Andrew Jones Does It Again
SourcePoint now has a floorstander
This holy beast bears the number 888.
As many of you know, Andrew Jones, the rock-star loudspeaker designer behind ELAC and more, was given a secret lair in Los Angeles, a blank check, and a blank sheet, to design an all-new loudspeaker for MoFi Electronics.
The results were the SourcePoint 8 and 10, two behemoth standmounts that combine the delicacy of two-way point source drivers with the chest-thumping kick of big woofers. "The briefs," says Andrew, "were great bass, and mid-century modern design, with a throwback to the seventies big woofers and studio systems."
Creating a two-way concentric driver is a real challenge, especially, as Andrew jokes, "I've gone on the record saying the best two-way is a three-way."
When you use a dome tweeter in a concentric design, the surrounding mid or bass driver functions as a waveguide for the tweeter. The less that "waveguide" moves, the better. In a three-way, the driver-as-waveguide is a mid, so it has less movement than it does in a two-way, where the "waveguide" is a woofer, and needs to make big waves.
For SourcePoint 8 and 10, the solution was to use a huge woofer, powerful magnet control, and a massive front baffle to ensure lots of bass with minimal driver travel, thereby giving the tweeter a consistent and controlled waveguide.
From Two-Way to Three-Way
With the floorstanding SourcePoint 888, these constraints ease, but the philosophy continues with a huge 8" mid, and two 8" woofers. Such a large midrange means the 888 makes music with a ton of heart, a sound that's richly resonant with the chests of singers, the bodies of guitars, and the cavities of drums.
With the bass drivers freed from waveguide duties, Andrew can get away with two slightly smaller units, but both still a hefty 8", bringing more speed and extension to the SourcePoint's already legendary bass output. He did consider 10" woofers, but that would make the cabinet enormous. Maybe that's next, the SourcePoint XXX?
The 888's new bass drivers are, of course, completely designed in-house, just like all the other drivers. "I'm not just going to buy bass drivers off the shelf," says Andrew at AXPONA, in a video for HiFi Turtle. "Never done that."
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| $4,995.00 |
| MoFi SourcePoint 888 (pair) |
Roll by and Gather some Moss
We've written here before how Upscale employees rarely agree on anything audio, which is hugely advantageous to you, the customer. After all, we don't stock any bad products, we have products that are either right or wrong for you, and there's going to be somebody on our team who shares your taste.
Earlier this week, though, we had one of those unicorn moments when everyone in the room agreed on something. We were in Focal Naim training with Chris Shaw, product specialist at Focal Naim America, and he asked us what we thought of the Moss Green High Gloss finish of the new Focal Aria Evo X series. We universally agreed this was a speaker we'd take home. The green (which apparently looks blue in sunlight) contrasts perfectly with the flax drivers, creating a speaker that's lock-step harmonious, even standing still.
Also visiting was Brad Crawford of Focal's distributor Pacific Coast Rep Group. Brad is an avowed Klipsch fanatic and long-time industry insider (read, not easily impressed). He recounted how he had taken a pair of the Aria No2 home and was genuinely, deeply impressed.
At training, Chris reiterated that Focal doesn't just make its own drivers, it makes the perfect driver for each cabinet. A 6.5" flax driver on an Aria No2 is not the same as the one on a Kanta No2. There are six different beryllium tweeters.
Aria Evo X marks ten years since the last change to Aria with a new Al-Mg alloy M-profile tweeter, and Focal's tuned mass dampers in all driver surrounds, previously used only in Kanta and above. The green finish is in high demand across the world, so roll on by and gather your moss today!
New Video: The Fyne Vintage Fifteen
"We're moving a lot of air here."
Kevin Deal shares the stage with Max Maud, sales and marketing director of Fyne Audio , and they're both upstaged by a magnificent Fyne Audio VIntage Fifteen with its 75 mm titanium dome tweeter and 15" IsoFlare driver. "We're moving a lot of air here," says Max, but reminds us it's all controlled by the amazing patented BassTrax port, that offers the widest possible dispersion. Plus, it's all made in Scotland.