[SoundsCrazy]

Recently, before packing them up for shipment, my wife and I pulled out the couch bed and tucked in to watch a couple of movies on Blu-ray through our Pioneer LX800SE powered by a simple Marantz 8805/8077 powered system and our MB2SE. What a revelation! Super deep bass, great sound, overall precision, the usual wonderful experiences I've heard with these MB's.

Honestly though, since having them, this was the first time I'd wired them up to our HT system. And it was a revelation. Since acquiring them two years earlier, I had them powered by various amps in our changing music systems. Sources were various dacs including PS Audio PerfecdtWave SE DAC (playing MQA Tidal) and Lampizator Amber III SE DAC (playing CD's). Sources including Esoteric K03Xs SE CD player and Oppo 205SE or Pioneer, into three different amps, a Krell KAV 400i that I didn't keep long, it was too smooth, my favorite the PassLabs XA25, but rather too low powered for the MB's, and the Esoteric F05 SE that was great when well fed by good quality CD or streaming signals. Later on, a First Watt M2 made an appearance and was preferred against the XA25 for its lower reach and equal control. But still not powerful enough at all for the MB's.

So I think this is where the epiphany occurred, after tying them up to the 8077's they were suddenly liberated. I had not heard them like that with deep articulate bass, giving plenty of chest impression enough to satisfy and thrill.

So much so, I have kicked out my MX10 KRIX system that requires building in to use the MB's as my simpler HT system for now.

I had wired the MB's up just before this HT experience to an ARC D240 MkII SE. This was pretty good, still not as revelatory as the HT system. Not enough to stop me from using the MB's as my new main HT system, fronts.

They will be combined with an Auro3D speaker set up based around Martin Logan FX speakers to begin with. I have four ML in-ceiling speakers that were installed in our old villa. I plan to try a pure Auro3D layout without them first. I have never been convinced about the mastering of Atmos discs enough to warrant their placement and look forward to upmixing all my Dolby discs.

The MB's do a great HT job, and I may lay two-speaker feeds on the floor, one from the HT and the other from a stereo system to offer a choice of connections. I have a spare Passlabs XP20 to feed that ARC D240 MkII, maybe the junior N50Ae will supply this setup. My experience of the N50Ae shows it cannot be compared with its bigger brother, the N70Ae, and that cannot beat the coaxial connection into the DAC inside the ARC Ref CD9. The output of this final layout is simply another level and has created an endgame setup.

Probably the N50Ae is on the same level as a Blusound Node II...

I look forward to getting the MB's and associated equipment set up back here in Oztralia. Shipping allowing....