MB Quart, the company people love to bash..

[gstokes]

Why do people bash on MB Quart so much, Maxxsonics owns several brands including Autotek Hifonics and Crunch but those crappy (IMHO) brands are not criticized like MB Quart is.

MB Quart is as great as they ever was but have fallen out of favor with the mainstream because of negative comments that are mostly based off feelings towards Maxxsonics as a whole but you won't find any negative reviews of MB Quart products, all the reviews i found are 5 star and the people including me that actually own their products have nothing but praise for their sound quality.

Go listen to MB Quart's products, open up an entry level Onyx series amplifier, you will see that MB Quart quality is right up there with Kenwood Excelon & JL Audio and most any other high end amplifier but gets overlooked for the most part. If you got issues with Maxxsonics because they bought MB Quart so be it, but don't bash on MB Quart because of it..

Click to read more...

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

I wouldn't say that their entry level stuff is on the same level as Excelon or JL stuff. Being an old head I've used and sold all of the original Quart stuff, I've used the amps when they were being built by Rockford and I've owned and listened to their entry to mid-level components since Maxxsonics bought them and they are not the same, not even close. I can't speak for the new amps because I haven't used any of them but I've read nothing but good things about them though.

I'd say that people bash because when a company like Maxxsonics buys a company that was known for making high end product, they take it and start producing a bunch of low end stuff for the masses and slaps the "Brand Name" on it and those that don't know think that they are getting the same quality when they are not. Sure they make keep some of the high end stuff in the lineup but the bulk of what is pushed is the cheaply made stuff, now I'm not saying that this is what happened with the Quart stuff but I can tell you that their entry level and mid level stuff can't compare to the entry level Quart of old and that's just my opinion from my personal use of both.

 

[gstokes]

Agreed, the Onyx lineup may not be audiophile grade but they kick it up a few notches with the Reference series.

I can believe that, buying out a company with a great reputation, reducing the manufacturing costs (quality) and slapping the respected Brand on it, but if they remove too much of the quality people will get wise and the brand will lose its reputation, let's hope this doesn't happen, cheers //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

i think the problem is mb quart regressed the onyx series is not bad but its not as good as the previous dsc series, look at the guts in the dsc 1500 and compare it to the onyx 1500, compare the nice heavy casing on the dsc model then look at the plastic they put on the onyx model they went cheaper

 

[basswiigee]

Why do people bash on MB Quart so much, Maxxsonics owns several brands including Autotek Hifonics and Crunch but those crappy (IMHO) brands are not criticized like MB Quart is. MB Quart is as great as they ever was but have fallen out of favor with the mainstream because of negative comments that are mostly based off feelings towards Maxxsonics as a whole but you won't find any negative reviews of MB Quart products, all the reviews i found are 5 star and the people including me that actually own their products have nothing but praise for their sound quality.

Go listen to MB Quart's products, open up an entry level Onyx series amplifier, you will see that MB Quart quality is right up there with Kenwood Excelon & JL Audio and most any other high end amplifier but gets overlooked for the most part. If you got issues with Maxxsonics because they bought MB Quart so be it, but don't bash on MB Quart because of it..

if you lived through mb quarts era... which you probably havent or you wouldnt be posting this, mb quart used to be top notch, im sorry since maxxsonics bought mb quart its quality went down... i can list tons of negative feedback for mb quarts if you want me too... halve the lines dont even do rated, their best line was discus and those are hard to find nowadays... mb quarts used to specialize in comps like hertz, they never really were a amp and sub company until maxx sonics hence why half their mb quarts line is autotek rebadges... and your right it is on par with kenwood and jl, hence why it doesnt get too much love cuz kenwood is just kenwood which is partners with jvc, yeah great brand there! lol not, jl is decent, but regulated and over priced... mb quarts just dont get the love as better can be had for the money and i think thats what it boils down too... mb quarts i wont say is bad but mediocre at best...

 

[basswiigee]

Why do people bash on MB Quart so much, Maxxsonics owns several brands including Autotek Hifonics and Crunch but those crappy (IMHO) brands are not criticized like MB Quart is. MB Quart is as great as they ever was but have fallen out of favor with the mainstream because of negative comments that are mostly based off feelings towards Maxxsonics as a whole but you won't find any negative reviews of MB Quart products, all the reviews i found are 5 star and the people including me that actually own their products have nothing but praise for their sound quality.

Go listen to MB Quart's products, open up an entry level Onyx series amplifier, you will see that MB Quart quality is right up there with Kenwood Excelon & JL Audio and most any other high end amplifier but gets overlooked for the most part. If you got issues with Maxxsonics because they bought MB Quart so be it, but don't bash on MB Quart because of it..

and yet you say hifonics and crunch are crappy IYHO, yet hifonics has the MOST solid amps and amp lines than any other maxxsonics product and the crunch gp3000 wasnt for any games either... hifonics amps will IMHO smash mb quarts... brz,brx,bre, etc... way more solid that the mb quartz lines... again IMO, but ive used almost every maxxsonics products...

