Magico Mini 2 vs Kharma Midi Exquisit vs MBL 101s

FWIW,my close friend recently sold his Kharma 1.0 and moved to the Magico Mini.He does not have a large room,and we all felt the Kharma was a bit too much for it.

The ceramic driver seemed to get irritating upon loud volume,but I also think partnering equip was a factor(a superb,but non tube amp,which all Kharmas like,IMO).The 1.0 was superb,but many friends felt it got aggressive when played at volumes not all that loud.

The "Mini" is a different story.In his room(12.5 x 20 ft) I personally think it is almost perfect!The bass is about as deep,and with real(surprising)impact.

BUT it never sounds aggressive,and can "DO" loud to an amazing degree,while all the while keeping all musical lines "perfectly" in place.

I've tested it at low levels too,and this speaker(the Mini)is just perfect for the environment it is in.

Good luck

I liked Martn Coltrane's with Einstein OTL's 60W monoblocks, and with Vitus SS101. Spectacular speakers, and they have worked superbly in smaller room then yours with Vitus.

with all due respect this is the most bizarre and inconsistent choice of speakers i have seen both design wise, sound wise, and price wise. personally i think the sonus fabers produce the most room friendly and un-fussy results of the speakers on your list, just for starters. another speaker which comes with adjustability std. to help conform it to most any room is the von schweikert vr-5se, and i feel it can compete with the best speakers available (except for "monster-size"). otoh, maybe you "like" the particular sound of one of the aforementioned speakers, even though from the above comments each conform to one person's tastes but not another's. so MY suggestion at the end of the day is- buy what "I" like, and be done with it! in point of fact, if you buy a pair of eggleston andra-2's for your 16X22 room, and you don't like them, i would really be surprised. all you would be giving up compared to "Very Expensive Speakers" is a bit of resolution through the midrange frequencies- which you might never miss since they sound so enjoyable on virtually every kind of music that is out there. but feel free to spend as much as you like- i did, and i was more-or-less ready for an upgrade. but the improvements would not make the egglestons sound "broken" or insufficient.

French Fries Actually all of these speakers, with the exception of the SF, have a street price of about 30K. I hope to here all of them at this years RMAF.

Sirspeedy
In my experience, the Magico Mini sounded more aggressive than all the different Kharma's I heard, even grating. Perhaps due to partnering equipment. The Martens use mostly ceramic drivers too, and i haven't heard people say they sound aggressive. Ceramic drivers do sound dry, and ring a bit at high volumes, esp when partnered with wrong equipment usally SS amps.