MoFi Sourcepoint 888 Speakers

I think you made a good decision as described based on my limited exposure to the Mofis in general. Enjoy!

Thanks @mapman. I neglected to mention one of their strong attributes that I really value in a speaker, which is coherence. It was one of the things that made me stay with the Klipsch Epic CF 4’s for so long despite some other minor failings. Once you hear a speaker that is really coherent, it is really a must.

@roxy54 yes, agree regarding coherence.  

My impressions at two shows now and my dealer have been unfairly disappointing… especially since i have a pair of TAD… but i’m chalking it up to €£#%%%% setup n poor conditions… so  glad they are meeting your needs - wonderful !

@tomic601 

in my experience TAD are tilted up and the MoFi 888 are more balanced and neutral, so first impressions at shows and such can be a tad (pardon the pun) soft at first listen. Longer listening sessions reveal they are easier to listen to for longer periods. 

Thanks for the feedback.  I was looking at them also instead of their 8 snd 10 inch  standmounts.  Erin’s Audio Corner had a positive review.  Trying to fit into my budget.  How much did you pay for the pair?  

@roxy54 

Nicely done.  A good example of what you'd hope to read when you open a post on an audio forum.  Happy to hear you've found the right speakers for you

On a side note, I've always thought the Klipsch CF-4s were one of the most "under appreciated" speakers  We were a Klipsch dealer and also involved in performance mods.  We did a fairly ambitious upgrade on a pair of CF-4s a while back.  When completed, I set them up for the typical post-mofication sonic evaluation. I'll just say that it took a family intervention to remove me from the listening chair.  They were that good!!

@waytoomuchstuff 

Agreed. I liked the CF-4's so much that they were my everyday speakers for 15 years. Their strong points were coherence and dynamics.

They also had an amazing sense of musical flow, but after exposure to a different speaker two years ago, I realized that they also glossed over many details that gave beat and timing cues to me while I was listening. I sold them with regrets, but also wonderful memories.

The MoFI's, like any speaker are not perfect, but they are closer to my ideal than I have heard before in my system. I'm feeling fortunate.

are these the made-in-china speakers sold at made-in-usa-prices?

@roxy54 

Yes, there are mechanical limits to what the CF-4s can do with the music.  Impressive in their factory form.  When you "open them up, and let them play" (via upgrades) they take on a different personality altogether.

@waytoomuchstuff 

They were certainly a brilliant design. I had the klipschorns back in 1976, and I loved them for years too, but I believe the Epics were a better speaker overall.

@roxy54 

Agree on the CF-4 vs K'Horns.  The CF-4s were a "big boy" D'Oppolito design that presented a very coherent point source when set up properly. 

Congrats on the purchase. New speaker time is an exciting time…

Thanks @ozzy62 . It feels even better when you realize that it's an improvement, not just a different flavor.

Enjoy. !   

@roxy54 , do they take a good bit of oomph to drive?

I’m using an old, much modified Mac, but despite being somewhat inefficient, they don’t drop below 4.6 ohms I think, so they’re not very hard to drive. I’m getting plenty of oomph.

Today I got my chest pushed in a bit by Peter Gabriel’s "This is the Picture".

Reading the specs on those is what made me curious, @roxy54 ; however, although I thought I remembered that the nominal impedance is 6 ohms, as you just typed, I also saw that minimum impedance doesn't seem to drop real low, and I am starting to get the impression from all that I read on this site that maybe minimum impedance is more critical than sensitivity.  At least when it comes to how hard a load a speaker presents to an amp.  However, I may be mistaken in my interpretation of what I have read.

I was surprised to find the latest Stereophile in my mailbox today with a review of the 888’s. John Atkinson loved them.

@immatthewj

I think that's what I've usually understood; that is that minimum impedance is more important than efficiency regarding amplifier compatibility and ease of drive.

Nice! Great surprise. Enjoy!

The importance of impedance, personal experience.

