Floorstanding loudspeakers — Mbl 116 F

MBL calls the 116 F a compact four-way floorstander, and it brings the company's Radialstrahler principle to a slimmer tower than the 111 F. Six drivers are fitted - two spherical radial units at the top and four aluminium cones below - and the aim, in MBL's words, is to spread sound through the whole room instead of focusing it on a single seat. The German list price is EUR 36,730 per pair, while British pricing stands at GBP 30,600 per pair.

Key specs that matter

Uppermost is a Radial HT37 tweeter of carbon fibre, with a Radial MT50 of woven carbon fibre taking over from 650 Hz up to 3,500 Hz. A pair of 150 mm aluminium drivers covers the lower mids, handing over at 170 Hz to two 220 mm aluminium woofers. MBL states the lowest frequency as 40 Hz. The cabinet measures 280 mm wide, 1,200 mm high and 430 mm deep, and it reaches 1,300 mm with the cover in place. Each speaker weighs 42 kg. Further figures are a sensitivity of 83 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, a linear maximum of 106 dB and fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley filter slopes. The radial units place their acoustic centre at a height of 107 cm.

Engineering and use context

Both cone pairs are mounted back to back and move in unison, so each driver pushes against its partner while the cabinet stays largely still. Massive aluminium struts brace each pair against the other and tie them into a single rigid structure. The woofers load a 46 litre bass reflex enclosure. Above the box, the two radial drivers work without any rear chamber - their carbon-fibre petals are arranged around a sphere and pulse in and out, sending energy in every horizontal direction through the midrange and treble. The MBL manual calls the 116 F a multi-directional speaker, a label for the way its upper drivers radiate around the full circle rather than forward only. Finishes combine piano black or piano white lacquer with gold or chrome trim, and custom colours can be ordered.

Pairing

Nominal impedance is 4 ohm, and power handling is given as 340 W with 1,800 W peak. MBL asks for an amplifier delivering at least 200 W of sine-wave output into 4 ohm and names the MBL 9007 as a suitable match. MBL rates the 116 F for any room and sees it as optimal up to around 60 m2.

Alternatives

The MBL 111 F is the bigger four-way Radialstrahler tower, with a 58 litre woofer enclosure, 64.5 kg per speaker and a 38 Hz lowest frequency.