New MOFI speaker (Andrew Jones)


Here is some info on the new MOFI/Jones speaker:

 

128x128mofimadness

Happy to, nonoise.

From my relatively brief audition in answer to the question "Are these the Giant Killers some hope them to be?" I'd say well...yes and no.

No in the sense that I wasn't thinking 'wow, that's spectacular sound' like I have from any number of high end speakers.  As I wrote, they didn't do that transition in to sounding more like the real thing that will make me sit up and take notice.  They sounded a bit more studio-monitor "just play the recording" delineating the recorded imaging in a point-source fashion.

So even when I came home to listen to my Thiels again afterward (or thinking back to the B&Ws) I was struck with the sense "yeah, you still kind of get what you pay for, at least in some speakers."  So I don't really see these as giant killers in that respect.

But I think one could say "yes" insofar as what you get at their price point. They provide very accurate imaging, quite vivid sound, a fairly large scale of sound (not as big as the Devore O/96), lots of bass and dynamics, so really quite close to a complete package as far as playing back all manner of music in a compelling manner.

But there wasn't the organic realism of a Harbeth or BBC school speaker for voices, nor the absolute sense of purity and clarity I hear from, say, my Joseph Speakers, nor the utter disappearing-as-sound-sources I hear from various other high end speakers.

But, still, the SP10s did have an attractive sound that did make me want to keep listening longer than a lot of other high end speakers.  (Still wondering about fatigue over time from the highs, though).

 

That said...my Joseph Dealer will be getting in the SP10s at some point so I'll have another chance to hear them I think.  Perhaps in another showroom I'll find them more impressive.

Thanks, prof, for that very detailed account of what you heard with the Sourcepont 10s. Nothing like more food for thought. 

All the best,
Nonoise

Ok I'm just going to paste what I wrote in another forum, from my listening session with the Source Point 10s:

------------------------------------------

 

Source Point 10s:

The SP10s were in a dedicated room, I'm guessing maybe 12' wide by maybe 16' deep, set up on the short wall, pulled probably about 4 feet in to the room, mild toe in towards the seating position. Listening sofa was probably 9 feet or so from the speakers. Room had some sidewall treatment - absorption mostly I think, maybe some diffusion.

First impression visually: Everyone who has reviewed these is right. They look "kinda big" for stand mounted speakers in photos and videos, but in person you will let out an involuntary Keannu Reeves level "Whoah!" They are beasts. Big, blocky, imposing in a room. Not something one will sneak past the other half. This is dedicated room type stuff - like the speakers should be paying rent! The finish (walnut) was "nice" though not in to the "lux" category. As for wider baffle design speakers I really like the Devore O/96 which are even wider, but to me the SP10s, while not ugly (I kind of like the design) are more imposing visually, almost brutalist in their presence.

Before I get in to details, my main take away was: I get why people are liking these speakers. I can see how they will become quite popular. I personally found them to have a fairly attractive sound, as a place to visit, but not to live with, if you know what I mean. And a major take away - these beasts are finicky!
Which will come out when I try to describe what I heard.

I listened to various tracks - first selections by the salesman, Addelle, Tracy Champman (fast car), some jazz/pop, some Zeppelin, then some of my usual test tracks.

From a seat on the listening sofa, leaning forward a bit, I was probably around 8 feet from the speakers and the immediate impression was of a big, rich, warm sound with a slight peak in the upper mids/lower highs, and beyond that a slight lack of "air." So for instance a track with stand up bass, female vocals, acoustic guitar, sax, drums etc, the sound was very big, rich, room filling from the upper bass down, the vocals had enough body to sound somewhat natural, and atop that "dark rich bassy" sound there was a sparkle so that the acoustic guitars would pop out in a nice, vivid manner, as would higher vocal transients, drum cymbals, upper register of a sax being played hard. So that richness with sparkle was quite inviting, and I can see how many would like it. It did, as mentioned, seem more rolled off in the highest frequencies lacking that last bit of shimmer or 'air' that makes a cymbal sound like it pops out of the sound and could be in the room with you. So I describe this as being a bit on the "darker" side of neutral. So that immediate impression was that, yeah, these are unlikely to measure as neutral speakers. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are in the Klipsch category, but I did hear a sort of similar sculpting of the sound.

