Tír Na HiFi

The day I went to hear the Nautilus, Noel suggested that I might like to hear something a little more "real world" so I popped upstairs and heard a new pair of the snappily-named Scansonic MB2.5 B. Apparently the MB stands for Michael Borresen, and you might recognise the tweeter design from such lofty speakers. Except these were elegant floorstanders for under €3k, paired in this case with an all-singing, all-dancing Quad one box amp/DAC combo for €800 or thereabouts.

The sound was the exact opposite of a lot of current hifi. It was smooth, gorgeous, inviting, and all told I've been thinking about it a lot since. The good thing was it didn't sound slow, the leading edge definition was all there, it had snap when needed, but it none of that sharpness you could shave with. I've had mixed feelings about the Borresens I've heard, but the value proposition here helps a lot, and I think this is a real world system I could enjoy. Placement seems easy too as they're ported at the bottom.

I certainly came away thinking that mid-level hifi has come a long way. This system obviously couldn't compete with the high-end gear downstairs, but it's not meant to. I'm mulling over a kitchen system upgrade now, as it's the one that gets played the most. Anyway, if you go to hear the Nautilus make sure you pop upstairs too.

The Scansonic MB speakers were originally designed by Michael Borresen and targeted as a more accessibly priced speaker than his much more expensive Raidho speakers. However, since Borresen’s departure, Raidho has drafted the expertise of Benno Baun Meldgaard from Gamut to take over development responsibilities for the Raidho and Scansonic ranges. Initial reports for both the new Raidho TD series and the new Scansonic MB B range are extremely favourable.

It is also worth noting that Michael Borresen will also have a newer range of speakers premiering this year called the Z series which will be priced between approx. €10K and €20K (and which will presumably compete against the similarly priced Magico A series).

There's Bs and Ms all over the place then! Thanks mcq.

I think you're right Si - the middle ground has gained an awful lot from the higher end over the past few years. This is especially so in the digital world I reckon -streaming and usb etc....