New MOFI speaker (Andrew Jones)

😁I’ll keep my Tannoy Legacy Eatons, now priced at 6k a pair....they sound lovely driven by my Class A Sugden.

I too heard then at CAF yesterday and was really impressed.  I prepare myself to be utterly disappointed by the latest hyped speaker but it was really good.  I'll reiterate what others have said - at $3.7k I have not heard anything at twice the price that would be real competition even in the compromised hotel room show setting.  The coherence and imaging were frankly spooky good and at this price point unheard of.  My wife wanted to take the speakers... and possibly Andrew home as he is a delight to speak with.  We have been looking for a logical replacement for our Reference 3A speakers in our downstairs den system and my wife most likely made that decision yesterday.

thanks @mapman ! if only they were ferns :)

I’m sure these Andrew Jones designed speaks sound good.

But..., are they this moments Elac Adante?

Not too far back, this AD designed line was flavor of the moment, by reviewers and users. Then not too long after-price dump by retailers 50%.

Years ago, I attended AVS forum meeting at Pioneer HQ in Long Beach Cal, which AD hosted, and he promoted a Best Buy value level line that did sound great. The most impressive thing was hearing the TV soundbar while in Pioneer’s sound room. It was as convincing as a pair of audiophool speakers-admittedly embarrassing!

This was the same place that boxes of mega dollar TAD speakers are warehoused. There were staked rows of them.

A reminder also that a pro sound room make a HUGE impact on even cheap speakers.

If they follow history, I’ll grab a pair for $1500 in 3-5 years.

@mapman @jerryg123 can you take and post pictures?

@nonoise totally. I do write detective novels.

I would face them off against anything else I heard at the show in a similar size room ie modest size hotel room. Obviously the bigger products are needed for the larger ball and meeting rooms. The Atmasphere class d amps for less than 6k delivered some of the best sound in the show with the big Classic Audios in their ballroom home imho. This business about you gotta have way more expensive gear to get the best is nonsense at least these days. Maybe in the past where a show like this is still firmly rooted.

The amps they used delivered all the goods.  A perfectly fine choice IMHO. 

’giant killer’

’at $3,699 msrp, nothing under 10k can touch them... few under 20k’

a-j is a very talented designer, no doubt this standmount sounds quite good

but fellas, can we not lose our heads and try keep the spin cycle in check? after a cursory listen at a show?

enthusiasm and passion in our hobby is very welcome, especially for well performing modestly priced products, but over the top, unrealistic touts deserve the eyerolls they undoubtedly will engender -- not being a kill-joy here, let’s please just keep it real, building a bridge too far serves no one...

for instance, off top of head example, you bring those, i bring a set of maggie 1.7i... we will see who be david and who goliath? you get my drift...

At this show.  

 I HEARD THEM AT CAF and it’s $3699 and nothing under 10 k can touch them and only a few speakers under 20k can beat them.

@moonwatcher 

re Lintons: they sounded bad with my system

As a potential customer it’s great to know they’re confident they sound great with similar priced electronics

We’ll they are pairing with gear the Mo-Fi distributes and they sell through Music Direct. Makes total sense from a business and marketing position. 

I love it that the hobby can still get excited when a cool new product can generate positive buzz. Thats good for all. I hope they sell well.

I do find it quite interesting that there have been several comments about the Hifi Rose gear potentially holding back the speakers or “mid-fi”. Te Rose has been a welcome entrant into it price band and seems to punch above its weight class.

In fact, I recently purchased the RS150b streaming dac for my office system, expecting middling sound quality and a user friendly interface. I was floored by the dac section and the completeness of the concept. I then dropped it into my main system and again, I was left scratching my head at how they did it for the $$$. Build quality os off the hook good. Is the RS150b going to replace my $30k-ish digital front end in that system? No…but it certainly sounds terrific in the context of my office system (Shindo/Devore). 

Its wonderful that a sub $4k speaker can serve as the foundation of a sub $10-15k system…that’s a win for everyone but don’t discount that, in fact, the Hifi Rose gear also belongs in the hi-end conversation.

very interesting choice of electronics considering they had easy access to "much better" gear...

I HEARD THEM AT CAF and it’s $3699 and nothing under 10 k can touch them and only a few speakers under 20k can beat them.

They are completely amazing and outstanding, and they were hooking it up to mid level HiFi rose. Imagine what they can do hooked up to some higher end dacs and amplification. They are resolving and neutral and won’t be forgiving for lower end electronics. Even though they are only $3699 you will need at least 10-15k in electronics behind it for them to be optimized. I would try to find a luxman class A 590AXII for it or an Esoteric integrated amp. Easy to drive but revealing and I am also thinking an upper level Naim Uniti Nova would work well not the wee atom or mid level star. I would also try a Naim supernaught 3 and a Belles Audio amp from power modules would be perfect too. DAC whatever flavor you want but for the money the $2800 Luxman DAC is amazing.

