This is my top recommendation for a speaker in the $5k/pair budget range. It checks every box I would want checked. Works well for both stereo and home theater (with having great directivity and compression and distortion metrics) and looks great to me. No-brainer buy if you're on the fence. And if you do go through with purchasing these online, I have included the affiliate link below which earns me a small commission at no additional cost to you. howl.me/cmAQVKU2D3Z And if you need a center channel option, check out the open-box SourcePoint 8 or 10 that come in singles (rather than pairs) from Crutchfield: howl.me/cmDhKdtyTTc ^ link to search because specific open box items may sell out and break link
Could you try to or have you? To test the Buchardt A700 and compare. I know it's not exactly the same price point, but add the extras and it's potentially equal. Curious how the active speaker holds up vs a quality component setup with good full Rangers like this
Hey Erin. Could you compare this to the Qualio IO and Buchardt A700. That should be a cool matchup at this price pov. Yeah you might do a bit by bit, but the overall impression is good enough for me. Currently I think the biggest banger for the bucks is Qualio.
@@ErinsAudioCorner thanks for the reply 🙏. Was supposed to be with the other comment as well. I expected it to outperform the buchs based on your reasoning. I'm kinda thinking Qualio IO standard setup will outperform both on many aspects though
Love your comment about UA-camrs' extolling that this speaker is the best speaker ever...for the 20th time in a year. That's why I love your channel because you try to avoid hyperbolic terms like that when reviewing. When you say this is one of the best sounding speakers that you ever heard, I actually believe you. Thanks!
You shouldnt have to worry about making money from your labor. There is a big difference in shilling subpar products for the highest bidder vs testing, reviewing, and then recommending great products at different price points. Whomever has a problem with you making money from your wealth of knowledge, expensive testing equipment, labor and videos.....is a fn_____! These kind of honest reviews have saved people a ton of money, helps us all get the best bang for our buck. Certainly worth (at the very least) a small commission....at zero cost to the viewer/purchaser. If I had extra $ to spend, Id surely smash on that affiliate link. Great job as always.
Cheapaudioman does enough shilling so everyone else doesn’t have too. I really can’t understand why people like him so much. He has the most punchable face in audio
Awesome. Mofi and Andrew straight up said "give the people what they want." That they stand "alongside" the KEF blade at their price point is the essence of value. While expensive for average joes, this can be something they can save for and know that they are milking just about everything they can out of that pricepoint.
i didn't understand a bit your momment, why the kef blades instead of the R series?, the blades have nothing to do with the mofi, like.. nothing..., maybe the ls60 lol
@@ErinsAudioCorner Again, you make a good hobby better with your work, and help educate people with your videos. Keep up the work and you make the daunting details of HiFI manageable. You have a great talent Erin.
Wow, that's awesome of you to support Erin like that @elgingaragegym! Off topic: I'm setting up my garage gym now. Just got a power rack, Olympic bar and some 45', 25's, and 10lb bumper plates. I already have adjustable dumbbells and a 100lb punching bag. 💪
@@ErinsAudioCorner my 5k speaker is the JBL L100 Classic 75's, however I'd have a happily switched if these were out at the time. The 75's are great, but the finish isn't holding up as well as it should IMO. I always wonder how nice looking speakers will hold up over time. My other speakers are Focal Sopra No. 3's, Fyne F704 (waiting for SuperTrax), JBL 75's, Zu DWX, Technics SB-C700, B&W 805 D4, JBL 4309. All spread out between my basement, my home office, my work office, my family room, my gym, and my garage workshop. The 75's I'm just keeping in their crate for now and will figure out what to do with them later. I bought them more or less as a nostalgic oud to my late father along with my Yamaha C-500 and Luxman M10X. My dad had JBL pioneer and Yamaha gear while I was growing up. I like watching your videos, but as of lately I haven't been looking at speakers as much. Maybe down the road I'll get rid of my Focals and Fyne's for a endgame speaker, IDK. I just like listening to different systems as much as I can, which is why I love reviewers and find their work so cool. It's something I would enjoy doing if I had a 3rd life 🤣.
Excellent review. An SP8 owner here. The sound is natural, musical and effortless. Construction is really good too. If you want a more of that, the SP888's look like a great option.
I started my audiophile journey only from 2020 and I’ve learned a lot from you in the objective department. Much respect to your hard work and ethics. Many Thanks Erin! 🎉
Thanks! Hopefully this little bit helps with those pesky bills! Been looking forward to the reviews of these hoping they lived up to all the show hype they received and it appears they definitely do. Andrew Jones seems to have hit it out of the park with these. Definitely on my future upgrade short list. Keep up all the great review work you do. Thanks again.
OK, I am done Erin, looking for the patreon link, cant believe i was so rude not to pay for all the value you have given me. I am sorry Erin, and thank you for everybody who wont be stolen from by marketig thanks to your videos. Again, Thank you
I've been waiting for this review for months! Your review and Ron's at NRD were enough to push the 888s over the SVS Ultra Pinnacle for me. I pulled the trigger today using your Crutchfield link. Thanks for excellent review! I can't wait!
Congrats! It would be nice to hear back from you here once you have settled in with them for a month or so to get some more personal impressions from a real world owner. Cheers
@@ErinsAudioCorner How do you think my Yamaha A-S2100 will pair with the 888s? I am concerned it may not be up to task, even though I doubt I will be listening at high SPL. I think it will push at max about 110 wpc into the 888s given they are 6 ohm.
@@irishadmin1300 Hey, I'm actually testing out a Yamaha NS-2000A which is a step down (I suppose) and it's more than adequate for these speakers. If you do wind up ordering it please consider using the below affiliate link which earns me a small commission at no additional cost to you: howl.me/cmDvIvQcb2u
One way to think about the price is ask whether it is something that you will enjoy every day or something that you use only once in a while. If you love the sound of these and listen to them every day and keep them for ten years, it works out to about $1.30 per day. That's not a bad price if it's something that brings you joy every time you use it.
That's the comparison I'm looking at. I've been wanting the EXL since it came out, all the more so with the high praise it consistently gets in reviews. The 888 seem like a must compare when looking in this price range though.
@@Nate.drill86 As you know, you can option it with the phenomenal RAAL ribbon tweeter, at an increased cost. The cheaper version with the custom SEAS dome is very, very good, though. And the triple-layer bamboo cabinets puts Ascend Acoustics in a class of their own. I haven’t heard the ELX, but I do have the Sierra LX bookshelf speakers, which are mind-blowing good for price. They really should be far more expensive.
Fantastic job as usual! You deliver consistent reviews so that we can compare apples to apples, and I also greatly appreciate that you point out some specific other speakers to relate with. What impact does the grill have on the sound, if any?
Erin...thanks so much for what you do...the clear science based approach tied into the psycho-acoustic consequences, and always with an eye on price, is an awesome combination!
