Quart 650s speakers

sbeineke

New Member
Just picked up a pair for $80. Couple mars on the cabinets. Sound pretty darn good and drivers all in great shape. Anyone know anything about these things? I assume by the cabinetry, late 80s early 90s. Not much info on the internet on these.
 
I used to sell those and you have the correct time frame. Very well made, ProAc used their tweeter in the original Studio One which is high praise. They did have a hot high end and the recessed baffle messed up imaging. We sold very few MB Quart as the German sound was less well like than the British or neutral NRC Canadian sound by our customers back then.


MAJOR score for $80!
 
Nice looking speakers. Super nice price!
GeeDeeEmm

mb_199258.jpg
 
I need to spiff up the oak and then I will try them out pushing them with a Kenwood KA-7100 amplifier. See how that goes because it has a warmer sound. I assume these are ideal for tube applications? I don't know what they sold for new...I came across 1 reference which said $1500.00 but I have a hard time believing that.

I used to sell those and you have the correct time frame. Very well made, ProAc used their tweeter in the original Studio One which is high praise. They did have a hot high end and the recessed baffle messed up imaging. We sold very few MB Quart as the German sound was less well like than the British or neutral NRC Canadian sound by our customers back then.


MAJOR score for $80!
 
I need to spiff up the oak and then I will try them out pushing them with a Kenwood KA-7100 amplifier. See how that goes because it has a warmer sound. I assume these are ideal for tube applications? I don't know what they sold for new...I came across 1 reference which said $1500.00 but I have a hard time believing that.

I don't recall the pricing but you are probably not far off, at least in terms of what they sold for in Canada. German made, imported and sold to shops through a distributor tends not to make for bargain pricing.
 
Translated from the German HiFi Wiki site...

MB Quart 650 S

General:
  • Manufacturer: MB Quart
  • Model: Quart 650 S
  • Production Year: (not shown, but the 850 S is shown as 1988-1990)
  • Produced in: Germany
  • Finish: Black, White, Walnut, Oak, On request, special price: Rosewood, Cherry, Pine, Wenge, Mahogany, Oak (raw), High Gloss White, High Gloss Black
  • Measurements: 266 x 860 x 288 mm (W x H x D)
  • Weight: 20 kg
  • New Price ca.: 1.800- DM

Technical Data:
  • Cabinet Type: 3-Way Closed, Tower Speaker
  • Drivers:
    • Woofer: MBT 205, 205 mm Paper Cone 4 ohm (95-6594)
    • Midrange: MBM 50, 50 mm Supronyl Dome 8 ohm (95-6593)
    • Tweeter: MCD 26, 25 mm Titanium Dome 4 ohm (95-6549)
  • Loading Ability (RMS-/Peak): 100 / 120 Watt
  • Sensitivity: 2,4 Watt (90 dB/1m)
  • Frequency Range: 35 - 32.000 Hz
  • Crossover Points: 400/2900 Hz
  • Impedence: 4 Ohm
I had a pair of Quart 800's a couple of years ago, great sounding speakers. If you have any problems with the tweeters (weakest link) you can contact German Maestro that Soundmotor linked above. They can/will repair tweeters, they did mine for about €50 each, they looked and played like new afterwards.

Cheers,
James
 
Translated from the German HiFi Wiki site...

MB Quart 650 S

General:
  • Manufacturer: MB Quart
  • Model: Quart 650 S
  • Production Year: (not shown, but the 850 S is shown as 1988-1990)
  • Produced in: Germany
  • Finish: Black, White, Walnut, Oak, On request, special price: Rosewood, Cherry, Pine, Wenge, Mahogany, Oak (raw), High Gloss White, High Gloss Black
  • Measurements: 266 x 860 x 288 mm (W x H x D)
  • Weight: 20 kg
  • New Price ca.: 1.800- DM

Technical Data:
  • Cabinet Type: 3-Way Closed, Tower Speaker
  • Drivers:
    • Woofer: MBT 205, 205 mm Paper Cone 4 ohm (95-6594)
    • Midrange: MBM 50, 50 mm Supronyl Dome 8 ohm (95-6593)
    • Tweeter: MCD 26, 25 mm Titanium Dome 4 ohm (95-6549)
  • Loading Ability (RMS-/Peak): 100 / 120 Watt
  • Sensitivity: 2,4 Watt (90 dB/1m)
  • Frequency Range: 35 - 32.000 Hz
  • Crossover Points: 400/2900 Hz
  • Impedence: 4 Ohm
I had a pair of Quart 800's a couple of years ago, great sounding speakers. If you have any problems with the tweeters (weakest link) you can contact German Maestro that Soundmotor linked above. They can/will repair tweeters, they did mine for about €50 each, they looked and played like new afterwards.

Cheers,
James

That reminds me that one of the selling points was the wide array of special finishes available across the line. That made a couple of sales.
 
I have learned to really enjoy these things. I switched to a Yamaha higher end receiver away from the Kenwood KA-7100 integrated and find them cleaner. Maybe it is time for a recap job on the Kenwood. I find these speakers neutral but alive and I definitely don't get tired of listening to them. Are they at the same level as the Bozak Concert Grands I recently sold? No. But their footprint is certainly smaller and they are very precise. Not as natural flowing or smooth. Take piano example. With the Bozak, the piano is in the room. With the Quart, it is a really good recording of a piano in the room. Hard to beat the Bozaks overall. I do think they would sound really good with maybe a modified Hafler amp. We'll see. At any rate, these are keepers
 
Purchased a Hafler DH200 and Yamaha C-70 preamp and was able to dial the quart speakers in to sound damn near good as the Bozak Concert Grands. The Quart 650S don't weigh 225 lbs each and are a much small footprint. I'm happy.
 
I own a MB QUART 2000 speakers and I love them. 75lbs each and 4000dm price tag in 1992. I just compared them with my KLIPSCH KLF-20 and Infinity RSii and find them to be the best of the thtee. Interesting thing is they are 4ohm 88.7 db and I run them with a promitheus 15 watt tube amp and Mcintosh c26 pre.
 

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