 

[michaellane 5,000+ posts]

Agreed, the Onyx lineup may not be audiophile grade but they kick it up a few notches with the Reference series.I can believe that, buying out a company with a great reputation, reducing the manufacturing costs (quality) and slapping the respected Brand on it, but if they remove too much of the quality people will get wise and the brand will lose its reputation, let's hope this doesn't happen, cheers //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

That is EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING. ***** but true

 

[gstokes]

breaks my heart, really does //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[MiGz219]

MB Quart is not the same company it use to be. The quality has decreased since it got bought out. I had a long discussion about this with a local car audio dealer and since he keeps in close contact with some manufacturers he said that most of the common ones just go to china and pick out parts. I believe he was speaking in general but he pretty much described it as going to a warehouse in china where they make the speakers then say Sony for example would just pick out their speakers slap their logo and call it good. Im sure more goes into this like choosing components and sending some design features.

On a side note if you want to buy old MB Quart quality stuff today just buy German Maestro audio stuff. The employees that worked at MB Quart now work for German Maestro. from listening to it personally i can tell you it sounds really good. I pretty much sampled the lineup of speakers but cant afford any at the moment //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

I can believe that, buying out a company with a great reputation, reducing the manufacturing costs (quality) and slapping the respected Brand on it, but if they remove too much of the quality people will get wise and the brand will lose its reputation, let's hope this doesn't happen, cheers //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

They screwed up Hifonics by doing that.

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

Why do people bash on MB Quart so much, Maxxsonics owns several brands including Autotek Hifonics and Crunch but those crappy (IMHO) brands are not criticized like MB Quart is. MB Quart is as great as they ever was but have fallen out of favor with the mainstream because of negative comments that are mostly based off feelings towards Maxxsonics as a whole but you won't find any negative reviews of MB Quart products, all the reviews i found are 5 star and the people including me that actually own their products have nothing but praise for their sound quality.

Go listen to MB Quart's products, open up an entry level Onyx series amplifier, you will see that MB Quart quality is right up there with Kenwood Excelon & JL Audio and most any other high end amplifier but gets overlooked for the most part. If you got issues with Maxxsonics because they bought MB Quart so be it, but don't bash on MB Quart because of it..

First they are not as great as they were. They are maybe half as great now as when they were at their prime.

Second the reviews you speak of are created/posted by ignorant people that have absolutely no valuable knowledge in the car audio realm.

Third Kenwood Excelon is also junk and no where near high quality that you speak of. JL Audio is good quality gear, but its not even in the same league as the other 2 brands mentioned.

Fourth you say they are on par with high quality amps, but the amps you listed are middle of the road main stream companies at best. High quality is the likes of Masconi, AudioSystem, Zapco, Image Dynamics, Focal, etc.

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

First they are not as great as they were. They are maybe half as great now as when they were at their prime.
Second the reviews you speak of are created/posted by ignorant people that have absolutely no valuable knowledge in the car audio realm.

Third Kenwood Excelon is also junk and no where near high quality that you speak of. JL Audio is good quality gear, but its not even in the same league as the other 2 brands mentioned.

Fourth you say they are on par with high quality amps, but the amps you listed are middle of the road main stream companies at best. High quality is the likes of Masconi, AudioSystem, Zapco, Image Dynamics, Focal, etc.

Image dynamics amps have been integrated with powerbass so take as you will but I see there amp reputation as being at risk

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

Image dynamics amps have been integrated with powerbass so take as you will but I see there amp reputation as being at risk

They were purchased by Powerbass, but their amps have not been made or designed by Powerbass yet. Even so Powerbass makes good stuff. Its much better than the MB Quart, Hifonics, PPi, Popcorn sounds crap everyone has a hard on for.

 

[tat2bass 10+ year member]

I personally love MB. Haven't dealt with any of the old stuff so I will never compare it to that. That's the problem though is that everyone says its garbage because its not what they used to make. For 90% of car audio guys that doesn't really matter. People now want the best value for the money that will sound good and be reliable. Which MB does both of now. The old stuff was also much more expensive. If someone is spending $150 on a set of speakers they shouldn't expect it to be the same quality as a set of made in america high dollar set from back in the day. If you do purchase it with that mind set then yes you will be let down. People purchasing MB now need to go in with the mindset of they are purchasing a product that is good for the money and provided a bang for your buck.

The new reference line is actually very well built and definitely does rated. Have installed a few of them and have been very impressed with the quality for the money. Excellent sound and build quality and are reliable. Their second highest line of speakers now behind the qsd set is an excellent set for around $150. IMO one of the best available at that price range. But again I am not going into expecting the quality of 10-15 years of a more expensive set.

And whitedragon is correct about the reviews. I never look at reviews on sites such as sonicelectronix. They are done by idiots the majority of the time that wouldn't be able to tell the difference between hertz and low end pioneer.

Point is still that MB Quart is not bad equipment. Just not as good as it once was.

Like saying Paul Pierce isnt a great basketball player because he isn't half as good as he once was.

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

They were purchased by Powerbass, but their amps have not been made or designed by Powerbass yet. Even so Powerbass makes good stuff. Its much better than the MB Quart, Hifonics, PPi, Popcorn sounds crap everyone has a hard on for.

I agree I like powerbass for budget amps at least the asa and xta lines. And I was more talking the other direction powerbass is using a few of the image designs. How this works out in the long run I dont know. I do want to try some of their new shallow subs