Great review, Erin! It would be cool to sit down and chat about some of your findings to sharpen up my knowledge. Compression is of particular interest, and I would love to learn more about it. I have nothing but respect for your work and dedication to keeping it real. I'm so tired of the endless unicorns out there; your channel is refreshing.
I'd be down for that. By the way, I really like the format of your videos lately. I can't imagine how much time you spend editing them based on how much I have to edit my short videos. So kudos to you.
Damn.. these really are That good. Great to know that a speaker of this caliber exists at this price. I can't afford them in the moment but its achievable in time. Outstanding review & thank you for sharing this data with us. Mofi & Andrew did some great things with this Sourcepoint Line.
Happy to see the 888's live up to my lofty expectations! Probably the top performing speaker that most audiophiles could actually afford to put in their home. Really cool to have this option!
These look like a remarkable bargain! Probably going to wait a year before buying as the price will likely come down a good bit, just as it did with the Sourcepoint 10 and 8. Thanks for an awesome review.
I just ordered these in Walnut based on this review and my dealer's very high recommendation. Will be pairing with a Line Magnetic 805ia 48wpc tube integrated and my Rega analog front end. Thank you for an in-depth, unbiased, data driven review!
I just looked these over on crutchfield and was surprised to see mofi only include a one year warranty ? I feel like most speaker manufacturers 3 or 5 year is the norm.
Damn. Finally an accessible speaker that I know will be completely superior to my Concert 11s. Been eyeballing the R7 Meta, but evidently the hype is for real on these. Thanks Erin!
fantastic review! wonder if you would recommend the MoFi more than the Revel Performa F226Be you reviewed a couple years ago and you liked so much. Wanting to upgrade from my current Q acoustics concept 40 and the MoFi, KEF R7 meta and Revel F226Be are my present options... would only be listening to music. CDs and Lps in a 500sq feet space... if you or anyone in your channel has opinions... let me know! Thanks!
@mannycazz8018 I think Erin has mentioned in several other video comments that he's tried to get POLK to send him some of their other Tower Speakers, but hasn't got any response. So the best way to encourage Polk to do so would be for YOU and others to contact POLK directly and request that they send a review pair to Erin for testing. The more people who do this, the better the chance Erin will have to receive and test/review these Polk speakers. It would be logistically and financially prohibitive for any owners of these large Polk Tower speakers to ship their own pair to Erin and also pay for return shipping, so I wouldn't count on that happening anytime soon.
You would do ECA proud Erin. Show hifi that the fundamentals in mobile audio ground our expectations and shaped our ears to be what they are well into the home. 😊
Great Review, Erin! It definitely seems like there's lot going for this speaker, and there are a lot of other reviewers who seem really enthusiastic about it as well. I think the issues noted at ~3Khz is cause by the woofer's former sticking up just past the tweeter's little waveguide causing some small diffraction issues, as I remember seeing similar diffraction issues on the smaller SP8.
Looks fantastic! Excellent review. The only box that it doesn't check for me is being made in the company's home country which in this case would be the USA. They might have to up the price 25 to 50%, but it would be worth it for me. I'm pretty sure the new sonus faber sonetto line doesn't test linear but they are handmade in Italy and look fantastic. Would like to hear a review of the fives or the eights as they have this newfangled, flower like mid-range driver. The 5s are $6500 which is more but I would consider that difference the home country entrance fee
Had no idea you did written reviews of speakers. I was hours into a speaker search on some unknown website, and BANG!! A written review from Erin!! Keep it up bro!!
Yes, Erin's written reviews are excellent! AND, they usually provide even more data compared to what is included in his videos due to time constraints.
Wow, thanks for the review and measurements. That's an amazing review. I will plan to buy these in the future but I need to sell some of my other speaker. Unfortunately 2 feet from the back wall is hard for me to do.
yeah, too bad everybody focuses so heavily on bass reflex .. it would be nice to have more acoustic suspension sealed box options. A couple feet from the wall is not always doable, as you pointed out.
@DearSX @shipsahoy1793 As Erin suggested, using just ONE band of EQ and applying a low shelf filter would easily take care of your close wall placement "issue". And if you had a few more bands of EQ available, you could also address any other potential room-related response issues or adjust these speaker's overall tonality and spectral balance to your personal preferences since these have fairly linear directivity. Most Streaming boxes and/or music player apps have a built-in EQ these days that could accomplish this. Or you could do more precise adjustments with a separate $250 miniDSP between your source and amplifier/integrated amp, etc. I realize that a lot of HiFi/Stereo purists are averse to using EQ or DSP, but the Dutch & Dutch 8C speakers that Erin mentioned and are phenomenal speakers are a fully DSP based active speaker. The best Home Theater systems rely heavily on DSP & EQ as well. In addition, in the recording, mixing, and mastering process, the audio engineers who are actually producing ALL of the music and TV/Movie sound that we listen to daily use and rely on MULTIPLE instances of all types of both digital and analog EQ for every project. Just sayin', this ain't a REAL problem, and it's very easily overcome. ;) Recording engineer's own studio monitors that help them make their mixing and mastering decisions use this exact form of EQ and Room Correction to calibrate their monitors in their room. As a musician with my own home studio, I think it's safe to say that if recording engineers are not averse to using EQ & DSP to solve acoustic or in-room response issues, then you probably shouldn't be either for your home HiFi playback system.
@@bbfoto7248 you missed my point .. I prefer sealed box designs that were made well years ago. I'm a musician, and as such, I don't have any problems with EQ or any other types of correction or processing, even in hifi..that wasn't my point. So many people go out of their way to try to convince other people that their preferences are not warranted, but throwing you a bone, you are correct, it's not actually a real problem per se, but for me, the weight definitely is..again, my opinion through preference.
@azureoval Why WTW and give up the coherency of the concentric/coaxial midwoofer/tweeter design??? You could probably make a SourcePoint 8 work perfectly as your center channel. Erin said he's seen single SP8's available as Open Box units on Crutchfield. I've purchased several open box items from Crutchfield in the past and I couldn't tell the items from being brand new. If they do have any flaws or blemishes, Crutchfield is up front about listing them.
Erin thank you for such an insightful review. You sound a little hesitant about you praising. One point to consider is the triple 888's are the product of a fantastic designer who has hit his stride and has a company providing a reasonable working budget!
Yeah, man, it seems that someone is always upset about something and people threw a hissy-fit about my excitement over the KEF Blade 2 meta (calling me biased, paid-for, etc). Just a bunch of grown men acting like children.
Great review. Liked and subscribed. 👍🏽 Would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on what source and amplifier components would go best with these...
Thanks for the review, well done!!!! If I were to get a bigger space to live (and budget), these would be TOP ON MY LIST. Also, IMO Andrew Jones has a "proven" history of creating various low-priced speakers that truly rival speakers costing 2, 3, 4x's the price.
I always write dumb comments for the algorithm. However, this time, I write to confirm that I have narrowed my search to these speakers for a stereo-only system. The combination of objective and subjective information provided here, plus additional research that I carried out, helped me make the decision. Of course, I will use the affiliate link when the time comes.