Years ago I owned Duntech Princess speakers which I loved.  They were rated at 90 dB efficiency but required more power than expected by that.  I believe it was due to the response curve dipping just below 3 ohms in the bass.

The two best amp matches I found were first the VTL 300 monos with KT-90 outputs, then the Parasound Halo JC-1 monos.  The latter were rated at 400 w @ 8 ohms and 800 @ 4 ohms.  The Princesses really came alive with those.

Otherwise that might seem excessive for 90 dB, so look at the entire response curve.

Impedance and phase angle.  

**Interpretation of Phase Angle**

- **In-Phase**: A phase angle of ( 0^circ ) (or ( 0 ) radians) means the voltage and current are in phase, resulting in maximum power transfer.
- **Out-of-Phase**: As the phase angle increases or decreases away from ( 0^circ ), it indicates that the current and voltage are out of phase, which can lead to reduced power transfer.

**Power Factor**
- The power factor (PF) is related to the phase angle:
[
ext{Power Factor} = cos(phi)
]
- A power factor close to 1 indicates that most of the power is being effectively used, while a power factor closer to 0 signifies greater reactive power and inefficiencies.

### Summary
The phase angle is directly related to the impedance of a circuit. It provides insight into how voltage and current interact within the circuit, influencing power factor and efficiency. Understanding this relationship is key for designing and analyzing AC circuits effectively.

Anyway, @roxy54 , congratulations on the new speakers!

@mapman 

Thanks for that info.

@immatthewj 

Thanks for the good wishes.

Congrats @roxy54 the triple 8s are an exceptional value to my ears.  Exceptionally strong bass (spectacular really), midrange very good and dynamics are also very good. 

I liked what I heard but with the Class D amp they sounded brash and slightly unrefined.  I bet your Mac has the perfect synergy with them.  Let them burn and and enjoy! 

@roxy54 

Congratulations! I’m also a fan of Andrew Jones including his MoFi Sourcepoints. 

@kennyc

Thanks. I think he’s a pretty brilliant guy. I was really interested in the sourcepoint 8 and 10 when they came out because I understood the advantages of concentric drivers having a little second hand experience with Tannoy speakers. The first time I saw pictures and a description of the 888’s though I was really excited, because I knew from past experience that the concentric driver would perform at a higher level if it didn’t have to reproduce those low bass notes.

Besides that, I’ve never been a subwoofer guy. I  prefer an all in one tower, and these leave everything I’ve owned in the past in the dust. The solidity and clarity as well as tunefulness of the bass performance is really something special.

I’m still learning about them every day, and as is usually for me, getting the full measure and understanding of them will probably take at least 6 months.

@roxy54 

Congrats on the new speakers!  Even though the reviews were all positive, it’s always better to have a review from someone has nothing to gain* from posting their thoughts and opinions.

* Nothing to gain but listening pleasure.

@curiousjim 

That's true. I also put more weight on user reviews, as long as I've seen a good number of them. 

I did want to add one important finding, even at this early stage for the benefit of anyone who might be considering these speakers. I read once and saw on youtube another time that these speakers are only for medium to large rooms but based on my past experience with another large speaker and m desire for full range output, I took the chance and bought them anyway.

I'm happy to say that they are fine in my 13 x 11 x 9 room. Occasionally a note may hit the room's resonant frequency and you'll hear it, but it's infrequent and doesn't bother me. I'd also mention that my room is untreated.

This is honestly surprising given the quality of drivers in your Kismet Reference speakers, lack of midbass punch withstanding. 

At least when it comes to cabinet build, the MoFis look professionally done unlike (cough) some other brands. 
 

Now you have 2 great speakers. I heard the Sourcepoint briefly and they sounded very good. I have sat through several of Klauses system demos and am always impressed. 
Enjoy

Try and find this much engineering effort sunk into a 5k floorstander by a guy elsewhere...