But here's the thing: then I leaned backwards, in to the back seat of the sofa. As I did so, the sound changed and snapped in to focus, brightening, sounding more coherent, but also losing richness. There was now a greater sense of vividness, snap and "realism" to drums, wood blocks, vocals etc. The bass warmth cleared up somewhat. This was a significantly different presentation! So I started experimenting with different listening positions - closer, further, moving side to side, standing up, moving off axis etc.

For imaging, the image shifted fairly quickly to one speaker as I moved off axis. The tonal balance shifted a bit, but less so. Standing up the sound significantly "lightened" in tone, the timbre gaining a bit more edge and vividness, also sounding a bit leaner. (I actually somewhat liked that tone when standing).
Way off axis, the speakers still sounded nice, though things really snapped in in the centre listening position.

This was interesting because most of my experience with coaxially mounted drivers is that they have been very tolerant of off axis listening. But I suppose this is because the ones I've heard most - e.g. the KEF speakers and my Thiels, had the tweeters mounted with much smaller drivers. In the case of my Thiel 2.7s (and the bigger 3.7s I owned), Thiel had gone to lengths to reduce the surrounding mid driver's influence on the tweeter - the mid driver surrounding the tweeter is actually flat (corrugated, actually). I have been constantly amazed at how smooth and regular the sound is from the Thiels, whether I'm closer or further to them, listening off axis, from just inside or outside the room, the general sound character remains very consistent. That's also true of my Joseph speakers. But, man, the SP10s really were sensitive to listener position! If I recall correctly, it is due to the much larger 10" driver surrounding the tweeter, which I think AJ has said act as something of a wave guide. If so, that would help explain what I was experiencing.

Since the SP10s really changed character with listening distance (at least in that room) I tried to find the balance of "rich/warm" but still vivid enough in the highs to not sound obviously rolled off, hence some excitement. I was probably about 9 to 10ish feet or so at this point.

One thing I found is that generally speaking I found the sound to remain somewhat "speakerly." By that I mean, while they did excellent, vivid point-source imaging, TONALLY the speakers didn't totally "disappear" as apparent sound sources - there was a sort of boxy-sounding warmth I was often aware of, with those slightly exaggerated upper mid peak sort of perched on top, that reminded me "I'm hearing the sound from a speaker." I can't say that whether this was a resonance from the speaker, or due to it's particular frequency response design, or if (and I think this might be likely) the way the bass frequencies were interacting with this particular room. This is one reason why I view this as a finicky speaker.

The SP10s did bass! Subjectively with tracks that had low bass they sounded deep and really room filling. However, in this room I felt really low bass, e.g. from some stand up bass and a pop track with low synth/guitar bass, there was a bit too much "bloom." On the other hand, a track I often play, "Missing" by Everything But The Girl, has a bass line that is tough for many speakers to get right - it's a very round sounding pulsing bass line that can sound very ill-defined
on lots of speakers. It sounded really well controlled, dead center in the soundstage not blurring, and tight on the SP10s, so I could hear the distinct articulation from the bass player. The fact the SP10 could sound impressively tight with some bass, but overwarm with other stuff, made me think there was possibly some room interactions not favoring this speaker in the lower regions. I was not able to get a perfect balance in this regard - if I was close enough so the sound filled out, giving warmth to sax, vocals etc the bass could be too rich, if I moved to far back, I found the sound brightened and leaned out more than I cared for.

How about the sense of dynamics? From what I heard, very good but not top tier. I think I may have been expecting a bit too much, for some reason I thought this speaker might combine something more like the dynamic life I hear from horn speakers. But it wasn't really. They sounded fun and engaging and relatively propulsive in how they combined "feel it in the whole room" bass response with those vivid upper frequencies. But when I listened for how things like horns, wood blocks, bongos etc sounded, they didn't have that "holy cow" sense of solidity and propulsion that makes me think "THAT sounds like a wood block being played right in front of me." (I DID get those type of impressions from, for instance, the Klipsche La Scalas my friend had, as well as some other horn based speakers I've heard). I actually think my Thiels give a better impression of a solid/dense object popping out in to the room than what I heard from the SP10s.
(And the Devore O/96 as well).