Andrew if you read this Good Job pal! Looks like you designed a fantastic speaker! Wow! And I agree it looks really good too! I hope it works out for you Erin and you’re able to buy them. 👍🏻
I tested those for Dennis as a consult (for a fee) and I let him know that me providing him data for a fee meant I wouldn't do a review. I don't mix money with reviews. So he sent me the speaker, I measured it and sent him the data and that was that.
I'd love to hear/see Erin do his style of review for my Tannoy Revolution XT-8F's. I love them - the sound they produce that pleases my ears. Whomever that guy is that does nothing but critique via measurements did not rate them favorably. I just think they're rather musical. Oh, and they're less than half the cost of these MoFi speakers.
Hi Erin, I came across your channel and I'm grateful for your wealth of knowledge as I make decisions on speakers! I'd love to hear what your top picks are for an in-ceiling setup.
I'd probably go for something from KEF. I think a good coaxial design makes the most sense for in-ceiling speakers given they don't have to be precisely aimed and have a large and even "sweet spot" both horizontally AND vertically (something most 2-way or 3-way speakers don't have).
Great review. I would be interested in an evaluation follow up video on your 888 implementation fot HT. Including power sources. Maybe Crutchfield can send you some options to review.🤞🙏
These were by far the best speakers I heard at Axpona. They were bi-amped through a 400 watt Rose Amplifier. I was wondering if my 100 watt Rogue tube amp would do them justice. Also hoping they wouldn't be too large from my room. The room is 11 x 20, but the seating is only about 10 feet from the speakers.
You wil propably be right it is best for the price today. 20 years ago my dad had a similar setup of a speaker, the Kef Q7. it is also a sourcepoint and had a racetrack style woofer for the lows. It was around 1500 euros a pair at that time. Don't know 1500 euro 20 years ago would be todays money. I wonder how that one would perform today. Finding a pair Q7 in good condition might be the buget holy grail or maybe not. But i remember sounding very good. Think you can't go wrong with these.
Love your videos! Thank you for explaining everything so succinctly! Been eyeing the 8's, now trying to convince myself my 18' x 12' room is big enough for the 888's. 🤔
I don't see a problem with that being too small of a room. Speakers like this do well in rooms of varying size because of their even dispersion pattern; where the reflected sound matches the tonality of the direct sound.
Really great, complete, honest, easy to understand review. For my own eduction, why do you think the sensitivity of this speaker is a moderate 87 while the SourcePoint 10 is 91? I think this is an important factor for lower powered tube amps, no? thank you again.
Personally I do not care much about the vertical. I only listen to music while sitting on my sofa and rather have a wide horizontal dispersion with a slightly downwards sloping, and as smooth as possible listening window. But that is just a preference. Very good speakers nevertheless, and as always a good review.
Erin answered in another threads : not the same unless you cross them around 130 hz, and it's not easy so high. If you cross lower, you loss dynamic range and have more distorsion.
Have you created a *RANKING LIST* for speakers somewhere..? Or will you eventually? So we can easily check what the Top 5 are, at any price, or under $6K or $3K, etc. A simple Excel spreadsheet, with price, rating, notes, etc. Also, will you ever discuss/review/recommend *DACs* ?
Great review! Thank you! With around 87dB sensitivity and 200w power handling, what kind of output can I really expect to get out of a pair? This is my only real concern as an old rocker sitting in a relatively large room. I don't do it all the time, but occasionally I want to feel like I'm at the show in that 105-110dB range.
How do these compare to the SVS Ultra towers that you reviewed recently? Those seemed to also perform very well, with the stipulation that done side wall treatment might be needed. But rooms should always be treated when possible, so that doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Sorry if this was already asked. Love your work!
I have Klipsch RF7 III , wonder if the SourcePoint 888 worth the upgrade or look for much higher ? Thanks for the review , greetings from Saudi Arabia :)
Erin, another good review. I'd love to have the $$ to afford these MoFi speakers, but it is what it is. But I still like watching your reviews on them; and dreaming. Your Good Data is what makes your reviews a step (or two) higher than others who just push on with opinion backed by hot air. (Cheap Audioman somehow comes to mind). I hope those who can afford these speakers will use your affiliate links to help you along with your costs. By the way, any chance of you doing a review on the HSU CCB-8s?
@jimsathome I'd be interested in a review of those HSU concentric 8" speakers as well. Several attendees at AXPONA (IIRC) said that they were quite impressed and that they exhibited excellent imaging and full range extension and impact/dynamics when combined with one of the HSU subwoofers. And this was just as a stereo pair without using the center channel that they had set up in the room. For the demo they were being powered by a ~$300 Denon or Onkyo AVR, and the subwoofer had its own built-in plate amp. Definitely a price/performance leader. Unfortunately, Erin has tried to contact HSU multiple times and they just aren't interested in sending him anything for review. But if enough people like you request it, the better the chances are for Dr. HSU to be willing to send Erin a pair for review, and maybe a subwoofer as well. But it seems like HSU has a hard time just keeping these in stock (a good problem to have), so they rarely have any spare units to send out for reviews. TBF, from a business owner's perspective, who needs reviews if they're already selling like hotcakes and you can't keep them in stock?
Wow Erin, thanks for the work !! Nice pair of speakers for a nice price. Unfortunately, the unavoidable negative for me is the weight. If they weighed 30% less, oh yeah !! 👏
@shipsahoy1793 You might consider the MoFi SourcePoint 8 with a separate subwoofer. Should be easy to do for well under $5k. The new/updated ToTL HSU Research VTF-series subwoofer looks like a great performer and value at ~$1300.
@@bbfoto7248 I don't need to consider anything. I'm perfectly happy with the hi-fi equipment that I have.. I only like to stay abreast of current product offerings and Erin is a great resource for that, thank you. Didn't really ask for any advice, but thanks anyway..😉
@@bbfoto7248 Well subs are not my preference for stereo, but for home theatre I like subs; based on the review of the mofi source point 8's, the 8's are perfect candidates for being on stands and being used with subs for a stereo speaker system set up that you could basically do for $3k-4k, depending on whether going with one sub or two, so to your point, I definitely agree!
Thanks Erin!! I bought the SourcePoint 8's 6 months ago based largely on your glowing review...running them with a pair of subs...now I have FOMO big time and am considering trading all that in for the 888s...wondering if the 888s would sound better than the 8's and 2 subs.
@@Mishael_Agyei-Boamah thanks for the feedback...I should have also mentioned that it's a small/medium sized room, about 15'x16''...which matters in the calculus for sure...the 8's and dual subs fill the room nicely at the moment
Great review as always, however in Europe the price is roughly $6700 (at least where I live) which makes it a bit less of a budget speaker. For me personally, I also think the bass extension will create problems if you cannot put it a bit further from the back wall?
