PAROXYSMAL DISCHARGE

So, the time had come to decide. MBL? Focal? Neither?

What impressed me the most with the MBL 121 speakers was their stunning ability to illustrate the space of a recording. This makes them nearly unbeatable for classical, jazz, singer-songwriter and live recordings. Since I don’t listen to those types of music much, instead often drawn to “produced” sounds, this argument loses some of its weight in my case. Instead, their ability to provide an accurate and deeply satisfying soundstage from virtually anywhere in the room, including standing up, becomes their most compelling advantage. For social listening, this is tremendously valuable.

While the sweet spot of the MBL’s is essentially everywhere, the Focal Diablo’s laser precision are less forgiving. But once in that spot, are they ever rewarding. Sounds are given such body and texture that the tastebuds are triggered — I can literally sense the taste of vanilla and cream when Mari Boine sings “Goaskinviellja“, so smooth is her voice. Likewise, fizzing, distorted, black metal guitar resonance noise can trigger a taste sensation similar to that dry, astringent tongue sensation provided by an extremely hoppy beer. While I am mildly synaesthetic, i have never ever felt it this clearly with sound before. This almost supernatural effect aside, they still sound mindbogglingly controlled and tight, yet wide open and completely unstrained regardless of what madness is forced through them.

So in the end, love at first sight did prevail. The choice I had feared having to make blossomed into certainty. I made a pact with the devil and couldn’t be happier.

I am well aware that my purchase means I will have to run them with my existing electronics for some time to come, which means even though the sound is already fantastic, they will not be close to their full potential until the other components have been upgraded. I will do my best to scrape together enough money to upgrade one of my DJ turntables, get some acoustic room treatment in place and most of all put a proper DAC between Squeezebox and amp. In case I somehow manage to keep up my blogging pace, I intend to start a new series on Digital to Analogue Converter technology. It will serve both to help me learn more about the technology and also to sift through the market and try to find the holy grail of DAC’s. I might get a couple of more detailed listening impressions posted too…