Used Scansonic MB-2.5 Speakers (Handmade in Denmark)

Scansonic MB-2.5 Speakers (Handmade in Denmark)

Used pair of Scansonic MB2.5 speakers, handcrafted and made in Denmark.

Scansonic HD’s MB2.5B is a heck of a loudspeaker. It’s slim and attractive while delivering sonic excellence in its price range.

Great opportunity to get Raidho speakers listening experience with this Michael Borresen flagship MB series speaker model. 

Raidho and Scansonic share a close family visual aesthetic, as well as similar design choices; a slim front baffle mated to a relatively deep, teardrop cabinet; a slight tilt away from the listener to aid the crossover in time alignment, and a Kapton–laminated, true aluminium ribbon for the top end.

The rest of the name is significant, too. ‘MB’ are the initials of one Michael Børresen, who has been designing Raidho loudspeakers (and then some) for the last 12 years or more. It’s also a two-and-a-half way design, although that ‘2.5’ just happens to be Scansonic’s particular nomenclature for this range, rather than a statement of intent.

The assembly process is done in–house by hand entirely at their factory in Denmark.

The short ribbon, manufactured in–house, lives in a sealed enclosure and is coupled to a short throat racetrack horn to control dispersion. The MB Series is Scansonic’s high end family, with the M Series in the middle and the utilitarian L Series at the base. In a dark listening room, you could mistake the MB2.5B for its fancy cousin, Raidho Acoustics’s X2.

You may have heard of Scan-Speak, the storied Danish transducer manufacturer. Scansonic was build “on the back” of Scan-Speak, as the Dantax Group owned the speaker company from 1977 to 1988.

Scansonic’s MB series are basically less expensive mini Raidhos, incorporating trickle down Raidho technology. Engineering and development is done by the same folks as Raidho.

When asked via e–mail what aspects do Scansonic HD products share with their Raidho relatives, Morten Kim Nielsen, Sales & Marketing Director for both Scansonic HD and Raidho, stressed the shared parentage of both brands. “The (Scansonic HD) products are developed with the same DNA as Raidho. By the same people. They are also built by the same people.”

A closer look at the MB2.5B reveals the use of strong and light carbon fiber in both cabinet and transducers. The 5.25" mid and woofer both utilize a woven carbon fiber cone, sans dustcap, which lends them an unusual look. When asked about this feature shared with Raidho, Nielsen told me that the design choice reduces breakup. The cabinet’s top plate and front are also fabricated with carbon fiber inlays.

By the way, Scansonic specs the MB2.5B’s frequency response as 36Hz to 40kHz ±3dB, so they go surprisingly low. When I first added them to my rig, I started playback and, after only a moment, jumped up to turn off my sub…the sub wasn’t even plugged in!

For a vintage recording, the soundstage is huge, the mix is bold, the whole a boisterous rockin’ celebration. The MB2.5Bs had me happily reliving the analog days of big hair, acoustic guitars and tight vocal harmonies.

Looking for a high performing loudspeaker with sophisticated air and a small envelope? The Danes have a way with transducers, and the folk at Scansonic HD may have just what you’ve been searching for. Scansonic HD’s MB2.5B is the little black dress of loudspeakers; it works well with every genre in intimate environs.

An affordable price and dapper design sets the MB2.5B apart from most of the boxy competitors and, with its deep diving low end, truthful midrange and silky top, it’ll deliver the goods without draining your bank account. It may have a generic name but, but it’s anything but ordinary.

The MB-2.5 was designed without a grille and in the top half of the front baffle there are decorative black screws visible. The MB-2.5 is a traditional two-and-a-half way design with a down-firing port.

For the high frequencies up to 30 kHz there is a sealed kapton/aluminium sandwich membrane ribbon tweeter. One 115mm carbon-coned mid-bass unit is used as a mid-woofer and the second 115 mm carbon-coned unit is used as a woofer for frequencies from 40 Hz to 200 Hz. Both have a overhung magnet system similar to Raidho’s own.

Specifications:

Size, mm. (BxHxD): 178 x 998 x 286

Weight, kg.: 15,6 per unit

Freq. response: 36 Hz – 40 KHz

Impedance: > 6 ohm

Sensitivity: 88 db

Crossover: 500 Hz + 2600 Hz / Minimum phase

Enclosure: Curved, heavily braced, ventilated box design with front loaded port and adjustable aluminum feet.

Drive units: 1 x Ribbon tweeter · 1 x 5,25” Mid/Woofer · 1 x 5,25” Woofer

Highly reviewed series of Scansonic speakers, please check the reviews below.

http://www.soundwaves-turntables.com/img/ScansonicMB-25-HiFiPlusNEW.pdf

https://the-ear.net/review-hardware/scansonic-hd-mb-25-floorstanding-loudspeaker/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7cHr_5t81Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi79HioKe5k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mycNvrT1kLo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjNiPGXKj0c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yROJPD8Cy-Y

Performance

The beautiful ribbon tweeter immediately sounds refined and captivating but I know from experience that a lot more can be gained by providing the exact toe-in required by the MB-2.5. As soon as the right angle is reached everything falls into place and it is clear that things should be left alone.

Less use and kept for 2nd HiFi room setup in the near future but had to let go due to some reasons, there are tiny 2 marks that occurred when shifting the speakers (on top of the speaker and next tweeter, please check the photos attached but it’s not obvious and does not affect the sound quality of these great performing speakers at all).

The market price is still around RM21k++ but letting go cheaper around RM12800 (still negotiable for serious buyers).

Condition: 8/10 (very well performing speaker, truly amazing audio quality)

Prefer face to face deal if possible, testing and audition preferred once the sales price is confirmed.

No box but can deliver for free by hand around Penang, Ipoh, KL or Kedah areas.

Thank you and feel free to contact me for any questions ya.

Please contact me at O12-588 527O (Whats-app) for more details & photos.

Also available for sale: -

-       Scansonic centre speaker (matching series and still inside the box in brand condition)

Last but not least, you'll be amazed by the level of bass, detail and clarity that you will enjoy with this pair of speaker, truly out of words to explain this and please don't judge them by their cabinet or driver sizes, that's the beauty of Scansonic and Raidho speakers as well.