Andrew Jones discussion - Mofi 888

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9nV7J0MTFk

Andrew Jones discussion - Elac Adante (scroll over to 8:00)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ika420Ezb30

Last i heard, Daryl Willie will just buy a focal driver and drop it in his 80k ghastly looking box (easy peasy incoherency).

This is honestly surprising given the quality of drivers in your Kismet Reference speakers, lack of midbass punch withstanding.

At least when it comes to cabinet build, the MoFis look professionally done unlike (cough) some other brands.

@helomech  and @deep_333 

I want to be clear in my feelings about the Kismet Reference. I believe that Klaus, and whomever else was responsible for the design, have squeezed every bit of performance from these two fine drivers, and in some ways it is better than any other speakers I have owned.

For instance, I can say at this point that even though the tweeter on the 888 is very well integrated into the voicing of the speaker, it is not the equal of the beryllium Scanspeak in the Kismet. That tweeter is so pure and smooth and had very wide dispersion. I know from experience that some speakers with beryllium tweeters are too bright, so I have to think the design of the crossover has something to do with it too.     

My thoughts are the op displays quite a bit of wisdom and discernment about relative merits. Sure Andrew is fantastic but there is no monopoly of engineering talent w ears. i agree 6 months is a good milestone to understand the inchstone nuances of a speaker / room combination… so glad you are enjoying the 888.

@roxy54 

Yeah that Scanspeak tweeter in the Kismets is widely regarded as one of the best available at any price.

Andrew Jones designs some nice speakers for sure. 

@roxy54 --

Interesting speakers, the MoFi’s, though I’ve yet to audition any of their models. A local dealer recently became a distributor of the brand, so I’ll go have a listen to them within shortly to get a bearing on their sound - just out of curiosity. In light of the general price range among hifi/high-end speakers I actually expected the model 888 to be more expensive given its size, appearance and rumored SQ, so was pleasantly surprised to find out they retail for $5k/pair.

What’s interesting about the MoFi’s to me, apart from what I can assess from reviews/feedback on their sonic imprinting in select areas, is that they’re point sources from ~150Hz on up and that Andrew Jones is the mastermind behind the particular design choices made here (I still find the TAD CR1’s to be among, if not the best of the more compact, low efficiency speaker designs out there I’ve heard, but they are very expensive). A point source speaker has a lot going for it, though as always it’s about weighing compromises and whether what can be extracted from them appeals to you.

I’m happy to say that they are fine in my 13 x 11 x 9 room. Occasionally a note may hit the room’s resonant frequency and you’ll hear it, but it’s infrequent and doesn’t bother me. I’d also mention that my room is untreated.

Being point source speakers certainly makes integrating them within shorter listening distances easier.

Great post, I am always delighted to read about a positive speaker upgrade.  I have met Andrew Jones at a few audio show and he is very affable and happy to visit.  His induction into TAS or Stereophile Hall of Fame, I forget which one, was well deserved.  He has made music lovers happy with a range of speakers at all price points.   

@roxy54, I may owe you a vote of thanks.  I just placed an order for a pair of Source Point 888s.

Because of my age I wanted to simplify and downsize my system.  I've not heard the MF Source Point models but have heard previous Andrew Jones' designs.  And I've listened to a few Tannoy concentric designs.  So viewing a couple of his interviews, plus comments on your post, convinced me to order without hearing the 888s.

My room is larger than yours at 28 x 19 x 10, with a couple of side additions.  So hope that suits them.

Trusting this was a good decision I'll report back in a couple of weeks after they arrive, go through placement experiments, and break in.

@pryso 

Congratulations on your new speakers. I hope that they work well for you. I think that they will be a good fit in your large room. Thanks for the kind words.

Initial set up very positive.

My sister stopped by so I played one of her favorite Tom Petty albums (not my usual choice).  She said, "It's so clear, I hear all the details.  It sounds like they are right here in the room."

Now I'm breaking in with FM.