are accustomed to with your MLs. I've never heard the Dali's you're talking about, but I hav heard several MBL's and I admit, if I were to win the lottery, MBL is one of the only speakers I'd consider leaving the MArtin Logan camp for...

I'm sure the Dali's sound great, but I'm jut not a fan of box speakers of any sort. The ones that don't look boxy tend to sound bad to me, and the ones that sound good tend to look like wood-veneered refridgerators... :p

And you can't beat the "Death Star" aesthetics of the MBLs. But I agree with the above post that the dealers should not only pay for you to fly out and audition them, but also they should send the Swedish Bikini Team to your house to help set them up... :banana:

--Richard
 
My own rather totally subjective answer to this exceedingly happy question is this: rational analysis plays the dominant part in the decision making for every component. But with speakers, I need to fall in love.

So, Diamonds, unabashedly presuming that you might go through a similar process, which of the two did you/will you fall in love with?
 
Here are pictures of the speakers for those of you have never seen them. A good reference point.

The first one is MBL 101e and the second is the Dali Megaline.

Thanks again!

Diamonds, what is funny is that the picture of the Dali's you used actually looks like the exact pair of Megalines I had listened to at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I remember the amps on the floor and that hideous carpet.

Incredible sound though!
 
Diamonds, what is funny is that the picture of the Dali's you used actually looks like the exact pair of Megalines I had listened to at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I remember the amps on the floor and that hideous carpet.

Incredible sound though!

It is rather hidieous carpet and really a terrible picture. All the other pictures I found were way to big. Oh well..
 
Found my picture of them from the RMAF a few years ago. As you can see, this is the exact same system.

I know that the mbl's are rather astonishing looking speakers, but frankly, they're loudspeakers - I'd be making my purchasing decisions based upon the SOUND. In this case the Dali's are amazing sounding speakers, not that the mbl's aren't. As I said before, whichever you end up with you will have a great time auditioning and eventually living with a truely great speaker.
 

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Here is a shot of another pair in someones home. This is what I meant when I said that even though they are HUGE speakers, they can actually be fairly unobtrusive because of how narrow they are.
 

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