When set up correctly, huge and well defined soundstage with outstanding timbral characteristics. Excellent micro-dynamics without ever losing musicality.

Must be used in medium to large size room. Ought to be used with extremely high quality, high current, and fast amplifier or it doesn't shine.

I reviewed this speaker before with experience in only one room. The room was too small and the ceiling was too low. In a decent size room and with fast, high current amplifiers (Krell, Bryston 14B-ST), these speakers are first and foremost intoxicating. Could they be better? Sure, but they are so musical and involving that you just don't care to improve on these speakers.

These are "final purchase" speakers that ought to be the last speakers that you buy.

Similar Products Used:

Sonus Faber Amati Homage, MartinLogan Odyssey, Vienna Acoustics Beethoven, B&W 802N

I heard the same two systems at Harvey on 45 St.The Mahler's mid bass boost was due to the room's acoustics, not the speakers.
Both the Amati and Mahler were driven by Krell electronics at Harvey.
The Amati was hooked up to a KAV-500i integrated amp and a Meridian 505.24 CD player.
The Mahler was hooked up to a Krell HTS and matching 5 channel amp with a CAL CL20 as a transport.
I don't recall the wiring.

The Mahler does every thing right, and it does have more "slam" then the Amati.
However, the Amati is remarkable in it's ability to completely deliniate ALL of a full range orchestra's detail without sounding anything less then musical.
The Mahler loses to the Amati in microdynamics, especially during complex passages.

The Amati also posesses a quality that I can not properly articulate.
I was seduced by the sound of the Amati.
I have only heard this in tubed systems, none of which could do what I heard with Beethoven's 9th.
This is not to say that tube equipment won't match up well with the Amati.
I just have not heard any other amp/speaker combo that did for me what the Amati/Krell/Meridian combo did with as wide a range of music.

And on the subject of tubes, I did not get to hear the Mahler with such gear.
It is possible that the Mahler would do better with top quality glass.

The Mahler is competitive at just under $10,000.
The Amati might be under priced at $20,000.
Unfortunately, I can not afford the Amati at this point in time.
The Amati is the best I have heard, but it is not twice as good as the Mahler.
It is 80% as good as the Amati for 50% of the cost.

I am giving the Mahler 4 stars for all the things that it does so well.
It is a true full range speaker that handles all types of music and home theater well.

Fantastic detail, imaging and bass.

None I have found yet.

This speaker is the one, in this price range there is just nothing better that I have heard. The soundstage is wide and deep. The detail in the music is really brought out. The bass ranges anywhere from light and detailed to in-your-face rattle-the-walls, depending on the music. Highs are smooth and sweet. Midrange in incredibly detailed.

I stepped up to these speakers from NHT 2.9's, which are about 1/4th the list price of these, so a fair comparison this aint. The difference is in imaging, intergation, soundstage and smoothness. The NHT's were great, but these are the bext.

If there is one thing these speakers excell at, it is in my mind representing the ambiance. On recording where you hear the room or the studio, they do an excellent job of presenting that information. On some live CD's, this is closer to being there live that I have ever experienced.

The only comparison I have in my room are with the NHT 2.9, and these blow that away. In the store, I compared to Magnepan and Revel. The magnepans had a bit more magic on some light classical music, but they failed to deliver the punch the Mahlers do. I do not like to use sub woofers, they just never seem to integrate well. With the ML, the sub seemed to lag behind a bit. Also listened to Revel speakers. They sounded awesome, but did not have the nice highs and the wide soundstage I hear with the Mahler.

When played at low volume, the Mahler presents a detailed and refined sound. The bass octaves at low volume, especially in my room whih has a bit of an acoustice problem, are not too great at very low volume. At medium to high volumes (SPL 80-90 dBA) the musical experience becomes incredible. A bit more detail and coherence are revealed, highs really sound sweet, with no harsheness at all. The midrange just seems to float totally away from the speakers, positioning of sounds on the stage becomes incredible. At 100+ dBA, with the right recordings... Well, you're just there. This is usually a bit too loud for my taste, but it sure is an experience. What surprised me very much is that even at these high SPL levels, the speakers do not seem to loose control. Bass is still nice and tight (Although again that room problem shows up a bit more), highs are still well under control, and mids just fill the room.

