AXPONA 2024

It has become a virtual axiom of show reports: When Jeremy Bryan does the setup, an MBL system sounds excellent. In the sweet spot—MBL speakers have one, and it’s not very wide—sound was ideally focused, warm, and pleasing.

Nouela’s cover of “The Sound of Silence” was lovely and clear, with the perfect blend of wet and dry warmth. Marc Cohn’s “Ghost Train” sounded gorgeous, mellow, and touching. After the volume was raised at my request, an oldie but goodie—a bit of Claude Bolling and Jean-Pierre Rampal’s Baroque and Blue Suite for Flue and Jazz Piano Trio—grew in size. Beyond a certain volume, the sound interacted with the room and grew disorganized. No wonder Jeremy kept the volume relatively low.

Making its debut was the long-awaited Roon Ready MBL C41 network player ($11,100) with volume control. This is MBL first network player; higher-level models are expected down the road. Along with MBL’s 9011 mono amplifiers ($128,200/pair) and 101 E MKII loudspeakers ($91,000/pair), and Wireworld Eclipse Series 8 cabling, this was a system to reckon with.

The C41 uses MBL “True Peak technology" to play files up to 24/192 and DSD64. It include a VFD display, the ability to stream from Tidal, Qobuz, and Spotify and use Airplay. In addition to the network connection, the C41 offers S/PDIF, AES3, and USB-B inputs and outputs. Also onboard is MBL's proprietary SmartLink 1.0 connectivity.