MoFi SourcePoint 8 Speakers Review
I have enjoyed listening to SourcePoint
speakers from MoFi at various HiFi shows over the past few years, and each
time, I have been impressed by their performance. Both Source Point 10 and
Source Point 888 were noteworthy at the Ascot shows. However, evaluating a
speaker's performance in my system at The Speaker Shack allows me to appreciate
their sound properly. While shows provide a good sense of how a speaker can
perform, the acoustics are rarely ideal, as the rooms often fail to accurately
reflect a speaker's actual performance and characteristics in a live setting,
such as a HiFi show.
Karma AV was going to send across the big Source
Point 10 speakers to review initially, but in a way, I'm glad they sent over
the SP8 speakers. These are much more manageable and room-friendly compared to
the larger SP10 speakers, which are a considerable-sized stand
mount/floor-mounted speaker and are more like the bigger Tannoy monitors
in size. The MoFi speakers have a concentric design similar to
Tannoy's, and I absolutely loved their sound, so I was looking forward to
getting these up and running. A single-point source speaker offers superior
imaging, improved on- and off-axis response from experience, and a natural
and dynamic sound signature.
MoFi Electronics was founded in 2014 and is the
hardware extension of the legendary Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. It
started in 1977, bringing high-fidelity sound to the world with their
original master recording series. MoFi Electronics looked to the brilliance of
speaker designer Andrew Jones, whose previous work was for Elac, Pioneer, KEF
and TAD. He created the SourcePoint series of speakers with a clean sheet
design, which came to fruition with the SP10 and SP888s. Still, he also wanted
to build a smaller and more manageable speaker for the smaller-sized room, so
MoFi has now given us the Source Point 8 speakers, which I have here for
review.
Build Quality and Features
The build quality of the MoFi SourcePoint 8 speakers is impressive, with the cabinets crafted from genuine wood veneers and available in a selection of different finishes. I have the black ash wood finish for review, but they are also offered in satin walnut and white finishes. The front of the SP8 speakers features a sculpted, multi-faceted baffle that helps to minimise the diffraction of sound waves from the coaxial drivers. The SP8 is equipped with a specially engineered 8-inch mid/bass driver, and at its centre is the 1.25” dome tweeter, which utilises the woofer cone as a soundwave guide. This enhances the efficiency and performance of the tweeter. The twin outer roll has a very low profile, which further aids in the directivity of the sound waves from the coaxial driver. I appreciate the concentric design and its sound, as it provides a remarkably natural response with a pleasingly even tonal balance, thanks to the way sound reaches your ears simultaneously from both drivers, eliminating any phase and time alignment issues that can typically hinder a speaker’s performance. This permits a single point source of sound that emanates from the speaker’s coaxial driver, explaining why they are named Source Point speakers.
At the heart of the Source Point 8 speakers is the powerful Twin-Drive high-flux neodymium magnet system housed in the aluminium cast basket. The design of the Twin-Drive motor allows for a fully symmetrical magnetic field and, therefore, very low intermodulation distortion (IMD), which results in a pure and accurate sound produced by the SP8 speakers.
At the rear, you have two high-quality speaker binding posts and two bass reflex ports. The specifications of the SourcePoint 8 speakers show that they have a frequency response of 47Hz up to 30kHz, and in my room, they are hitting around 40Hz with the added room gain. The nominal impedance rating is 8 ohms, with its lowest reaching 6.4 ohms, so it can easily be driven from a relatively low-powered amplifier with a minimum of 30 watts up to 150 watts maximum power handling. The speakers' dimensions are 290 x 456 x 335 (WxHxD), and they weigh in at a healthy 12.7 kg per speaker. I love using magnetic grills, which fit snugly onto the SP8's fascia. Dedicated MoFi speaker stands can also be purchased, which are specifically designed for the Source Point 8 speakers.
For this review, I use my Cyrus Audio 82 DAC Integrated amplifier and PSX-R to power the MoFi Source Point 8 speakers connected with Montaudio Chatham SH-1 speaker cables. The SP8 speakers sit nicely on the Atacama stands I use. I am using the Denon DP400 turntable for vinyl, which is fitted with a DL103R MC cartridge fed to an iFi Zen Phono 3 phono stage. I stream music to my Cyrus amplifier via my Bluesound Node Nano streamer for high-resolution audio. I use my Cyrus Audio CD8SE CD player for CD playback, which is connected to various RCA cables.
Setting up is straightforward. The SP8 speakers
are placed in my usual speaker positions with approximately 20 inches of room
from the back wall and about 1.5M into the room from both of the side walls,
allowing plenty of room for the speakers to breathe. I settled with some slight
toe-in, as this gave me the best imaging and the best-sounding tonal balance
from the speakers. For critical listening, I like to listen with the grills
off.
Sound Quality and Performance
I am listening to Patricia Barber's beautiful music for my first
album, her 1999 album Companion, which I own in high-resolution 24-bit 88 kHz.
Her recordings are always of the highest quality, especially in high
resolution, which gives stunning results on a high-quality sound system. This
album was recorded over three nights with her band at Chicago's famed Green
Mill Jazz Club. Barber is on Piano and vocals, and you can feel the Jazz club's
ambience and intimate affair.
Track 1 The Beat Goes On starts with the bass and drums brushing
sticks, thwacking the surface of the drums with an almost tangible feel to the
sound. The Source Point 8 speakers present such a beautiful soundstage, which
is almost holographic in its presentation, with fantastic depth. Barber's
vocals are centre stage while drums are behind her to the left. Barber's vocals
are presented powerfully but with such a smooth and beautiful sound, with
excellent tonal balance across her extensive range. Instrument separation is
also ideally placed, each having its own space within the sound stage.
