The short version
| Milaron Maple Studio | Balanced Body Allegro 2 | Merrithew SPX Max Bundle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (AUD) | $2,899 | Not published | $7,694.50 |
| Springs | 6 German Piano Wire | 5 Signature Springs | 5 High Precision |
| Frame | AAA Maple wood | Anodised aluminium, maple accents | C-channel aluminium, timber platform |
| Length (assembled) | 258 cm assembled | 239 cm | 250 cm |
| Width (assembled) | 60 cm assembled | 64 cm | 68 cm |
| Weight | Not published | 68.5 – 71.2 kg | 58 kg |
| Delivery | Free, 7-day guarantee | Contact for quote | Via distributor |
| Warranty | 5-Year Frame | Contact for terms | Contact for terms |
Two things stand out immediately, and neither is what most buyers expect.
Finding one: Balanced Body doesn’t publish a price
Balanced Body does not publish Australian pricing. Their AU/NZ site lists the Allegro 2 with full specifications and, where the price should be, the words “Contact for Pricing.”
Merrithew publishes through its distributor. Leisure Concepts, the official Australian distributor, lists the SPX Max Reformer Bundle at $7,694.50.
This is worth naming because it shapes the whole buying process. If you cannot see a price, you cannot compare, and you end up in a sales conversation before you have decided anything. There may be good reasons for it — freight varies, configurations vary — but the effect on a home buyer is the same.
We publish ours on the product page. Make of that what you will, but it is a real difference in how the category treats buyers.
Finding two: five springs is the standard, not six
Both established brands ship five springs.
- Allegro 2: one yellow (very light), one blue (light), three red (medium). Balanced Body states this configuration yields up to 46 different resistance levels.
- SPX Max: three at 100%, one at 50%, one at 25%.
Milaron ships six.
Be clear about what that does and does not mean. A sixth spring is not automatically better — Balanced Body’s 46-resistance-level claim comes from combination maths, and five well-made springs beat six poor ones every time. What the sixth spring gives you is finer gradation at the middle of the range, which is where most people actually train.
The material matters more than the count. Ours are German Piano Wire — music wire to ASTM A228 or EN 10270-1. Balanced Body publishes that its Signature Springs use electroless nickel-plated carbon steel, specifically to reduce hydrogen embrittlement. Both are considered approaches. A brand that cannot tell you what its springs are made of has not thought about them.
What the price difference actually buys
The SPX Max bundle is $7,694.50. The Maple Studio is $2,899. That gap is large enough to need explaining honestly.
What you genuinely get for more money:
- Commercial rating. The SPX Max is built to withstand continuous, high-intensity studio use — that is, eight hours a day, many different bodies, every day. A home machine used four hours a week is not being asked the same question.
- Decades of proving. Balanced Body has been building this equipment for around 50 years (founded 1976). Merrithew’s lineage is comparable. That track record is real and it is not something a newer brand can claim.
- Service networks and parts. Established distributors hold spares. In ten years, a part for an SPX is more likely to exist.
- Resale. Legacy brand names hold value on the secondhand market.
- Certification. The Allegro 2 is listed as a CE-approved Class 1 medical device.
What you are also paying for, which is not performance:
- Import freight. These are shipped from North America to Australia.
- Distributor margin. An additional business between the factory and you.
- Bundle contents you may not want. The $7,694.50 includes a box, platform extender, pole, neoprene covers, loops and 60 days of app access.
Dimensions, and the one that catches people out
All three machines are roughly the same size. This is not a category with much variance — a reformer is about 2.4 metres long because a human on a moving carriage requires that.
| Length (assembled) | Width (assembled) | |
|---|---|---|
| Milaron Maple Studio | 258 cm assembled | 60 cm assembled |
| Milaron Pearl Studio | 244 cm assembled | 65 cm assembled |
| Milaron Pearl Foldable | 245 cm assembled | 65 cm assembled |
| Balanced Body Allegro 2 | 239 cm | 64 cm |
| Merrithew SPX Max | 250 cm | 68 cm |
Width is never the problem. Australian internal doorways are 820mm standard, and every machine here clears that comfortably.
Length is the problem. A 2.4 to 2.5 metre crate has to negotiate stair turns, hallway corners and lift depth. Many apartment lifts are under two metres deep, which means no full-length reformer goes in one, from any brand.
This is why a foldable exists at all. The Pearl Foldable crates at 135cm — not because the machine is smaller in use, but because getting it up a stairwell is otherwise the thing that stops the purchase.
We have written that up separately with the measuring method.
Weight
Merrithew publishes 58kg for the SPX Max. Balanced Body publishes 68.5kg for the Allegro 2, or 71.2kg with legs.
We have not published a weight for our machines, so this guide does not state one. When we do, it will appear here.
Weight is a reasonable proxy for frame rigidity — a heavier frame generally flexes less under load — but only within the same construction type. Comparing a timber-framed machine to an aluminium one by mass alone tells you very little.
How to actually decide
Ignore brand hierarchy for a moment and answer four questions.
Will it live in a room, or does it need to move? If it must be stored between sessions, you want a foldable and the decision is largely made. If it has a room, buy the full-size machine — foldables carry a compromise in ride height that you notice over years.
What is the access route? Measure the narrowest point and the tightest turn before you look at any product page. This eliminates more options than price does.
Studio-hours or home-hours? If you are teaching from home four hours a day, commercial rating is worth paying for. If you train three times a week, you are buying capability you will not use.
Can you see the specification? Frame material, spring material and count, warranty terms, weight. A brand that publishes all four has thought about all four.
If you would rather answer a few questions than read a spec table, this points you at the right machine.
Where we sit, stated plainly
We build the Milaron machines, so treat this section as interested.
We are cheaper than the established brands — $2,399 to $3,995 against a $7,694.50 bundle — because in-stock machines are held in Australian warehouses and there is no distributor between us and you. We ship six springs rather than five. In-stock machines arrive within 7 days, free, Australia-wide, with a 5-Year Frame Warranty and roughly $400 of accessories included.
What we cannot claim is fifty years of studio-floor evidence. Balanced Body and Merrithew have that and we do not. If your requirement is a machine that has been proven across decades of commercial use, that is a legitimate reason to buy theirs, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
Head-to-head comparisons
We maintain a detailed comparison against each brand people ask us about, with specifications and prices as published:
- Milaron vs Balanced Body
- Milaron vs Merrithew
- Milaron vs Align-Pilates A8 Pro
- Milaron vs Your Reformer
- Milaron vs Core Collab
- Milaron vs Lifespan Fitness Contour
- Milaron vs FitBoutique
- Milaron vs other reformer brands
Sources
- Balanced Body AU/NZ — Allegro 2 Reformer product page: specifications and “Contact for Pricing”
- Leisure Concepts (official Merrithew distributor, Australia) — SPX Max Reformer Bundle, AUD $7,694.50, published specifications
- Merrithew — SPX Max Reformer product specifications
- Milaron Pilates — published pricing and verified crate dimensions
- ASTM A228 / EN 10270-1 — music wire material standards
Prices and specifications as published August 2026. Manufacturers change both. Verify before purchasing.