@mw3640 It's unfortunate about the pricing in Europe. But we sometimes have the same issue when sourcing or buying European products in North America. Regarding the close wall bass extension "problem", as Erin suggested, just using ONE band of EQ and applying a low shelf filter would easily take care of this. And if you had a few more bands of EQ available, you could also address any other potential room-related response issues, or adjust the speaker's overall tonality and spectral balance to your personal preferences since these have fairly linear directivity. Most Streaming boxes and/or music player apps have a built-in EQ these days that could accomplish this. Or you could do more precise adjustments with a separate $250 miniDSP between your source and amplifier/integrated amp, etc. I realize that a lot of HiFi/Stereo purists are averse to using EQ or DSP, but the Dutch & Dutch 8C speakers that Erin mentioned and are phenomenal speakers are a fully DSP based active speaker. The best Home Theater systems rely heavily on DSP & EQ as well. In addition, in the recording, mixing, and mastering process, the audio engineers who are actually producing ALL of the music and TV/Movie sound that we listen to daily use and rely on MULTIPLE instances of all types of both digital and analog EQ for every project. Just sayin', this ain't a REAL problem, and it's very easily overcome. ;) Recording engineer's own studio monitors that help them make their mixing and mastering decisions use this exact form of EQ and Room Correction to calibrate their monitors in their room. As a musician with my own home studio, I think it's safe to say that if recording engineers are not averse to using EQ & DSP to solve acoustic or in-room response issues, then you probably shouldn't be either for your home HiFi playback system.
@@bbfoto7248 Yeah it definitely goes both ways! With regards to my bass issue I have tried miniDSP and I know that it can work wonders but the issue is that I just cannot use enough treatment since it is the living room. I solved it by using the KEF R3 Meta as my speaker. It has a low shelf built in and so I can put it closer to the wall to actually use my bad room as a way of getting a more neutral bass.
@@bbfoto7248exactly. EQ. And who doesn't want extra bass anyways? Ok maybe at 50-60hz that region can sound "bloated" or boomy, but below that you can always use more bass and it never sounds boomy. Certainly below 40hz, it needs cranked, and you cannot have too much sub bass. As for the miniDSP, you cannot use the 2x4HD in a hifi system, it's not good enough. If you want to use a miniDSP product for parametric EQ or crossover duty in a hifi 2ch stereo, you HAVE to step up to the miniDSP "FLEX", is a huge step up in quality, both in terms of noise floor and analog output quality, and higher precision computation. Once you step up to the flex or any higher end unit, there is no downside to DSP correction, it's perfect and has a very hi-fidelity audiophile grade dynamic range and noise floor and distortion measurements. But the 2x4hd is a no go, you can quickly find this out in the forums from people disappointed with it's performance and noise floor issues. The Flex is $495 with no accessories. It's an incredible piece of kit.
The peak sensitivity of the human ear is around 3400hz if i remember correctly ,so the dip in the same area is not by accident i would bet and it's to compensate for that im pretty sure. Andrew Jones is well informed in acoustics and psycho-acoustics and I'm pretty sure he knows some Tomatis also. Or,,, he did it by ear, but im always impressed with Jones speakers, even the ones that didn't sell well. The concentric designs have a special sound that i like very much. I was waiting for Andrew to go back to paper woofers and this one has my name on it ... Just need to find the money if i can...
They have a more natural timbre than my Martin Logans do, and I think yes, it IS the paper cones. The great Herb Reichert (whom I had met at AXPONA), once said that drivers sound like the materials they are made of. I tend to agree. Aluminum drivers can have a hyped up detail that's unnatural if they're untreated. The newer white ones are ceramic coated. Focal had also moved to Al-Mg drivers instead of ones that are made purely of aluminum.
Other than the 888 extending about 10hz lower, how would you compare it to the Revel f226be? I know that used to be one of your favorites and it can be had on sale for $5k also.
This is my top recommendation for a speaker in the $5k/pair budget range. It checks every box I would want checked. Works well for both stereo and home theater (with having great directivity and compression and distortion metrics) and looks great to me. No-brainer buy if you're on the fence. And if you do go through with purchasing these online, I have included the affiliate link below which earns me a small commission at no additional cost to you.
howl.me/cmAQVKU2D3Z
And if you need a center channel option, check out the open-box SourcePoint 8 or 10 that come in singles (rather than pairs) from Crutchfield:
howl.me/cmDhKdtyTTc
^ link to search because specific open box items may sell out and break link
Could you try to or have you? To test the Buchardt A700 and compare. I know it's not exactly the same price point, but add the extras and it's potentially equal. Curious how the active speaker holds up vs a quality component setup with good full Rangers like this
I reviewed that one. I’d take this speaker for the same reasons I mentioned.
Hey Erin. Could you compare this to the Qualio IO and Buchardt A700. That should be a cool matchup at this price pov. Yeah you might do a bit by bit, but the overall impression is good enough for me. Currently I think the biggest banger for the bucks is Qualio.
@@ErinsAudioCorner thanks for the reply 🙏. Was supposed to be with the other comment as well. I expected it to outperform the buchs based on your reasoning. I'm kinda thinking Qualio IO standard setup will outperform both on many aspects though
Not especially sensitive or easy to drive is the biggest negative.
Love your comment about UA-camrs' extolling that this speaker is the best speaker ever...for the 20th time in a year. That's why I love your channel because you try to avoid hyperbolic terms like that when reviewing. When you say this is one of the best sounding speakers that you ever heard, I actually believe you. Thanks!
*cough **cough*steave huff* cough*
@@QuangNguyen-oh6jucheapaudioman is the worst at it by far
@@Harrisongrey19cheapaudioman says random $200 speaker beats focal utopia. Steve Huff says every speaker he has is better than the last.
@@dajikbatarang1 yep and people eat that stuff up. Both guys are big problems in audio.
@@dajikbatarang1 LS50 meta
You shouldnt have to worry about making money from your labor.
There is a big difference in shilling subpar products for the highest bidder vs testing, reviewing, and then recommending great products at different price points.
Whomever has a problem with you making money from your wealth of knowledge, expensive testing equipment, labor and videos.....is a fn_____! These kind of honest reviews have saved people a ton of money, helps us all get the best bang for our buck.
Certainly worth (at the very least) a small commission....at zero cost to the viewer/purchaser.
If I had extra $ to spend, Id surely smash on that affiliate link. Great job as always.
Cheapaudioman does enough shilling so everyone else doesn’t have too. I really can’t understand why people like him so much. He has the most punchable face in audio
I've been saying this for a minute! 😉 I even pay for early access to your reviews on Patreon! Well worth it!
I was going to say exactly the same things, but fortunately saw your comment before I started, so thanks for saving me the time and effort!
@@kfmathew 👍
Awesome. Mofi and Andrew straight up said "give the people what they want." That they stand "alongside" the KEF blade at their price point is the essence of value. While expensive for average joes, this can be something they can save for and know that they are milking just about everything they can out of that pricepoint.
i didn't understand a bit your momment, why the kef blades instead of the R series?, the blades have nothing to do with the mofi, like.. nothing..., maybe the ls60 lol
@@ACM1000000PT did you watch the video?