The organ is behind her to the right. I love this instrument's immediacy and
sound through the SP8 speakers; it has such beautiful tones and power.
Track 3 Like JT is most certainly my favourite on this album, with
some incredible drumming and percussive instrumentation, which the Source Point
8 speakers love; the bass is fast and hits hard with considerable power, the
upper bass notes from this concentric design are just magical and another
reason why I love this type of speaker, the piano notes have such a crisp and
lively sound which are beautifully rounded off. It is perfect foot-tapping
music as the audience in the jazz club applauds and cheers from around the
stage, with every nuance and detail picked out through the SP8 speakers with
this dynamic and revealing track. The band were jamming, and the raw energy
from the music could be felt through the MoFi speakers; closing your eyes, you
could swear you were in one of the front row seats to this gig.
Track 7, Black Magic Woman, which is a cover of one of my most
loved Santana tracks, sounds superb through the MoFi SourcePoint 8 speakers;
the double bass lower bass notes resonate powerfully through and into my room
with each pluck you can really feel each note being played and the percussion
once again sounds stunning, filling the sound stage from left to right, the
bongos especially which have such a natural sound you could swear they were in
the room, lightning-fast transients but also with an incredible delicacy from
this beautiful instrument, at 10 minutes 55 seconds long this is a marathon of
a track and the drumming and dynamics from the SP8 speakers is simply
sublime. Patricia Barber's vocals sound so natural, and the smooth sound
is rendered beautifully.
For my next piece of music, I am listening to Pink Floyd's 1982
masterpiece The Wall on vinyl. It is the remastered 180g version, which sounds
glorious on this format. On side 1, track 5, Another Brick In The Wall Part 2
is an iconic piece of music that I never tire of listening to. Through the MoFi
SourcePoint 8 speakers, this track sounds superb with so much energy, from the
opening of the high-impact drumming to the iconic Gilmore's guitar riff,
which all sounds magnificent. The SP8s can portray it with so much power and
stunning clarity on this track. The imaging and soundstage is so precise with
incredible depth as the kids sing out from the back “we don't need no
education, hey teacher leave them kids alone” this is what I love
about the concentric design and its ability to provide such superb imaging with ease and the speakers simply disappearing from the soundstage.
On side three track 7 Comfortably Numb is another favourite which sounds glorious on vinyl and with the SourcePoint 8 speakers in place it does not disappoint, bass is firm and solid from the kick drum which hits hard with the volume turned up to unsociable levels they never sound strained or like they will run out of steam with Nick Mason working his magic, vocals have stunning clarity with precise imaging from both Gilmore and Waters. In contrast, Gilmore's guitar solos sound powerful and epic in his performance, which the SP8s portray perfectly, moving to the centre stage. Instrument separation is also excellent, with the beautiful orchestral pieces merged into this classic rock track. You certainly feel the raw energy produced from the speaker's performance in my room.
My final piece of music, which I have been listening to, is Fink’s magnificent 2012 album and tour, Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet, which I have stored on one of my HDDs in digital format. I wanted to get this album on vinyl, but I cannot get it anywhere, and I hope that Fink decides to reissue it, as I would love to have it in this format.
Track 6 Troubles You’re In is a beautiful piece of music from this talented artist. This wonderful live acoustic version, with some stunning guitar playing, allows you to feel every chord plucked and thump of the guitar as Fink plays this brilliant track. The SP8s' upper bass capability is superb, and they sound so powerful through them, doing this track complete justice. Fink’s gravely vocals sound rich and have outstanding clarity. Imaging is also excellent, with such a wide image in front of me.
Track 7 Sort of Revolution (Live from La Cigale) sounds amazing. The power from that kick drum sounds so good as it resonates through me and my room with the volume turned right up, it leaves me with one huge grin as you do feel it go through you, as some might know, I love it when a speaker can produce bass like this. The SourcePoint 8 speakers provide this by the bucket load, its not just the bass that sounds so good but vocals have such a startling clarity and is thoroughly convincing of this live venue, excellent imaging with Fink centre stage and backing vocals placed behind him and with crowd joining in from around the La Cigale theatre venue, whistling and cheering and clapping can be picked out from around the stage. Still, I love the power of that kick drum that the SP8 speakers produce perfectly; it makes me want to review the bigger Source Point 10 speakers even more so now.
My time with the MoFi SourcePoint 8 speakers has been thoroughly
enjoyable. No matter what music is played through them, they reproduce it with
all the clarity and precision that those beautiful concentric drivers produce.
The imaging is superb and precise, casting a fantastic image of the music played
in my room.
Conclusions and Final Thoughts
The MoFi SourcePoint 8 speakers offer exceptional value for money
and represent an absolute bargain in the world of hi-fi, where speakers of this
calibre can cost considerably more. The concentric/coaxial driver has such a
beautiful design, superior imaging, excellent tonal balance, and the ability to
produce music on such a scale that it defies the speaker's size, allowing for a powerful performance.
The Speaker Shack awards the MoFi SourcePoint 8 speakers with an
Outstanding award and stamp of approval, as they really are a proverbial
bargain for this sort of money.
Price at the time of review: £2,999
Web - https://www.mofielectronics.com/
Web - https://karma-av.co.uk/
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