I think that overall, these speakers are excellent. For the price, they are simply amazing. After adding these, I find myself no longer worrying about my system when I listen to music. I just sit down, hit play and three minutes later all I care about is the music.

I finally succeeded, I have a system that makes me forget about the equipment and just enjoy the music.

Niels.

The stereo system:
- Sony SCD-1
- Madrigal CZ-Gel balanced 1m Interconnect
- Mark Levinson 380 Pre-amp
- Madrigal CZ-Gel balanced 1m Interconnect
- Mark Levinson 335 Amp
- Straightwire Maestro 15 foot Speaker cable
- Vienna Acoustics Mahler Speakers

aside from sounding fantastic, Id have to say their advantage over their competition is the size and scale they are capable of delivering, with punch and detail as well

considering the price, none whatsoever, the only speakers that sound better cost at least twice as much, these are a bagrain

These speakers have only two basic basic requirements, one being about 100-200 hours burn in, and two a room that is not causing frequency response issues.

They manage to sound very good with mediocre components driving them, which is surprising, but give them some A grade upstream components and these speakers will have you thinking youve just had a religious experience.

They are capable of delivering detail at levels with which for example a $US 70,000 Burmester cd/dac combo is designed to provide, for me these speakers represent everything I would ever need from a speaker except perhaps something from avalon acoustics costing 6-15 times more.

To the reviewers here that had these speakers connected
to Krell kav amplifiers, you guys dont know what your missing. At the very least these speakers want a Krell
FPB series amp, maybe a clase omega, and at best a
gryphon antileon. (there are many other good amps out
there too Im sure)

The Mahlers are a very musical, however they do not achieve this by sacrificing any of the correct / analytical side of the source material, it is quite simply a beautiful balance of conflicting design goals that leaves you with a system that will both have your foot involuntarily tapping as a result of how engaging and emotional your music will become, as well as drop the jaw of any soundstage, dynamics, microdynamics, frequency response etc tech head youd ever meet.

I have auditioned many speakers in the last 12 months
and these speakers are not the best speakers ever made,
however I would argue very strongly that for the price
these speakers definately are the best sound your going
to get in a full range speaker, and they leave
most speakers costing a great deal more for dead.

It is unfortunate that other reviewers here have
compared these to the Amatis, the Amatis are twice
the price, but the Amatis are also in the category of bargain in terms of price/performance.

The Mahlers can deliver an enourmous full slamming wall
of bass at extremely loud listening levels without loosing any of their microdynamics or the ability to deliniate complex musical passages or effecting the rest of the frequency spectrum.

So even as fantastic as the Amatis are if the Mahlers
were $20,000 Id still have chosen the Mahlers because
I have a very large room and I like listening to music
very loudly

Aside from the Amati's I am aware of no other speaker for less than $US40,000 that comes even close to the Mahlers.

The revels not nearly as involving or musical or natural,
They have a brilliant spot in the mids that is analyticly perfect but besides that they sound like a lab experiment not a source of music, the bass is a little faster than that of the mahlers but the tops are not nearly as natural and the bass is much harder to control

The B&W N801 doesnt project the detailed mids or highs or delicate air across the soundstage anywhere near as well, as the Mahlers.

The space and depth that the Mahlers can create is astounding. Its much like a full size version of the
Audio Physic Virgoes but with balls to boot
so it can handle full scale music properly, the fact that
it not only does that but also has the most amazing
tonality is just priceless

If you want an truly engaging musical experience combined with an inredible soundstage (large but full and correctly detailed) and a very dynamic speaker capable of playing and resolving complex music an loud volume levels then these speakers cant be beaten for less than 6-7 times the price.