Erin, I enjoy your genuine work and passion. Best of luck to you.
Wow. Thank you for the donation!
@@ErinsAudioCorner Again, you make a good hobby better with your work, and help educate people with your videos. Keep up the work and you make the daunting details of HiFI manageable. You have a great talent Erin.
Wow, that's awesome of you to support Erin like that @elgingaragegym!
Off topic: I'm setting up my garage gym now. Just got a power rack, Olympic bar and some 45', 25's, and 10lb bumper plates. I already have adjustable dumbbells and a 100lb punching bag. 💪
@@ErinsAudioCorner my 5k speaker is the JBL L100 Classic 75's, however I'd have a happily switched if these were out at the time. The 75's are great, but the finish isn't holding up as well as it should IMO. I always wonder how nice looking speakers will hold up over time. My other speakers are Focal Sopra No. 3's, Fyne F704 (waiting for SuperTrax), JBL 75's, Zu DWX, Technics SB-C700, B&W 805 D4, JBL 4309. All spread out between my basement, my home office, my work office, my family room, my gym, and my garage workshop. The 75's I'm just keeping in their crate for now and will figure out what to do with them later. I bought them more or less as a nostalgic oud to my late father along with my Yamaha C-500 and Luxman M10X. My dad had JBL pioneer and Yamaha gear while I was growing up. I like watching your videos, but as of lately I haven't been looking at speakers as much. Maybe down the road I'll get rid of my Focals and Fyne's for a endgame speaker, IDK. I just like listening to different systems as much as I can, which is why I love reviewers and find their work so cool. It's something I would enjoy doing if I had a 3rd life 🤣.
Thank you for all your reviews. You are one of a few reviewers who is I believe honest and not paid to just spread the hype.
Excellent review. An SP8 owner here. The sound is natural, musical and effortless. Construction is really good too. If you want a more of that, the SP888's look like a great option.
Thanks for all your hard work!
Whoa!!! Thank you so much for the donation!!!
I started my audiophile journey only from 2020 and I’ve learned a lot from you in the objective department. Much respect to your hard work and ethics. Many Thanks Erin! 🎉
Oh, dang! Thank you very much for this!
Thanks! Hopefully this little bit helps with those pesky bills! Been looking forward to the reviews of these hoping they lived up to all the show hype they received and it appears they definitely do. Andrew Jones seems to have hit it out of the park with these. Definitely on my future upgrade short list. Keep up all the great review work you do. Thanks again.
Hey,
Thanks for the donation!!!
Finally the speaker for Linton upgrade? Performance and value both.
That compression measurement is incredible. Well Done Mofi.
Sound like a great speaker, not surprised. You genuinely sounded excited in reviewing this speaker Erin.
@@elgingaragegym they’re pretty dang legit, that’s for sure!
Andrew hits another home run!
OK, I am done Erin, looking for the patreon link, cant believe i was so rude not to pay for all the value you have given me. I am sorry Erin, and thank you for everybody who wont be stolen from by marketig thanks to your videos.
Again, Thank you
I've been waiting for this review for months! Your review and Ron's at NRD were enough to push the 888s over the SVS Ultra Pinnacle for me. I pulled the trigger today using your Crutchfield link. Thanks for excellent review! I can't wait!
Congrats!
It would be nice to hear back from you here once you have settled in with them for a month or so to get some more personal impressions from a real world owner.
Cheers
Oh, sweet! Thanks for that! And I totally agree with BBfoto... let us know what you think when you get them in.
@@ErinsAudioCorner How do you think my Yamaha A-S2100 will pair with the 888s? I am concerned it may not be up to task, even though I doubt I will be listening at high SPL. I think it will push at max about 110 wpc into the 888s given they are 6 ohm.
@@irishadmin1300 Hey, I'm actually testing out a Yamaha NS-2000A which is a step down (I suppose) and it's more than adequate for these speakers. If you do wind up ordering it please consider using the below affiliate link which earns me a small commission at no additional cost to you: howl.me/cmDvIvQcb2u
@@ErinsAudioCorner Yes, I ordered them last Saturday using that link. They are supposed to be here this Monday.
One way to think about the price is ask whether it is something that you will enjoy every day or something that you use only once in a while. If you love the sound of these and listen to them every day and keep them for ten years, it works out to about $1.30 per day. That's not a bad price if it's something that brings you joy every time you use it.
Also check out the Ascend Acoustics ELX towers, at $4300/pair. They are designed and tested on the Klippel. In-room response is virtually perfect.
That's the comparison I'm looking at. I've been wanting the EXL since it came out, all the more so with the high praise it consistently gets in reviews. The 888 seem like a must compare when looking in this price range though.
@@Nate.drill86 As you know, you can option it with the phenomenal RAAL ribbon tweeter, at an increased cost. The cheaper version with the custom SEAS dome is very, very good, though. And the triple-layer bamboo cabinets puts Ascend Acoustics in a class of their own. I haven’t heard the ELX, but I do have the Sierra LX bookshelf speakers, which are mind-blowing good for price. They really should be far more expensive.
@@ChicagoRob2huh I thought ascend audios towers all had ribbon tweeters.. i’d love to know that that’s not true! amazing company.
Don’t think the EXL is as sensitive or has the same bass response. Plus you lose vertical dispersion.
Great review, and a very impressive speaker!
Thank you kindly!
Fantastic job as usual! You deliver consistent reviews so that we can compare apples to apples, and I also greatly appreciate that you point out some specific other speakers to relate with. What impact does the grill have on the sound, if any?
Well, thank you very much. 😊
Erin...thanks so much for what you do...the clear science based approach tied into the psycho-acoustic consequences, and always with an eye on price, is an awesome combination!
Great review, Erin! It would be cool to sit down and chat about some of your findings to sharpen up my knowledge. Compression is of particular interest, and I would love to learn more about it. I have nothing but respect for your work and dedication to keeping it real. I'm so tired of the endless unicorns out there; your channel is refreshing.
I'd be down for that. By the way, I really like the format of your videos lately. I can't imagine how much time you spend editing them based on how much I have to edit my short videos. So kudos to you.
Damn.. these really are That good. Great to know that a speaker of this caliber exists at this price. I can't afford them in the moment but its achievable in time.
Outstanding review & thank you for sharing this data with us. Mofi & Andrew did some great things with this Sourcepoint Line.
Happy to see the 888's live up to my lofty expectations! Probably the top performing speaker that most audiophiles could actually afford to put in their home. Really cool to have this option!
These look like a remarkable bargain! Probably going to wait a year before buying as the price will likely come down a good bit, just as it did with the Sourcepoint 10 and 8. Thanks for an awesome review.
I would bet they'll go on sale for less than 4k at some point within the next 18-24mos.
