MB Quart 220 Bookshelf speakers
The 220 is the junior member of the extensive MB Quart loudspeaker line manufactured in West Germany and, to the best of our knowledge, unavailable here until recently. After auditioning the baby of the family, I expect you'll be hearing more about this line in the future. It ranges from a large mini (the 220) through what have traditionally been called "bookshelf" models (two cubic feet or so) to a number of floor-standing tower designs, in addition to car speakers and headphones. Obvious care has been taken with technical design and with the sleek, elegant cabinetry, which is available in an exceptional variety of natural wood finishes.
The 220 is a two-way acoustic-suspension system with a 1-inch titanium-dome tweeter (mounted slightly to the left of the baffle's central axis); below it is a 6-1/2-inch Butyl-surround woofer centered on the baffle. Both are covered by a removable grille made of stretch fabric over a lightweight pressboard frame. Electrical connections are made to heavy-duty multiway binding posts that angle downward from their back-panel alcove for easy visibility and minimum lead protrusion (unless you use banana plugs on the leads).
That's it-no port, no controls, no fuss. What doesn't show is the fine internal construction. The cabinet's 7/8-inch multilayered "variable density" panels meet at solid-wood corner pieces for a particularly rigid, nonresonant enclosure. MB Quart takes credit for making its own cabinets and driver assemblies, and I was impressed by the finish and attention to detail lavished on the 220.
Of course, no speaker of this size can fill large rooms with deep bass. Hence, the company offers a subwoofer, the Model 310F (approximately $749), that has been designed to work with a pair of 220s. Many listeners, though, will be satisfied with the sound as is. What the 220 lacks in deep bass is made up for in clarity and balance.
The company suggests placing the 220s on stands about two feet high and keeping them out from the back wall. The specific recommendation-18 inches from the wall-is not one of the Diversified Science Laboratories' calibrated positions, so the lab made measurements both 3 inches and 39 inches from the wall (the latter for the data and response graph shown here). The nearer position produced somewhat rougher response (doubtless because of early reflections); accordingly, the far position was preferred in the listening tests as well.
The measured on-axis response at 39 inches is exceptionally flat, staying with-in +2-3/4, - 2-1/2 dB from the 100-Hz band up. Off-axis response is similar, though the trough in the 300-Hz region (attributable, at least in part, to floor reflection) is a little deeper. In addition, the top end gradually slopes away from the on-axis trace, suggesting minor amounts of beaming.
The impedance curve also falls within a relatively narrow compass, lying just above 4 ohms at 20 Hz and at the minimum above the woofer resonance (often used as a rating point) and reaching two maxima: 13.9 ohms at the 100-Hz woofer resonance itself and 15.2 ohms in the crossover region near 1.5 kHz. Throughout the tweeter range, impedance hovers above 10 ohms. Whether measured in our "music band" or across the entire audio band, the average impedance is thus somewhat above 8 ohms, making the 220 a good choice as an extension speaker that can be paralleled with the model used in the main listening area.
Distortion is moderate-meaning it is relatively low for so small a speaker driven to our standard sound pressure levels. At the lowest SPL-85 dB-distortion averages about 1/2 percent from 100 Hz up. This increases gradually with drive level until, at 100 dB SPL, the average is about 1-3/4 percent for frequencies above 250 Hz.
The perceived sound is very clean and rather forward. If you've found continental speakers in the past to be rather clinical and overbright, you're in for a pleasant surprise when you hear the 220. It is recognizably European, but not aggressively so. Stereo imaging struck me as good, though not outstanding.
Above all, the MB Quart 220 might be an excellent possibility as a second speaker pair-say, in the den-for people who really like to listen to music. The clarity and balance of its sound raise it well above the humdrum background music sort of speaker that is too often chosen for this assignment. The 220 could also be used as a video speaker, perhaps driven directly by the speaker outputs of your video monitor. And with or without subwoofer assistance, it's worthy of serious consideration as a prime speaker system, particularly considering the flexibility of placement made possible by its small size.
