Loudspeakers

Big Ten
This statuesque loudspeaker put me in mind of other large-box, ported American standmounts with big bass drivers – Klipsch's Heresy IV [HFN Nov '20] and JBL's 4349 [HFN Mar '21] – so I was half-expecting it to sound similar. Yet both those feature horn-loaded compression drivers (two, in the case of the Klipsch three-way), yielding, to different degrees, a more candid, almost forceful, presentation of the upper frequencies. MoFi's speaker takes a different approach, sounding a little more reticent to really hammer out details. So it's not an 'in your face' speaker; it's always musical and evocative. Moreover, that 250mm driver is well-behaved, giving bass a tight, tuneful quality, although it can still terrify with the right material.

London Grammar's 'Hey Now' [If You Wait; Metal & Dust Recordings MADART1], a regular acid test of the low-end, found the SourcePoint 10 easily outgunning conventional standmount rivals with the size and weight it brought to the notes that underpin the second verse. The bass was voluminous and deep enough to convey, if not entirely, the lowest tones. A glance at MoFi's woofer showed it barely seeming to move, whereas I've witnessed this track cause smaller, more excursive cones to wobble frantically. Less demands were put on it by Black Sabbath's 'God Is Dead?' [13, Vertigo 3735426], and it gave an excellent rendition of Geezer Butler's bass playing, not only the slow, deep notes, but the sound of his instrument's strings being plucked with force.

There's no dedicated midrange driver here, yet the speaker shows a fine grasp of instrumental and vocal tones. Wagner's Das Rheingold prelude, performed by the Berlin Philharmoniker under Herbert von Karajan [DG 457 781-2], features the full orchestra pit, bar the percussion. The SourcePoint 10s held the long bass notes from start to finish, and confidently laid on the strings and the woodwind so that by the time it reached its crescendo, there was a wall of sound with ample texture and detail.

On The Flaming Lips' 'Waiting For Superman' [The Soft Bulletin; Warner Records 44.1kHz/24-bit], sustained honky-tonk piano chords had a pleasing resonance and cut through the drums and synths. Yet this piece wasn't without a few bumps in the road. The speaker's forthright lows found a mode in my room that coloured the impact, forcing some re-evaluation of their positioning. More noteworthy, and perhaps indicative of the task set by MoFi of the speaker's 33mm tweeter, there was some lack of that elusive high-end 'sparkle' to the hi-hat.

Mind's Eye
Generally, however, the SourcePoint 10s sound well-balanced from bottom to top, avoiding a glassy or overly bright treble. And what I'll ascribe in part to those concentric drivers is a wonderful synergy across the range, and a sense of music being effortlessly crafted. Hannah Reid's vocals on London Grammar's debut album are often described as haunting, but I've rarely heard her sound so spectral; a free-floating central presence, and one that remained captivating even when listening off-axis. Like the eyes on a Renaissance painting, she seemed to follow me around the room.

Another test of the soundstage was Robin Trower's 'Bridge Of Sighs' [Living Out Of Time – Live; Ruf Records 96kHz/24-bit], which evoked the band on a stage. It was easy to visualise Trower's Hendrix-esque guitar, all grit and snarl, blasting out adjacent to the drum kit. And on Bob Marley & The Wailers' brilliantly recorded 'Turn Your Lights Down Low' [Exodus; Island Records/UME, 96kHz/24-bit], there was a more vivid, precise placement of the varied instruments to go alongside the smooth, comforting tone wrought by the MoFi SourcePoint 10s.

With modern dance tracks that care little about stereo imaging, these speakers get on with sounding full-range and subjectively uniform. Trance anthem 'Carte Blache', by Veracoche [Pure Trance Classics; New State Music NEWCD9068], thundered along with a punchy kick drum and synth notes that ebbed and flowed through the midband, while DJ Brockie and Ed Solo's drum 'n' bass piece 'Represent' [Undiluted 44.1kHz/

16-bit download] was less musical, more visceral. Both proved MoFi's woofer isn't slow, particularly with the deliberately jerky bass on the Brockie track, and with the McIntosh amp as back up the SourcePoint 10s smashed out these nightclub staples. Unsurprisingly, given their proven spec. and sheer size, they can be cajoled into sounding far larger than a staple standmount.

Hi-Fi News Verdict
Many enthusiasts will have room to accommodate MoFi's debut loudspeaker and be rewarded by a cleverly designed two-way standmount that nails the high output, full-range, easy-to-drive brief. The SourcePoint 10 conjures floorstander-esque bass, allied to a rich, involving tone and imaging nous that makes your music sing. Sure, it's unconventional, but some out-of-the-box thinking by Andrew Jones has paid dividends.