![MBL 120 Radialstrahler](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/5798/767041/6177e4685ca56/MBL-120-Radialstrahler.jpg)
You never know when an idea might hit you, maybe when brushing your teeth, standing in the shower, or stirring the stew.
Have you ever flexed a playing card (or a few) back and forth close to your ear? They generate a little sound. According to MBL company lore, that action and sound sparked the design idea for the original Radialstrahler omnidirectional driver.
Omnidirectional speakers are rare. I can think of only a few companies that make them: German Physiks. Morrison Audio. Ohm Acoustics. Duevel. MBL.1
The MBL 120’s design, like the design of most other omnidirectional speakers, is visually distinctive. More than one visiting friend who saw them in their piano-black finish (with grilles on) called them “the Darth Vader speakers.” With the grilles off, or in piano white, the Darth Vader effect is less pronounced. Even so, they don’t look like other speakers.
They sound different, too. MBL’s omnidirectional drivers—which, as the adjective suggests, send energy out into the room equally in all directions—provide an open, 3D, relaxed sound, as in a concert hall, which of course presents lots of direct and reflected sound to your ears. As in life, the sound seems freed up, not boxed in.
If the MBL 120 were a book, it would be one that was hard to put down: I kept listening when I should have been going to bed—or finishing this review.
Design and drivers
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![RABBIT HOLES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/5QlJnmhMh1721211925091/RABBIT-HOLES.jpg)
RABBIT HOLES
The best Christmas gift in history was George Bailey being shown what the world would be like without his being born, courtesy of Angel Second Class Clarence, in the classic 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.
![REVINYLIZATION](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/hyXzmTTUT1721211785965/REVINYLIZATION.jpg)
REVINYLIZATION
As one of the first live albums to be recorded in the hallowed space that is New York City's Village Vanguard, Sonny Rollins's A Night at the Village Vanguard (recorded November 3, 1957, released in 1958) set the template, proving that recording in the odd, triangular club could not only work but could also produce distinctive, satisfying sound.
![AURAL ROBERT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/jWHWEB2bp1721211605201/AURAL-ROBERT.jpg)
AURAL ROBERT
Recording music is complicated, and without the crucial assistance of producers and engineers, a lot of great records-not to mention successful musical careers would not happen.
![Linear Tube Audio Aero](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/L1kHMq1io1721211155941/LINEAR-TUBE-AUDIO-AERO.jpg)
Linear Tube Audio Aero
This paragraph from Linear Tube Audio's website description of their new Aero DAC sets the tone for the story I'm about to tell.
![PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/6oBOV9PIe1721210537485/PRIMALUNA-EVO-300-HYBRID.jpg)
PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid
Hybrid\" technology-specifically, mixing tubed and solid state in the same amplification device-stirs a deep desire for many enthusiasts.
![SPIN DOCTOR](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/bI_XU0gag1721210081339/SPIN-DOCTOR.jpg)
SPIN DOCTOR
There once was an ugly duckling
![BRILLIANT CORNERS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/JUlaLYS4K1721209446386/BRILLIANT-CORNERS.jpg)
BRILLIANT CORNERS
Stereo is the most successful audio gimmick of all time. While dashboard record players, quadraphonic LPs, and MQA have gone the way of Ron Popeil's hair-in-aspray-can infomercials, stereo remains king. And I am guilty of loving it.
![Franco Serblin Accordo Goldberg](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/UMT4lphlA1721208602829/FRANCO-SERBLIN-ACCORDO-GOLDBERG.jpg)
Franco Serblin Accordo Goldberg
As founder and chief designer of Sonus Faber, Franco Serblin designed and manufactured many loudspeakers of acclaimed high quality, mainly in box form.
![Grimm Audio MU2](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/gtK7QLoGE1721208000188/GRIMM-AUDIO-MU2.jpg)
Grimm Audio MU2
For several months, my wife and I had been living in a cozy studio apartment in New York's Financial District while our apartment underwent substantial renovations.'
![GoldenEar Technology T66](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5798/1751221/kYRFSELhu1721207372908/GOLDENEAR-TECHNOLOGY-T66.jpg)
GoldenEar Technology T66
Loudspeaker company GoldenEar Technology was founded in 2010 by audio industry veteran Sandy Gross¹ after he left Definitive Technology.