One of the things that stuck in my mind was hearing Led Zeppelin on the SP10s. Kashmir in this case. The sound was generally punchy and fairly vivid. But Kashmir as any Zep listener would know, doesn't actually have much low bass. It's a pretty lean recording in that regard, which is kind of good to see how a speaker handles this - the recording doesn't have much bass to speak of, but Bonham is bashing away on those drums so a speaker better translate that energy! The SP10s did so quite well. So, yeah, they rock.

But I also heard the same Zep track (and others) on the B&W 803 D4 speakers. And there was definitely a contrast in the presentations. I ultimately find the B&W sound a bit too sculpted for my taste, that rising top end etc. However, damn, they HAVE sort of perfected "that" sound, and while they may not have chosen a perfectly flat frequency response, they have otherwise gone to fairly heroic methods in the design of their drivers/enclosure, emphasis on dynamics etc.
And it shows. Zeppelin on the B&Ws had an utter, open peering-in-to-the-studio sense of clarity from top to bottom. Not a jot of blur or darkness, whether I was focusing on the guitar, super vivid vocals, sparkling clean cymbals, or the tight holographically placed bass and kick drums. The SP10s did not have this type of 'holy cow' sense of clarity and control from top to bottom. (I also find my Thiels better in that regard). The SP10s had a "sweeter" more laid back sound, even WITH their slight peak in the lower treble. Can I see someone preferring the sound of the the SP10s, which can be seen as a very nice combination of richness with some vividness, but not overbearing or "analytical" in the old school parlance. The SP10s were generally more relaxing to listen to than the always-on-the-edge-of-my-seat vivid sound from the B&Ws.

Still, by the end of my listening session with the SP10s I was starting to feel a little ear fatigue! It could be that my ears are in a more sensitive phase (I sometimes get ear sensitivity), but I do think I was reacting somewhat to that slightly peaky sounding response, even if not overtly "bright" sounding to my ears, over time.

So, that's about all I have on these things. It wasn't a long speaker audition. Nor nearly as extensive as the ones I do for a speaker that I seem to really like (where I will play with speaker positioning in a room, not just my listening position, to get to the bottom of things).

To sum up: I found the SP10s to be something of a chameleon depending on where I sat. Closer they sounded rich and warm in the upper bass down with a nice lower highs sparkle but with the highs seemingly rolled off above the attack of drum cymbals etc. Further back they snapped in as more vivid, exciting speakers, they disappeared more, though lost a bit of richness and sounded more "monitor like." But never seemingly fully neutral to my ears.

I can imagine that under the right circumstances I'd like these speakers more, if the set up was dialed in just so. And the flip side of how finicky they are can be that different listeners may be able to realize just the type of presentation they want - from vivid and monitor-like to bigger, richer, smoother and more "comfy" sounding with some attractive sparkle.

Well, here's another very positive review of the Sourcepoint 10 speakers:

And yes, I'm leaning more and more on getting a pair.

All the best,
Nonoise

 

 

 

I take it from the notations following the exclamation mark that you were happily impressed?

Mods to the Mofi will not make it measure better.....I am sure it measures really flat......However, with better parts....wire, jacks, coils, caps, resitors and other tweaks it will reach another level.  This is normal stuff....nothing being invented here.  You can always make something better.  Nothing is perfect......but bi-amping with digital amps.....now that can be crazy good!

Wow. How do I follow that? How about with this,

Keep in mind that the person who bought the Sourcepoint 10 is Steve McCormack. Yes, that Steve McCormack.

All the best,
Nonoise

"but the xover, and wires and push on connectors and input connectors are just ordinary Chinese good parts"

ricevs caught what I suspected.

Just a matter of time until GR Research has a customer bring in a pair for Danny to give his impression of what's inside the box. I'm curious what his upgrade "kit" will be for this "flavor of the month" speaker.

