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MB QUART 220 ?

R

rawpower1953

New Member
Hi there folks just a general query i picked up a pair of MB QUART 220 speakers for free their in great condition all i know about them is that their 4ohms and they are 60wpc and heavy for bookshelves i ran them with my Nad c370 amp and they sound very detailed and exact does anybody know anything about these speakers as there is no info out there ? it would be much appreciated
 
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I used to sell their car line about 20 years ago and heard a few home speaker models over the years. Excellent, well made, expensive, made in Germany. I thought they sounded like ADS, which is certainly not bad.
 
I too was in the business and a dealer I was with brought the MB Quart line on board and mentioned, they were relatively expensive. The relationship with their home audio products did not last more than about two years or so because they were poor sellers. Nothing to do with quality of product but the sales staff, myself included, found it difficult to get "excited" about them. The clientele was mostly oriented towards rock/pop music so based on character of sound produced, other speaker lines had greater acceptance. It may be different now but back then my general assessment of the MB Quart line was that they were "thin" sounding. I was not involved in the sale of car stereo which was a different department, but I recall MB Quart doing better there. Not a top seller by any means but lasted longer than in home audio.

Based on size vs price and continent of origin, KEF, B&W and Celestion sold in greater numbers. Ironically an East German speaker line, RFT, sold quite well too and it could not have been based on looks. One in particular BR26 (aka by that retailer as Classic's) was probably the best selling model.
 
rawpower1953 said:
Hi there folks just a general query i picked up a pair of MB QUART 220 speakers for free their in great condition all i know about them is that their 4ohms and they are 60wpc and heavy for bookshelves i ran them with my Nad c370 amp and they sound very detailed and exact does anybody know anything about these speakers as there is no info out there ? it would be much appreciated
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They are a good, small speaker w/ classic German sound for the era. Top-end response may be a bit bright. If you are in the US they were imported in the late 80s-early 90s then dropped when MBQ focused more on the car audio side. I'd try them with a powered subwoofer to get the most from them.
 
thanks for the info guys i make you all correct about the sound very bright but just lacking in bàss somewhat but they are very well made and they do sound really good with the nad c370 amp any way i think i will put back the B&W 685s on again and keep these as spares or maybe sell them on fleabay the guy who i got them off said he paid €450 for them many thanks for your expert input you guys are great
 
I've seen lots of postings over the years about MBQ speakers, make sure you search AK. I saw one mention of 280s which may be just up the line from yours?
 
Of mild interest, MB Quart built the 4 and 8 ohm soft dome midrange versions found in the Dahlquist DQ-10 and Infinity Quantum series.
 
well guys i think im gonna keep them now and set them up with a yamaha receiver i have under the bed lolbut it still works its a good receiver
 
I have a pair of MB Quart QL10Cs behind my bench on 600mm stands for testing/monitoring all the gear I repair. They are an amazing little 5" 2 way, very similar in design to the 220s you picked up.

This is the QL10c (not my pic)

ql10c.JPG
 
Your 220s appear to be a sealed, acoustic suspension design, whereas the QL10Cs are a ported, bass-reflex design. Yours have a bigger woofer and likely a different tweeter. I don't use a subwoofer as they are basically set up as testing/monitor speakers, compact enough to sit near my bench. I quite like them, and they are solidly made.

I picked mine up quite cheaply and was amazed at their performance. As a tech, you need predictable sounding speakers you can get used to, but at the same time, ones that are expendable if something goes awry.

A nice powered subwoofer would definitely round out the bottom end for you and you'll have a nice setup for very little money. Often, you can pick up good branded powered subwoofers for peanuts at thrifts.
 
A friend of mine has a canton active subwoofer he is selling for £30 if i want it otherwise he will puti it on ebay i have never heard of canton what do you think ?? are canton make any good ?
 
rawpower1953 said:
A friend of mine has a canton active subwoofer he is selling for £30
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Heck yeah! It may not be the end-all, be-all subwoofer but under $40 USD for a Canton active sub is a deal anywhere.

Even if it wasn't an active but a passive I'd go for it. It will definitely improve the overall tonal balance of the system.
 
yep just set up canton subwoofer with speakers and omg what a difference it makes just put on captain beefheart cd on i dont think upstairs neighbour was too impressed lol anyway thanks guys for your help your superstars
 
An older thread, but wanted to say that I came into (for free) a pair of these that had never been out of the box (!). They were fairly uninteresting paired with my marantz 2215b, which probably wasn’t giving them enough power. Was going to take them to my office where I’ve got amps that supply more wattage, but for fun I tried them with my little Denon UD-M3 microsystem in the other room and was suddenly quite charmed. They image well (to my ears) and produce a clear and very well balanced sound, with plenty of low end, although i confess I’m not a hungerer after big bass. Think I’ll keep them right where they are.
 
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