Dare I say those new Mofi speakers could be giant killers. I really liked what I heard. I think they were running off a HiFi Rose Class D integrated amp and the pairing was spot on. Meaty yet articulate with good extension. I had my sound meter app with me today while visiting all the rooms and the measurements reflected what I heard. Clean articulate bass extended pretty well down there similar to other much larger and expensive speakers heard. Big boy dynamics well ahead of many others I heard with puny drivers and way bigger price tags.

I don’t put much credence in Guttenberg’s reviews. I get much more out of his music references that he uses to review the speakers. Frankly, I trust @mapman impressions at CAF more than Guttenberg’s. When a guy like AJ puts that much time, thought, resources, and innovation into a design and is very proud of the result I’m inclined to think it sounds pretty damn good within its limitations. You can’t do a whole review of a speaker extolling it’s virtues and just throw in at the end that “oh, by the way, it sounds bright and revealing.”  To me, that wrecks the whole credibility of the review. Not that I trust his ears/judgement in the first place, so there’s that. Whatever. I’d be very interested in anyone else’s opinions who’ve heard these speakers.

I think a lot of the fretting about the stands is much ado about nothing. Some here should write detective novels while spinning plots on places of origin.

And thanks, @mapman for the only honest feedback so far. 

All the best,
Nonoise

@pixhead yes, I saw that. Watched it twice to write down the albums he used for reference so I could check them out. The size doesn’t bother me, (I’m living with some vintage AR9 speakers) but it seems dumb that MoFi can spend whatever money they did (and Andrew’s salary) getting the tooling all done for custom drivers and cabinets over 18 months and yet can’t have some relatively low-tech welded steel stands ready to pair with them at launch.

I think for many the technical challenges Andrew accepted regarding lowering induced distortions goes above their heads. Most people don’t understand the physics of magnetic flux and current induced magnetic fields interacting. And since they can't "see" that they merely look and think, "Oh another box speaker, ho hum".

Seems that those on here who actually got to audition them were impressed. I wish MoFi good luck with them.

But I do wonder as someone did on another YouTube page about how long you think getting replacement parts or getting them repaired, we can expect? For roughly $4K after taxes, many people would want these to last 20 years or more.

Is MoFi big enough to ensure that supply lines to whatever factory they are using in the PRC will remain open? Will MoFi stock enough parts somewhere over here to ensure that longevity? IDK.
 

@travisg he seemed impressed. Perhaps he didn't want to come across as a "cheerleader" given his friendship with Andrew. Then again, he has been living with those "new reference" open baffle speakers for a bit now, and maybe he's finding it harder to get excited about a "box" speaker now. Of course, as he notes, those open baffle speakers he has sell for nearly double the cost of the Sourcepoint 10. 

To me the most obvious comparison would be with the JBL L100 Classic. They are very similarly sized, similar efficiency, similar power handling, similar frequency response, and now (thanks to the current sale price of the L100) similar in price. 

@moonwatcher If you watch (YouTube video) Steve Gutenberg (The Audiophiliac) he says stands are coming later for the MoFi Electronics SourcePoint 10. He said the Solid Steel Stands are temporary until the NEW stands for them come out. The size I don't think would bother me, personally, as long as, I like the sound quality. I have AJ's Elac Adante AS-61 stand mount speakers and they're not as big but close and they sound amazing so I'm really curious about this NEW design.

@grislybutter thanks for the comparisons. I note that it is more akin to the JBL L100 Classic which is 15.38"W x 25.06"H x 14.63"D, and JBL of course offers their custom stands for $330. I too thought it almost comical looking on those Solidsteel SS-7 stands, like an accident waiting to happen. 

It will be interesting to see more of any custom stands that MoFi makes available for them and what they retail for...Not sure why Andrew was so vague in talking about that. 

They are not "bookshelf" speakers at all, but perhaps should be called "Stand Mount". 

The thing is, as good as they are, to get that lowest octave (if you want it) you'll still need a subwoofer. Guess some genres of music can get by fine without it. 

P.S. Why did you get rid of your Linton? Thanks. 

 

I heard them today at CAF. They sounded like the real deal! One of just a few things I heard today that I would consider owning. Big clean sound. Sounded way better than many other much bigger and expensive setups in many rooms. The price surprised me pleasantly. 

Again with the stands....

The Linton stands (which I have) will work perfectly with them. And if needed, a set of Iso Pucks would raise them 1.2" or something else as a footer. That would put the center of the Sourcepoint 10 just below the plane of my ears, 8' feet away. 

All the best,
Nonoise

I got the impression Steve wasn’t that impressed with these. 

Music Direct offers custom stands   The speakers are clearly a size that will work great for some but not others.  Like many speakers 

@moonwatcher

the context in the category

Dynaudio Evoke 20 - 8.5"x15.0"x12.1"

Monitor Audio Silver 100 - 9" x 15" x 13"

Wharfdale Linton - 12" x 22" x 14"

MoFi 14.5″ x 22.5″ x 16.6″

Long story short, it’s BIGGER than the Linton. Significantly bigger. And the Linton is gigantic I had it.