If on the other hand you just like a bit of jazz or vocals at moderate levels in a small room, unless you can afford the Amatis at twice the price then the tonal accuracy and
beauty of the Mahlers alone still makes them the clear winner over for example the 801's or the Reval salons.

I look forward to keeping these for many years, through
many upstream component and cable upgrades.


:))

Similar Products Used:

b&w, theil, revel, sonus faber, avalon acoustics, audio physic

Clean, natural,accurate, tight, incredible midrandge, dynamic overall range.

Price - 10k for the pair

The rosewood Mahler's are my front channels as part of a total Vienna Acoustic listening and theatre system I own. I have never heard a more natural sounding speaker and fell hard for them at the expense of my poor wallet. Midrange is incredible as I broke these speakers in for a couple of weeks before critical listening, after Andre Boccelli was simply amazing through the Mahler's. I also have a REL Stadium sub to compliment the movie experience although I'm really not convinced I needed this much punch. From my buying experience I found the Rel was capable and quick enough to due justice to these speakers. I am really pleased although I spent much more on this system than I budgeted

Similar Products Used:

Prior to buying compared to top end Martin Logan and Sonus Fibre

Coherent Sound. Smooth Highs. Excellent bass articulation. Clear Vocals (minimum of sibilants). Cabinetry quality of the first order.

Priced beyond the reach of many unfortunately.

I have been in the market for a speaker in this price range and its safe to say I have found the "one".
First off, in deference to one of the other reviewers, its ridiculous to compare this speaker to the Amati Homage. They are in completely different price ranges. In this particular range of speakers,ie. 10K, there is no finer speaker that I have auditioned.
1.Highs - Extended without any perceivable harshness that wasn't endemic to the recording itself. This is not to say that it ruthlessly reveals flaws in the recordings. In fact it manages to balance the fine line of being smooth without sounding too recessed. Easily some of the most fatigue free highs I have yet to hear. Most speakers priced below and even some priced similarly(B&W 801) are quite clumsy in the reproduction of s's or sibilants. I used a recording of the Temptations as a torture test, due in part to the poor quality of the recording, of sibilants and the vienna is the first to succeed in this regard.
2.Midrange - Its really difficult to explain this speaker's mid-range reproduction in that I could not discern any significant flaws. Granted my ears are not perfect, though whose are, but I'd have to say that the mids of the Vienna's are about as close to perfect as you can get.
3.Bass - I can honestly admit that I am a bass freak. The music I typically listen to tends to have a considerable amount of bass content so to me accurate reproduction of the lower frequencies is of paramount concern. My ultimate torture test CD in this area is Bjork's "Post". The intro to track 2 of the album has such deep bass that most woofers tend to flap wildly out of control. (ie. Definitive BP2000TL, Mirage OM-5 even the Prodigy distorted though not quite as severely) The Viennas absolutely nailed it. Not only was the bass deep but articulated as well. (The demo room I heard the Vienna's in had it powered with a Krell FPB300c which has outstanding bass control perhaps with a lesser amp I would not have felt such slam and accuracy). Finally the last track on U2's "achtung baby" has an intensely deep synthesizer organ note. The Vienna's were the first speakers I have heard that could fully resolve this passage.

Demo Room ta Harvey Electronics:
AMP: Krell FPB300c
PRE-AMP: Krell stereo pre-amp with CAST technology
CD: Krell with CAST technology
CABLE: Monster

I think that it is important to note that while I thought the Krell to be an apt choice with regards to woofer control I felt they lacked the musicality that these speakers are capable of producing. Id recommend a more musical amp (i.e. Classe or Mcintosh) Even as such the presentation was outstanding. I can not find any significant flaw in these speakers. I know of no other speaker at this price level that can compete with the Mahler though I felt the Prodigy to be an outstanding home theater speaker.

An unequivocal 5 stars.

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilis 801, Martin Logan Prodigy