Without even getting confirmation, experienced listeners know just about all boxes except maybe the uber priced models will have some Xover components that are compromises to make a price point.

Based on the gushing, maybe it's a rare "leave it alone" creation, and no real mods unless you're a graph perfomance type?

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, maybe in 2 years we'll see these blown out for 1/2 price like the Elac Adante series which was another A.J. creation.

For half of MSRP, the SourcePoint 10 will be "THE BEST" speaker buy.

I love my Emerald Physics 3.4s, open baffle, concentric 12" driver with 1" polyester tweeter, and outboard XOs, so I am set up for a digital amp, though currently am using Rics short-lived EVS 1200, which after a total cable upgrade sound vastly better than when I first bought it (which was still darned good), plus, I moved away from CD players used as transport: the Audiolab 6000CDT is an unbelievable bargain. EPs come up FS occasionally, and at terrific prices, way lower than the MoFis

I appreciate the last video posted because it showed the insides of the speaker......great cabinet and damping for the money......but the xover, and wires and push on connectors and input connectors are just ordinary Chinese good parts. Wait till someone removes the xover and does a super outboard xover using state of the art parts and wires and hardwired inputs. If someone in the Bay area gets a  pair they can bring them here and I will do what I just suggest. Will blow your mind how much better they will be with super outboard xover.....................However, even better would be to just hardwire some super wire directly to the voice coil wires of the drivers and remove the crossover and store it away somewhere. Remove the binding posts from the plate and run the wires outside long enough so they go to the floor underneath the speaker where you hook the wires up to a Peachtree Gan1 digital amp......one stereo amp per channel. You get a Minidsp Flex all digtial xover and you bi amp using the two Peachtree amps......all connected together with coax digital cables. You can use a streamer into the xover or if you just want to play a cd player you can run that into the xover and use the volume control in the xover. Digital amps like the Peachtree (more coming....real soon) allow you to get rid of your DAC, preamp, normal amps, and analog cables......the purity is amazing and when you get rid of the ordinary xover parts in the speaker and bi-amp you will be in heaven. You set the xover point at where Andrew started (1.6K) but with steeper slopes you could probably run the tweeter to 1 K or lower with even more transparency. With the digital xover you can do anything you like....eq, crossover freq....slope....delay......super fun.

This speaker biamped using two GaN based digital amps will simply blow, blow blow your mind.....gently down the stream....he he.

I thought they were bright at first when I heard them, but then realized they just told what was on the source when Jones played the female vocal track during his demo; very smooth but revealing. These can’t possibly live up to the expectations placed on them, but every retailer is hoping to cash in on these.

I warned ya. But don't look down your noses so much lest you come across as some relic from the Victorian ages. 

All the best,
Nonoise

Yeesh.  That video review was like "Bros Gone Wild."  Pretty hard to get through and the sonic descriptions rather...lacking.

There's actually a decent owner report in the comment section below the video, though, for someone who just received the MoFi speakers.

Hope they live up to the hype. Otherwise, they will be in the clearance bin at Musci Direct.... 

The video is nasty. 

As if the A'gon world needs it, here's another video from Just Audio.
Warning: the presenter is more than a bit over the top in his style and manner so don't let that put anyone off (kinda reminds me of good old Crazy Eddie from back in the day).

 

And they're using Wharfedale Litton speaker stands and they look perfectly fine on those 17 inch stands.

All the best,
Nonoise

The stand has four square tubular steel uprights and a top and bottom metal plate (the uprights can be filled with sand or kitty litter, etc.) and look a bit like Sound Anchor stands.  I think they look pretty good.  The overall look is, in my opinion, prnice, but, it really is a fairly big speaker (hard to appreciate how big it is just from pictures).  The faceted front baffle is, to me, more interesting to look at than a plain, flat baffle, and it serves the sonic purpose of reducing diffraction effects.  

My only quibble with the speaker is one that I have with the vast majority of speakers on the market--it needs a tweeter level control (L-pad) so that one can make minor changes in the frequency response balance of the speaker; for my taste, I would at least want to try turning down the tweeter just a tad.

