Mo-Fi stands for “True Mobile High Fidelity”. Now you can have studio-quality, high fidelity sound on any device, anywhere. Mo-Fi is the first headphone designed around an integrated hi-fi amplifier. Since Mo-Fi doesn’t rely on another device for power it can have custom drivers that are power hungry-and extremely accurate.
List Price: $ 349.99
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Unique and Worthwhile If You Want to Up Your Sound! Bonus Desktop Rig Sound!,
I thought I had pretty much all of my headphones needs covered as I own the Sennheiser HD-650, Bose QC20i, and the B&W P5 and P7. With the exception of the Sennheiser HD-650 the other headphones were great for mobile use. Meaning I would be using them in the office, the coffee shop, or flying commercial airlines. When I saw these internally amplified headphones and unique design I just had to give them a try.
I was surprised how great these sounded with my IOS devices (iPad Air and iPhone 5s). The sound they give is rich and full, but not overwhelming. I suppose they would not appeal to those who are of the “flat sound school”. They are not analytical. I liken them to a very analog sound verging on an almost tube like sound, but very still responsive.
As you probably know many audiophiles amplify their mobile devices with external/outboard amplifiers and DAC’s. I’ve gone that route some years ago with a portable CD player no less (Headroom Headphones rig). However, even the more modern solutions do not currently appeal to me. The deployment and carry requirements for every day mobile use are just a bit too daunting, let alone the cost of even higher end external mobile solutions.
With my IOS devices I mainly used them with in the amplifier “On” position. I did not use the “On+” position much as I didn’t think it was needed. I suspect that there may be some types of music that this would benefit. I did like the “On+” with some Acoustic Alchemy music. But all in all I kept the “On” position in play.
I also like that the lows, mid-range, and highs are all clearly heard in a well balanced presentation. The music doesn’t step on the vocals. It all blends nicely. I’m kind of a sound stage freak and I found that while good I think the sound stage is wider on my P7 headphones, and certainly wider on my HD-650. Then again experts tell me that “closed” headphones are always somewhat soundstage challenged.
A really unexpected bonus is that this headphone sounded great with my desktop amplifier and DAC rig while listening to tunes from my iMac. In fact this made the purchase of these headphones even more satisfying. I know Blue is pushing these as a mobile solution, but if you have a desktop rig you too might be surprised how well these headphones scale up in sound with the internal headphone amplifier off. The driver design on these cans have really paid off!
Having said that you do have to be careful operating this headphones. You do want to turn off the amplifier when plugging and unplugging them from your source. This is common sense I know. But it is easy to forget if your used to the simple chain of headphones/earbuds to mobile device.
Fit and finish seem good for the price. I would like to have the amplifier switch more articulated.
I wish the ear pads had a leather or velour option. The memory foam “pleather” is comfortable as long as you are not in a hot environment. The memory foam and closed headphone design passively keep the outside sound down. No Bose like electronic noise reduction is going on with these headphones. Given that excellent sound keeping the electronic noise reduction out of the mix is probably a good thing.
Many have made comment about the weight of these headphones. Yes, they are pretty substantial in design and weight. But I’ve worn them for up to four hours without discomfort. The armature like adjustments work great once you dial them in. I was getting a little jaw discomfort until I adjusted them just right. I am hoping that the supplied bag with swallow them up just as I have them set. Otherwise I’ll be dialing in the perfect fit every time I take them out of the bag.
I like the fact that the headphone amplifier with turn itself off when you pull them off your head. I was disappointed that there was no built in microphone for iPhone use. I also felt that the auto off feature should communicate with the IOS device to stop playing the music. Maybe that is a lot to ask. I thought the round inline control on the headphone cable was hard to use as it rolled between my fingers.
The proprietary cable connections worry me. If you lose the accessories your won’t find a Radio Shack or Best Buy rescue. The accessories supplied are very well thought out. A short cable for mobile and an a long cord for desktop rigs are supplied. So is an adapter from mini-plug to a full sized amplifier. Though that too is proprietary as the shaft on the plugin is the longest I’ve ever seen.