So they definitely need custom stands - stands that I don’t know who has. They look stupid om the Solidsteel SS-7.

@grislybutter a bit into the video with cheapaudioman, he vaguely sort of mentions that MoFi will have some custom stands for them and even an angled piece for anyone wanting to use one of these horizontally as a center channel speaker too that works with the 3 degree tilt.  

Steve Guttenberg's review hinted that he arranged them horizontally for most of his listening due to the only stands he had resulted in the drivers being in a better place and causing a touch of bass loading.

But yeah, seems MoFi missed an opp to simply put any custom stands either with the speakers in the price (like KLH) or at least have them as a link on the same page as the Sourcepoint 10 so people can find them. 

Well, whadayaknow, Steve Guttehberg has the first review out on the Source Point 10...

Opps! Didn't notice it was already posted.

All the best,
Nonoise

For once, someone didn't follow the "form over function" edict. Thank goodness AJ was given free rein, with sound being the main consideration, instead of looks. 

I also like his design criteria of being able to see into the recording as much as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if these come across somewhat like my old Tonian Labs TL-1s. They offered a ton of insight, had tone for days, and never gave me listening fatigue despite being so revealing. They only lacked for base and these Source Point 10s appear to have that part covered.

All the best,
Nonoise

Guttenberg has always said he does not like streaming, and has no interest in it...I think many of us occasionally use streaming to explore, but not for "serious" listening...

So, Guttenberg has a nice Pass amp/pre, Mola Mola DAC, a Jays Audio transport, and a — wait for it —- Node 2i streamer?  Seriously???  Which one doesn’t belong?  Sheesh. 

Hi All,

Last night on Steve Guttenberg podcast interviewing

AJ he said he never created a concentric this large before his past one were 4" 5" concentrics but never a 10".

Also he said his target price pt was going to be lower but once into the project and working out the kinks they had to raise the cost, I still havent heard them yet anybody hear them and hows the sound ?

Second question whatever happen to Rick from hfc

High Fidelity cables are they still in business ?

P.s. Beware of cheap chinese tubes

I can only judge the looks: it's very British, a bit of modern, a bit retro, industrial, crude, charmingly clumsy. Still: functional and I like it, I find it reasonably handsome. But it's just not a beauty, not stunning in any way, like a lot of others at this price point and I would not want it to take up space in my living room.  
Of course if they sounded like 8000 dollars speakers that could convince me.

There is no doubt that AJ gets praise every time he drops something new on the market.  When I heard Steve say in his wrap up...."a little on the bright side" and smaller scale presentation compared to his PAP speakers...I thought, not going to work for me...even though the imaging may be top shelf.

It will be interesting to see if other reviewers with other rooms and different gear draw the same conclusions.

It's a woofer/midrange.  He says he has never done one before and didn't really know what to expect.

Sorry for all the videos.  This one is really good.

no doubt a-j is a proven designer of many well respected box speakers, a master of making intelligent tradeoffs in design, and a proponent of concentric drivers

to me, this one seems cool, on the face of it, due to its higher sensitivity and benign impedance, relatively substantial baffle, kind of in the devore o-series direction, though from the s-g's subjective comments, the tweeter seems voiced to be on the livelier side, a more modern sound, perhaps

this said, when i see a tweeter coupled with a 10 in woofer, in any 2 way, concentric or not, i have to wonder how pure, how correct sounding the critical midrange reproduction is

These speakers are getting a bit of hype and I hope they live up to the hype. 

Not in the market as I am very content with Sonner. But I am a fan of Andrew and his designs. 

Thanks @allenf1963 

That’s about a thousand more than I would have guessed.

these speakers have me thinking again about the possible downsizing I've been thinking about the past few years...

I have a pair of Emerald Physics 3.4s OB, 12" concentric woofer with 1" polyester tweeter, outboard XOs, floor standing. The line is no longer made. The 3.4s MSRP was ~ $4500, but Ive seen them go for < $1000. Highly recommended

Tannoy may have nothing at that price point, but Fyne certainly does, below and just above.

Given all the original thought/development that went into these along with customized and unique parts/drivers I think $3700 sounds like a pretty fair price, as long as they sound good of course.  Looking forward to impressions from anyone who gets to hear them at CAF this weekend. 

He has seen  the light…..but think near $4000 a pair is more thsn the market will allow…..the success of the LS50 Metas was the sub $2000 price point….and certainly the LRS+ is backordered 8 to 10 months because of a sub $1000 price.

Love these. Can't wait to hear them. Andrew Jones knows what he's doing and seems like a good guy too. It's a unique size, which may not be an obvious plus. But, with KLH, JBL, and tons of others pumping out retro styling and "anniversary editions" of old classics all over the industry, they would seem to fit right in. Kudos Andrew!