In the video above they were using the all new BAT VK-80i Tube Integrated amp and it’s really good too! You know when a Audio Reviewer in the video above starts talking about over $300K in Gear you know your doing something right !

Here’s a review on the all new BAT VK-80i Integrated amp

https://www.hifinews.com/content/bat-vk-80i-integrated-amplifier

 In another review The Absolute Sound, the Reviewer said, "There's no turning back !" 

 

These speakers sound Much Better with good Tube amps ! 😃

$10K BAT Tube Integrated amp. 

Near the end of this video the Audio Reviewers were shocked at how good this system sounded !.. 

I would love to hear these speakers with the Tekron 211 SE Tube amp or the all new Western Electric 91E 300B Integrated amp!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU67rJ33eZw&t

Post removed 

Copied from an email I received from MoFi regarding the SP 10 stands:

"Hi Gary, thanks for your email and sorry for the delayed response! That is correct – we will offer the matching stands and they are expected to ship in January. They will be $500 for the pair, and are a four pillar stand. We don’t have pictures available of the final design right now, but samples can be seen in the coverage from Capital Audio fest.

 We will also offer a discounted bundle package of the speakers and stands for a total of $3,999 (effectively $200 off). For anybody that is buying the speakers now, we will grandfather in the discount price on the stands when they become available. An alternative we are recommending are the 20-inch Pangea stands which retail for $249."

@thyname , man, are you telling me! A friend messaged me with that video and got me all aflutter again.

All the best,
Nonoise

I believe the stands Mofi is going to use with the Sourcepoint 10 speakers are in this video:

They look sturdy enough.

And, thanks, @gb9746 for your honest first impressions. I thought I'd wait a bit but after reading you and your wife's take on them, I'm now leaning towards not waiting. 😄

 

All the best,
Nonoise

grislybutter, I must address the stand issue. Mofi is suppose to have some available soon. If they do not, I will find stands. That issue will be resolved one way or the other. 

@gb9746 that's pretty cool.

regarding the stands, that's exactly what I predicted (I know nothing about the sound so I criticize the design :) )

Their size puts them between categories: too big as a bookshelf, not tall enough to sit on the floor. True, the Linton stands might work, but it deserves cooler design.

 

Corrected Post

I received my Source Point 10's yesterday.  They are in the walnut finish and they are huge. I definitely need the Mofi stands. They look strange and a little unsteady on my skinny pedestals. I plan to stain the wood a darker Cappuccino color to blend better with my contemporary room which has the darker furniture color. I own a pair of $10,000 Alta Alec's, so once the Source Point 10's are fully burnt in, things will get very interesting. The Alta's are Phenomenal.

Right out of the box I thought to myself, Houston, the audio industry has a problem. The Mofi's are amazing. They are punchy and the sound stage is huge. They sound the livest, I ever heard, and that includes speakers from any audio show I attended. 

I remember last summer my wife and I were riding our bikes in Central Park in New York City. We saw a a 4 piece band playing near a lake. We pulled over and sat on a bench to listen. My Wife commented on how great they sounded. I turned to her and responded, "I can spend millions on equipment and never get that sound".

I am 65 and have been an audiophile since I was 15. When I was younger, I saved my money to buy Fisher, Pioneer, and Marantz receivers. As I became older I got caught up in the equipment frenzy. I made a lot of bad purchases. The Mofi Source Point 10's are the real deal. Again, they are the closest I have heard to actual live music, and they are not yet broken in. To me the Audio industry has gotten out of control with over hyped a grossly expensive equipment. They have a  big problem here with these $3700 speakers. The Mofi's are not in the best cabinetry and finish as $100,000 plus speakers, but to me they produce sound that is as good as it gets. 

Sorry, I wrote the draft on another platform and pasted it here. For some reason it auto corrected MOFI to MOTIF. I should have proof read it more closely. I changed one but not all of the mistakes.

Good feedback from an actual owner, but why do you keep calling them Motifs?

