As for brightness, yes, MBLs can be very bright in the wrong situation. They are very, very, very, very transparent to everything in the chain, including wires. Many solid state amps also sound lean with MBLs, as they can't deliver the current the speakers need....
But even with the proper pairing equipment, there needs to be a proper amount of absorptive and reflective elements in the room. And , of course, there is the element of personal taste / acclimation to one type of sound over another.
But in my system they are not bright, but perfectly balanced... Actually just the thought of Lyra cartridges, beryllium tweeters - like the old Wilson tweeter (that reviewers complained about only after Wilson changed their tweeter to silk) , many box speakers with solid state amps - all make me want to cover my ears, as I type this. But Wilsons and Lyra are some of the most popular brands in this hobby...
Again, we all get acclimated to a certain sound and judge everything else from that perspective.
I actually think "Yoda" Valin's first review of the MBL Xtreme is better. Why?
One simple quote that helps guide the music lovers, people who want to enjoy the music they enjoy on high end equipment, vs. the majority audiophiles who listen to audiophile music and sounds and noises and hifi vocabulary- because that is the only thing their hifi systems excel at.
Here's the "Yoda" Valin at his best, and I am not sure I have better quote from any audio reviewer:
"Sheer sonic excitement may not mean much to those joyless souls who want to hear a second-rate jazz vocalist or a third-rate performance of a Mahler symphony sound precisely as good or as bad as it did in the engineering booth on the day of a recording session; as for me, I still thrill to the thrill of getting goosebumps on my arms or feeling a chill run up my back when a stereo—a mere contraption playing back another mere contraption—captures the excitement of the real thing."
Now everyone has their personal goals in this hobby, but listening to Patricia Barber or Holly Cole for the 17th time in a week is not my thing. When I was getting seriously into the high end segment of this hobby and was told that the likes of Wilson, Pass Labs, Audio Research were the top dogs, while all I could perceive from these brands was sounds, audiophile vocabulary, and ability to only sound well on the best recordings, I'd wonder about all of these audiophiles (and still do). I found the MBL brand was exactly what I was looking for to experience the music I enjoy in its full glory.
And I never imagined I could be as happy as I am with MBL.
Hello caesar,
A) As a general observation:
Music is the most quintessential personification of a true TEACHER. You often use excessive, dogmatic and vitriolic language to denigrate both people and equipment. Hasn't MUSIC - the highest form of existence - taught you anything about self-restrain and suppressing your hubris?!
B) A specific response:
If you are "still wondering about all of these audiophiles" ( and most likely feeling sorry for them ), let me shake you out of your deep presumptuous slumber. I can only speak about Pass Labs and I will never even mention, let alone denigrate manufacturers, if anything, for respecting the notion of "synergy". Are you not a mature, experienced audiophile?
According to you, from Pass Labs you only perceive sounds and they only sound well on the best recordings. You proclaim these with such certitude, authority and absolutism. I am not a neophyte and a fledgeling in this hobby and I can tell you that your views are baseless and border on being incongruous to the point of questioning your true motives for such biased, shallow and broad generalisations.
I can only speak for the smaller-powered XA30.8 ( matched exquisitely with a dedicated Leben Linestage with variable gain ), which I use to drive the Martin Logan CLXs. Your claims are rendered non-sensical and puerile every time that I listen to this combination. At the time, I had compared this amplifier to 8 others, some costing 3 times more with triple the power output! Other audiophiles will provide similar responses about the brands that you so dismissively denigrate. And, please, don't use this cop-out excuse of "audiophile \ best recordings" to supposedly add credence to your claims. Surely an experienced listener like you can do better than that!
Whilst you are entitled to your opinions, I object to your fallacious, superficial generalisations which often border on self-promoting controversy and notoriety.
Music's omnipotence as a teacher is its ability to instil in our conscience the most human and humane virtues. We should always be mindful of humility and sincere self-reflection - as vehicles for self-improvement - every time we listen to our systems, regardless of our prejudices and hasty dismissals.
Now, dear caesar, imagine if your beloved Valin wrote all of this!!! Response please.
I listen, always learning. Cheers and be well, Kostas.