I just ordered these in Walnut based on this review and my dealer's very high recommendation. Will be pairing with a Line Magnetic 805ia 48wpc tube integrated and my Rega analog front end. Thank you for an in-depth, unbiased, data driven review!
Thanks for the metric specs!😁
That‘s really good performance.
I just looked these over on crutchfield and was surprised to see mofi only include a one year warranty ? I feel like most speaker manufacturers 3 or 5 year is the norm.
This is exactly what i wanted to ask too. And where are they assembled? China probably. No replies from reviewer.
Mofi speaker models have a five year parts & labor warranty
I was excited to find MoFi making speakers. I always choose their record masters.
Damn. Finally an accessible speaker that I know will be completely superior to my Concert 11s. Been eyeballing the R7 Meta, but evidently the hype is for real on these. Thanks Erin!
fantastic review! wonder if you would recommend the MoFi more than the Revel Performa F226Be you reviewed a couple years ago and you liked so much. Wanting to upgrade from my current Q acoustics concept 40 and the MoFi, KEF R7 meta and Revel F226Be are my present options... would only be listening to music. CDs and Lps in a 500sq feet space... if you or anyone in your channel has opinions... let me know! Thanks!
They're on backorder everywhere. Must be good speakers for the price!
Can you do the polk L800 SDA which is similarly priced to the Mofi 888. It goes on sale often for about 5 grand a pair. Keep up the stellar work ✨️
@mannycazz8018
I think Erin has mentioned in several other video comments that he's tried to get POLK to send him some of their other Tower Speakers, but hasn't got any response.
So the best way to encourage Polk to do so would be for YOU and others to contact POLK directly and request that they send a review pair to Erin for testing.
The more people who do this, the better the chance Erin will have to receive and test/review these Polk speakers.
It would be logistically and financially prohibitive for any owners of these large Polk Tower speakers to ship their own pair to Erin and also pay for return shipping, so I wouldn't count on that happening anytime soon.
Great review, Erin. 👍
love the presenting. its on point, consise and elaborated. thank you
You would do ECA proud Erin. Show hifi that the fundamentals in mobile audio ground our expectations and shaped our ears to be what they are well into the home. 😊
Those are big, looks kinda like the endgame speakers for me :)
Great Review, Erin! It definitely seems like there's lot going for this speaker, and there are a lot of other reviewers who seem really enthusiastic about it as well.
I think the issues noted at ~3Khz is cause by the woofer's former sticking up just past the tweeter's little waveguide causing some small diffraction issues, as I remember seeing similar diffraction issues on the smaller SP8.
Nice review. Big thumbs up for good tonality.
Looks fantastic! Excellent review. The only box that it doesn't check for me is being made in the company's home country which in this case would be the USA. They might have to up the price 25 to 50%, but it would be worth it for me. I'm pretty sure the new sonus faber sonetto line doesn't test linear but they are handmade in Italy and look fantastic. Would like to hear a review of the fives or the eights as they have this newfangled, flower like mid-range driver. The 5s are $6500 which is more but I would consider that difference the home country entrance fee
Had no idea you did written reviews of speakers. I was hours into a speaker search on some unknown website, and BANG!! A written review from Erin!! Keep it up bro!!
Yes, Erin's written reviews are excellent! AND, they usually provide even more data compared to what is included in his videos due to time constraints.
Wow, thanks for the review and measurements. That's an amazing review. I will plan to buy these in the future but I need to sell some of my other speaker. Unfortunately 2 feet from the back wall is hard for me to do.
yeah, too bad everybody focuses so heavily on bass reflex .. it would be nice to have more acoustic suspension sealed box options. A couple feet from the wall is not always doable, as you pointed out.
You can seal the port with foam, you will lose some extension but you'll mitigate the 50 hz boost you'll get with proximity effect.
@DearSX
@shipsahoy1793
As Erin suggested, using just ONE band of EQ and applying a low shelf filter would easily take care of your close wall placement "issue".
And if you had a few more bands of EQ available, you could also address any other potential room-related response issues or adjust these speaker's overall tonality and spectral balance to your personal preferences since these have fairly linear directivity.
Most Streaming boxes and/or music player apps have a built-in EQ these days that could accomplish this.
Or you could do more precise adjustments with a separate $250 miniDSP between your source and amplifier/integrated amp, etc.
I realize that a lot of HiFi/Stereo purists are averse to using EQ or DSP, but the Dutch & Dutch 8C speakers that Erin mentioned and are phenomenal speakers are a fully DSP based active speaker. The best Home Theater systems rely heavily on DSP & EQ as well.
In addition, in the recording, mixing, and mastering process, the audio engineers who are actually producing ALL of the music and TV/Movie sound that we listen to daily use and rely on MULTIPLE instances of all types of both digital and analog EQ for every project.
Just sayin', this ain't a REAL problem, and it's very easily overcome. ;)
Recording engineer's own studio monitors that help them make their mixing and mastering decisions use this exact form of EQ and Room Correction to calibrate their monitors in their room.
As a musician with my own home studio, I think it's safe to say that if recording engineers are not averse to using EQ & DSP to solve acoustic or in-room response issues, then you probably shouldn't be either for your home HiFi playback system.
@@bbfoto7248 you missed my point .. I prefer sealed box designs that were made well years ago. I'm a musician, and as such, I don't have any problems with EQ or any other types of correction or processing, even in hifi..that wasn't my point. So many people go out
of their way to try to convince other people that their preferences are not warranted, but throwing you a bone,
you are correct, it's not actually a real problem per se, but for me, the weight definitely is..again, my opinion through preference.
@@Favouille and, of course, also undermine the designers' intentions lol .. not a fan of bandaids (also my opinion through preference).
Thanks again for another great and honest review! 🙂🍻
A smaller sealed WTW version of this would make a awesome center channel !
@azureoval
Why WTW and give up the coherency of the concentric/coaxial midwoofer/tweeter design???
You could probably make a SourcePoint 8 work perfectly as your center channel. Erin said he's seen single SP8's available as Open Box units on Crutchfield.
I've purchased several open box items from Crutchfield in the past and I couldn't tell the items from being brand new.
If they do have any flaws or blemishes, Crutchfield is up front about listing them.
@@bbfoto7248 I meant the coax in the middle flanked by two woofers.
Erin thank you for such an insightful review. You sound a little hesitant about you praising. One point to consider is the triple 888's are the product of a fantastic designer who has hit his stride and has a company providing a reasonable working budget!
Yeah, man, it seems that someone is always upset about something and people threw a hissy-fit about my excitement over the KEF Blade 2 meta (calling me biased, paid-for, etc). Just a bunch of grown men acting like children.
Great review.
Liked and subscribed.
👍🏽
Would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on what source and amplifier components would go best with these...
Thanks for the review, well done!!!! If I were to get a bigger space to live (and budget), these would be TOP ON MY LIST. Also, IMO Andrew Jones has a "proven" history of creating various low-priced speakers that truly rival speakers costing 2, 3, 4x's the price.