I received my Source Point 10's yesterday.  They are in the walnut finish and they are huge. I definitely need the Motif stands. They look strange and a little unsteady on my skinny pedestals. I plan to stain the wood a darker Cappuccino color to blend better with my contemporary room which has the darker furniture color. I own a pair of $10,000 Alta Alec's, so once the Source Point 10's are fully burnt in, things will get very interesting. The Alta's are Phenomenal.

Right out of the box I thought to myself, Houston, the audio industry has a problem. The Motifs are amazing. They are punchy and the sound stage is huge. They sound the livest, I ever heard, and that includes speakers from any audio show I attended. 

I remember last summer my wife and I were riding our bikes in Central Park in New York City. We saw a a 4 piece band playing near a lake. We pulled over and sat on a bench to listen. My Wife commented on how great they sounded. I turned to her and responded, "I can spend millions on equipment and never get that sound".

I am 65 and have been an audiophile since I was 15. When I was younger, I saved my money to buy Fisher, Pioneer, and Marantz receivers. As I became older I got caught up in the equipment frenzy. I made a lot of bad purchases. The Mofi Source Point 10's are the real deal. Again, they are the closest I have heard to actual live music, and they are not yet broken in. To me the Audio industry has gotten out of control with over hyped a grossly expensive equipment. They have a  big problem here with these $3700 speakers. The Motifs are not in the best cabinetry and finish as $100,000 plus speakers, but to me they produce sound that is as good as it gets. 

Looks like Stereophile will be giving a review shortly. John Atkinson, while reviewing another product made mention of it. 

I appreciate the contemporary slightly retro look compared to the Tannoy's bur still think they missed the mark on the styling. 

I understand the front baffle shape but where it merges with the edges of the enclosure looks abrupt and clumsily integrated.  

a smooth, blended continuous shape would have looked so much better or at least flush with the enclosure walls.  

also better selection of finishes and grille colors would have really put it over the top.  

I was thinking of trying out the new MoFi speakers but bought another acoustic guitar instead. It sounds like live music (only when played, otherwise it's fairly quiet). 

@arcticdeth

(dude, you are really scary with that never hit a woman stuff, nobody asked)

"such a,massive difference from YouTube with computer speakers"

there is a massive difference. To you.

I talked about the joy of listening - which I am perfectly capable of from cheap sources and speakers.

Of course I enjoy the details, the soundstage, lows and highs from a well thought-out system. Of course if I had won the lottery, I would upgrade.

It sounds like many of you here are convinced that any component under $4500 is not high end and the listening experience from cheaper systems cannot be compared to yours.

It’s so subjective it seems impossible to argue, but I am pretty sure I disagree :)

 

Wow, some snowflakes in here.

it has taken me 35 years to get where I’m at' stereo wise, 

such a,massive difference from YouTube with computer speakers, to a nice pair of Snell powered by a B&K amp, fed by a sony ES, or an Acurus acd-11 with even simple rca’s. The difference is mind blowing, and when you get a nice pair of speakers, and you walk into your den, while the computer speakers are playing YouTube, then walk back into,your family,room, and feel the music surround you, then you will know why we audition, tweak, poke, prod, cables, components, etc.

it’s a hobby, like anything, I have hair down past middle of my back. Always look rather,scruffy, as construction jobs don’t require high n tight cuts etc. 

im not a junky, don’t gamble, not too violent, don’t drink,excessively, maybe a weekend warrior at times, put down 30 pack in a day n a half at times, never have I hit a woman or raised a hand to any woman.

point is we like music, love to shop, audition audio, I’ll call the wife at lunch time, on thursdays or fridays, tell her please take the covers off of Flotsam & Jetsam (names of my amps) switch em on, she turns on the disc player and preamp, to be nice and warm when I get home on Friday, to sit back and relax to Kreator, Or stratovarius, Hirax, or maybe humble pie, or max Webster, Lillian axe, whatever.

final point: most of us are good people, men need a vice, ours is audio, music, few drams, friends, wine, whatever. That is the highlight of my day, home from work, clean up, slippers, swishy pants, pop in disc, or iPod , , press play and relax to some Motörhead, UFO, forbidden, dark Angel.

puts me in down mode, and I feel better, don’t get onry, I’m relaxed.

you all get it.

let the chickens run around pecking all they can, us eagles will soar high and look down upon the weak

 

\,,/

What emotionless garbage are these "folks" listening to exactly? And what does it have to do with a relatively affordable speaker and hopefully good sounding speaker most of us haven't heard?

@grislybutter 

When I see that people have a list of components that cost more than I spent on cars, combined in my entire adult life and the same people rave about junk music (to my taste) I feel confused.

 

Yes this has been puzzling me for years too.

Folks with mega expensive systems who seem to prefer listening to emotionless garbage.

Always well recorded emotionless garbage, mind you.

People that don’t know don’t care IMO and IME. 

And my story does not support this. If they have not heard anything better, then yes, they would not know. This is the second time. Last time was in 2019, when a friend came over for a listen and was amazed what high end sounds like. We ended up getting a Revel F35/36 at the local dealer and a Hegel integrated (with onboard DAC) and Audio Envy cables. And this was right before the pandemic! I have posted about this story too, here on Audiogon. Yes. it is rare, but it does happen.

People that don’t know don’t care IMO and IME. 
 

jBL or pick your poison Bluetooth sounds totally fine. Most people don’t need anything more and certainly would not put tens of thousands to hear better. 

@thyname ,

Man, that sucks.

But to the common person, "it" (that is how they refer to audio systems) should make "loud music". That's all they care for. Such folks need to be educated. My colleagues told me that they had heard "about high end" audio, but never imagined what it could do.

Unless folks like us put some effort into educating the "not-in-the-know" folks, they will never know to differentiate sound/noise from music.

@grislybutter

Not sure why you should be disillusioned by what others are saying. IT's your choice - you should do what you feel like.

if you love music, you won’t be obsessed with gear, because music is perfectly and fully enjoyable with decent $200 desktop speakers, playing from youtube.

I spend quite some time with family watching movies or listening to the wife and kid's songs. We do that on the Pioneer bookshelf speakers that are a lot less $s than what you mention. And it is fun - I agree. But to get the "full on" experience, I go to my main system. With this system I can listen to new (to me, not others) music from artists and genres I have not heard before. It is an amazing experience. In fact Spotify wrapped 2022 tells me that this year I listened to 59 different genres and 1928 different artists, and this is NOT counting the first 3 months of the year that I was with Tidal.And also my collection of silver discs.

With a metaphor, imagine that you love playing soccer but your main focus is not playing but finding the best shoes.

I don't know about soccer. So I can probably relate to running shoes. Flip-flops are bad for running. But with a well designed shoe from Books compared to a cheaper one, you can go on for miles without straining your muscles and hurting the knees. Specialization helps and I have experienced it. So if you are into driving, are you saying that a Mitsubishi Mirage will provide you the same pleasure as a BMW M3 or Porsche GT3? That would be hard to believe.

@thyname

During my apartment dwelling days, had one lady (whom I never had the chance of meeting) that would send over her husband. Respectful fella and always asked politely when stopping by, "could you please turn it down a few." Shortly before my move from said apartment I’d decided to splurge with a new set of floor standers / sub. Guess who received my old set of floor standers / sub, free of charge? I’ve always wondered what the look on her face may have been when husband brought those speakers home, the ones she despised! Ha

"No good deed...."  @thyname   Some won't ever understand. I'm sure she enjoys them. (I have the Debut 5.2 set-up for a TV room and enjoy it there.)

I've met Andrew at a few shows and liked his personality like others. I think his prior designs show his skill as well. I'm curious to hear these new ones now.

But to the non-audiophiles even a $399 speaker is a hype. 

That's very true. True story, my own. Several years ago, I sold a lady neighbor my speakers I had at that time for a secondary system, Andrew Jones' ELAC Uni-Fi bookshelves (one tier up the Debut). For $300 cash. When the son learned, he got pissed off. $300 for speakers??!!! Even to this day, every time I see her son, I get a ".... I can't believe you made my mom pay $300 for speakers" look and scoff ... Go figure. I thought I was making her a favor. And I also installed them for her with my stands (for free to her), some speakers cables I had in my drawer.