I always write dumb comments for the algorithm. However, this time, I write to confirm that I have narrowed my search to these speakers for a stereo-only system. The combination of objective and subjective information provided here, plus additional research that I carried out, helped me make the decision.
Of course, I will use the affiliate link when the time comes.
Thanks!
Andrew if you read this Good Job pal! Looks like you designed a fantastic speaker! Wow! And I agree it looks really good too! I hope it works out for you Erin and you’re able to buy them. 👍🏻
You really owe it to yourself and us tho to review the Philharmonic HT Towers.
I mean for people to know what they get for their money.
Awesome review
I tested those for Dennis as a consult (for a fee) and I let him know that me providing him data for a fee meant I wouldn't do a review. I don't mix money with reviews. So he sent me the speaker, I measured it and sent him the data and that was that.
I'd love to hear/see Erin do his style of review for my Tannoy Revolution XT-8F's. I love them - the sound they produce that pleases my ears. Whomever that guy is that does nothing but critique via measurements did not rate them favorably. I just think they're rather musical. Oh, and they're less than half the cost of these MoFi speakers.
They are very nice. Those sound videos of them in Andrew’s room was super impressive. Even on UA-cam
I have the Mofi 8 and it is the best speakers I have owned.
Hi Erin,
I came across your channel and I'm grateful for your wealth of knowledge as I make decisions on speakers! I'd love to hear what your top picks are for an in-ceiling setup.
I'd probably go for something from KEF. I think a good coaxial design makes the most sense for in-ceiling speakers given they don't have to be precisely aimed and have a large and even "sweet spot" both horizontally AND vertically (something most 2-way or 3-way speakers don't have).
I’m excited for the upcoming new Arendals 1528. I hope hey seen you a review pair!!
You finally pushed me over the edge to replace my Acoustic Research AR98LS's I bought back in 1984 :)
Was really interested in this speaker, but I'm leaning towards the OB Caladan.
Great review. I would be interested in an evaluation follow up video on your 888 implementation fot HT. Including power sources. Maybe Crutchfield can send you some options to review.🤞🙏
Looks great! I’ll replace my Lintons with something like this one day…
Between NRD (he gave you a nice plug) and your review……this speaker appears to check all the boxes for under 20k speakers. Nice review.
Yeah, I pinged Ron to ask him what he thought and we talked a bit about the measurement challenges of a larger speaker like this.
These were by far the best speakers I heard at Axpona. They were bi-amped through a 400 watt Rose Amplifier. I was wondering if my 100 watt Rogue tube amp would do them justice. Also hoping they wouldn't be too large from my room. The room is 11 x 20, but the seating is only about 10 feet from the speakers.
I saw these in several different rooms at axpona and each setup sounded very right. Refreshing compared many other rooms there
You wil propably be right it is best for the price today. 20 years ago my dad had a similar setup of a speaker, the Kef Q7. it is also a sourcepoint and had a racetrack style woofer for the lows. It was around 1500 euros a pair at that time. Don't know 1500 euro 20 years ago would be todays money. I wonder how that one would perform today. Finding a pair Q7 in good condition might be the buget holy grail or maybe not. But i remember sounding very good. Think you can't go wrong with these.
Thanks for another superb review, Erin.
Greetings from Denmark.
Love your videos! Thank you for explaining everything so succinctly! Been eyeing the 8's, now trying to convince myself my 18' x 12' room is big enough for the 888's. 🤔
I don't see a problem with that being too small of a room. Speakers like this do well in rooms of varying size because of their even dispersion pattern; where the reflected sound matches the tonality of the direct sound.
Really great, complete, honest, easy to understand review. For my own eduction, why do you think the sensitivity of this speaker is a moderate 87 while the SourcePoint 10 is 91? I think this is an important factor for lower powered tube amps, no? thank you again.
Thank you!! Makes sense.
Personally I do not care much about the vertical. I only listen to music while sitting on my sofa and rather have a wide horizontal dispersion with a slightly downwards sloping, and as smooth as possible listening window. But that is just a preference. Very good speakers nevertheless, and as always a good review.
Ive been waiting for Erin to review these thanks very much.
Hope you enjoy!
I gotta hear your top 5! Very sturdy review as usual.
Much appreciated!
I think the importance of vertical directivity for home theater is underestimated. Lots of seats at lots of angles.
Great review. Wish it can be a bit narrow or smaller.
I will see if I can have a listen to these, I want something beefy to compliment my Yamaha RN2000A
Great review! Question: Would a MoFi SourcePoint 8 with a subwoofer be about the same?
I'm interested by the answer too !
Erin answered in another threads : not the same unless you cross them around 130 hz, and it's not easy so high. If you cross lower, you loss dynamic range and have more distorsion.
Impressive speaker!
In your opinion are the small squiggles in FR worth correcting with DSP?
I don’t think I would worry about the little squiggles.
Good Review supported by Data
Excellent thank you for your analysis.
If they only made an in wall like this....
Have you created a *RANKING LIST* for speakers somewhere..? Or will you eventually? So we can easily check what the Top 5 are, at any price, or under $6K or $3K, etc. A simple Excel spreadsheet, with price, rating, notes, etc. Also, will you ever discuss/review/recommend *DACs* ?
Great review! Thank you! With around 87dB sensitivity and 200w power handling, what kind of output can I really expect to get out of a pair? This is my only real concern as an old rocker sitting in a relatively large room. I don't do it all the time, but occasionally I want to feel like I'm at the show in that 105-110dB range.
These had no problem hitting 100dB at 10 feet in my large listening space (open to the kitchen and hallway).
How do these compare to the SVS Ultra towers that you reviewed recently? Those seemed to also perform very well, with the stipulation that done side wall treatment might be needed. But rooms should always be treated when possible, so that doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Sorry if this was already asked. Love your work!
@@Mishael_Agyei-Boamah Have you heard both?
Thanks!
Hey, I don't know how I missed this but thank you!
I have Klipsch RF7 III , wonder if the SourcePoint 888 worth the upgrade or look for much higher ?
Thanks for the review , greetings from Saudi Arabia :)
Thanks
Oh, well thank you very much!
Love your channel. I appreciate you measurement guys .
Nobody seems to talk about tone, texture and speed, and those are big deals for the listener.
How do they compare to the Kef R11 meta or the Paradigm founder 100f?
Erin, another good review. I'd love to have the $$ to afford these MoFi speakers, but it is what it is. But I still like watching your reviews on them; and dreaming. Your Good Data is what makes your reviews a step (or two) higher than others who just push on with opinion backed by hot air. (Cheap Audioman somehow comes to mind). I hope those who can afford these speakers will use your affiliate links to help you along with your costs. By the way, any chance of you doing a review on the HSU CCB-8s?
@jimsathome
I'd be interested in a review of those HSU concentric 8" speakers as well.
Several attendees at AXPONA (IIRC) said that they were quite impressed and that they exhibited excellent imaging and full range extension and impact/dynamics when combined with one of the HSU subwoofers.
And this was just as a stereo pair without using the center channel that they had set up in the room. For the demo they were being powered by a ~$300 Denon or Onkyo AVR, and the subwoofer had its own built-in plate amp.
Definitely a price/performance leader.
Unfortunately, Erin has tried to contact HSU multiple times and they just aren't interested in sending him anything for review.
But if enough people like you request it, the better the chances are for Dr. HSU to be willing to send Erin a pair for review, and maybe a subwoofer as well.
But it seems like HSU has a hard time just keeping these in stock (a good problem to have), so they rarely have any spare units to send out for reviews.
TBF, from a business owner's perspective, who needs reviews if they're already selling like hotcakes and you can't keep them in stock?
How do you think they would sound in a smaller room set-up?
@@Mishael_Agyei-Boamah It's a converted bedroom into a music room with dimensions about 11ft x 12ft.
Wow Erin, thanks for the work !!
Nice pair of speakers for
a nice price.
Unfortunately,
the unavoidable negative for me
is the weight.
If they weighed 30% less,
oh yeah !! 👏
@shipsahoy1793
You might consider the MoFi SourcePoint 8 with a separate subwoofer. Should be easy to do for well under $5k.
The new/updated ToTL HSU Research VTF-series subwoofer looks like a great performer and value at ~$1300.
@@bbfoto7248 I don't need to consider anything. I'm perfectly happy with the hi-fi equipment that I have..
I only like to stay abreast of current product offerings and Erin is a great resource for that, thank you. Didn't really ask for any advice, but thanks anyway..😉
@@bbfoto7248 Well subs are not my preference for stereo, but for home theatre I like subs; based on the review of the mofi source point 8's, the 8's are perfect candidates for being on stands and being used with subs for a stereo speaker system set up that you could basically do for $3k-4k, depending on whether going with one sub or two, so to your point, I definitely agree!
What is keeping this from being end game? (Just read the video title again :) thanks!
Thanks Erin!! I bought the SourcePoint 8's 6 months ago based largely on your glowing review...running them with a pair of subs...now I have FOMO big time and am considering trading all that in for the 888s...wondering if the 888s would sound better than the 8's and 2 subs.
@@Mishael_Agyei-Boamah thanks for the feedback...I should have also mentioned that it's a small/medium sized room, about 15'x16''...which matters in the calculus for sure...the 8's and dual subs fill the room nicely at the moment
@@mattsaunders8652 did you wind up seeing how the 888 compare?
Great review as always, however in Europe the price is roughly $6700 (at least where I live) which makes it a bit less of a budget speaker. For me personally, I also think the bass extension will create problems if you cannot put it a bit further from the back wall?
@mw3640
It's unfortunate about the pricing in Europe. But we sometimes have the same issue when sourcing or buying European products in North America.
Regarding the close wall bass extension "problem", as Erin suggested, just using ONE band of EQ and applying a low shelf filter would easily take care of this.
And if you had a few more bands of EQ available, you could also address any other potential room-related response issues, or adjust the speaker's overall tonality and spectral balance to your personal preferences since these have fairly linear directivity.
Most Streaming boxes and/or music player apps have a built-in EQ these days that could accomplish this.
Or you could do more precise adjustments with a separate $250 miniDSP between your source and amplifier/integrated amp, etc.
I realize that a lot of HiFi/Stereo purists are averse to using EQ or DSP, but the Dutch & Dutch 8C speakers that Erin mentioned and are phenomenal speakers are a fully DSP based active speaker. The best Home Theater systems rely heavily on DSP & EQ as well.
In addition, in the recording, mixing, and mastering process, the audio engineers who are actually producing ALL of the music and TV/Movie sound that we listen to daily use and rely on MULTIPLE instances of all types of both digital and analog EQ for every project.
Just sayin', this ain't a REAL problem, and it's very easily overcome. ;)
Recording engineer's own studio monitors that help them make their mixing and mastering decisions use this exact form of EQ and Room Correction to calibrate their monitors in their room.
As a musician with my own home studio, I think it's safe to say that if recording engineers are not averse to using EQ & DSP to solve acoustic or in-room response issues, then you probably shouldn't be either for your home HiFi playback system.
@@bbfoto7248 Yeah it definitely goes both ways!
With regards to my bass issue I have tried miniDSP and I know that it can work wonders but the issue is that I just cannot use enough treatment since it is the living room. I solved it by using the KEF R3 Meta as my speaker. It has a low shelf built in and so I can put it closer to the wall to actually use my bad room as a way of getting a more neutral bass.
@@bbfoto7248exactly. EQ. And who doesn't want extra bass anyways? Ok maybe at 50-60hz that region can sound "bloated" or boomy, but below that you can always use more bass and it never sounds boomy. Certainly below 40hz, it needs cranked, and you cannot have too much sub bass.
As for the miniDSP, you cannot use the 2x4HD in a hifi system, it's not good enough. If you want to use a miniDSP product for parametric EQ or crossover duty in a hifi 2ch stereo, you HAVE to step up to the miniDSP "FLEX", is a huge step up in quality, both in terms of noise floor and analog output quality, and higher precision computation.
Once you step up to the flex or any higher end unit, there is no downside to DSP correction, it's perfect and has a very hi-fidelity audiophile grade dynamic range and noise floor and distortion measurements.
But the 2x4hd is a no go, you can quickly find this out in the forums from people disappointed with it's performance and noise floor issues. The Flex is $495 with no accessories. It's an incredible piece of kit.
@@bbfoto7248 Even worse for us Aussies. $11,000AU ($7425US) for the privilege of living in Australia
The peak sensitivity of the human ear is around 3400hz if i remember correctly ,so the dip in the same area is not by accident i would bet and it's to compensate for that im pretty sure. Andrew Jones is well informed in acoustics and psycho-acoustics and I'm pretty sure he knows some Tomatis also. Or,,, he did it by ear, but im always impressed with Jones speakers, even the ones that didn't sell well. The concentric designs have a special sound that i like very much. I was waiting for Andrew to go back to paper woofers and this one has my name on it ... Just need to find the money if i can...
They have a more natural timbre than my Martin Logans do, and I think yes, it IS the paper cones. The great Herb Reichert (whom I had met at AXPONA), once said that drivers sound like the materials they are made of. I tend to agree. Aluminum drivers can have a hyped up detail that's unnatural if they're untreated. The newer white ones are ceramic coated. Focal had also moved to Al-Mg drivers instead of ones that are made purely of aluminum.
What a phenomenal distortion measurement. That thing does not care about level at all.
Other than the 888 extending about 10hz lower, how would you compare it to the Revel f226be? I know that used to be one of your favorites and it can be had on sale for $5k also.
You are a fantastic reviewer 👍
Nice review, these look interesting.
Erin can you give the klh kandall a try... like to hear your opinion!!!
Thank you Erin!
You've never reviewed my present speakers and I hope you never do. I'm perfectly happy and don't want my parade rained on, lol.