I’d like to see some high end, third party cable options. Blue Moon cables for a product made by another manufacturer called Blue would be sweet! Blue on Blue 😉 Well if that happens let us hope the esoteric cable doesn’t cost as much as the headphone.
Blue’s first headphone effort this is very unique and an extraordinary piece of equipment. I’ve read on the Internet they have another…
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Music fan’s DREAM Headphones!,
Upon opening the box, I was immediately impressed. The way that the headphones feel is like sitting in a Bentley for the first time – high quality and luxurious. All of the materials are top notch– from the cables to the ear cups.
The way the headphones fit is equally impressive. I’m not sure what the mechanism is that adjusts to your head, but it must be patented because I’ve never seen anything like it and it fits like nothing else. I really like that you can adjust the angle of the ear cups (this will make sense when you try them on) . This is a big feature to me, because I notice that some headphones make me fatigued because the angle of the ear cups is fixed. The MO FI ear cups adjusts easily so that even a guy with my ears can fit them properly. Great underrated feature of the MO FI.
I actually wore these on the first day for four hours and it was comfortable all the way through. I even walked my dog for the first hour with them on, so I was moving around a lot. Still felt great.
Now, to the important part – the sound! I checked these out in all three modes. My favorite mode is On without the “+”. That means the active circuit is on and the headphones are rocking. In this mode I listened to some rock (Dead Sara) and a score by John Williams. Sounded fantastic. Great mids – not harsh from the active circuit, just warm and articulate. Drums sound huge and the vocals are just swimming. Strings sound full and rich while the brass sounds bright without being glassy.
I then tried out the “On+.” Checked out Kaskade’s new record and a couple of tracks off of my favorite Jay-Z record (Blueprint 3!). I heard things in these songs that I’ve never heard because of these headphones and believe me, I’ve given the Blueprint 3 quite a few spins. Bass is fat and punchy, not sloppy and exaggerated like some expensive kiddie headphones. The “+” doesn’t take away from the articulation of any of the midrange though, just swings the bass frequencies into the fold. Great sound for Pop too.
I tried “Off” also and they are quite possibly, the best sounding passive headphones I’ve ever heard. If my batteries go out, I can rest assured, I’m still getting great quality sound without the active circuit.
All in all, these are terrific sounding, amazing feeling headphones. I can definitely say that if I misplaced or had them stolen from me, I would replace them in a heartbeat. I’ve heard intricacies in the music that I’ve never heard in songs that I’ve heard all of my life. I love love love the MO FIs!
Anyway, enough writing for me – I gotta go put these MO FI’s back on and get back to loving my music collection…
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Most fun listening in years,
Then I converted my CDs to MP3s, then later put those on an iPod and stopped listening to music in a single room. That meant losing the headphone amp, but it seemed a good tradeoff given the gain in mobility. Gradually I forgot what I had lost in terms of sound quality.
The last several years I’ve been using the Bose noise cancelers. I thought they were fine until I put on these mofos, uh, Mo-Fi’s. Cued up some old Mars Volta. Dang, I forgot how much of a difference really great headphones can make.
OK, some particulars: unboxing, the MoFi’s seem like an Apple product (minus the white). Very well-designed package that gives you an indication that this product was put together with care and pride. The headphones themselves seem incredibly substantial given the price. I always kind of resented the fact that my Bose noise cancelers cost as much as they did but had a cheap plastic feel. This is not an issue with the Mo-Fi’s. They have a sturdy, rubberized cord and a very substantial body, with a unique, collapsible design that has the benefit of automatically turning off the power when you remove them.
Now, onto sound. I listened to The Mars Volta’s “Viscera Eyes” on both the Bose and the MoFi’s and the difference is incredible. I couldn’t believe how much detail I was missing with the Bose. The Mo-Fi’s rock like nobody’s business. The internal amp made a bigger difference than I expected. It’s enough that I think it will probably change the music I listen to, and how much I pay attention to it. And that’s a good thing.
If you think about consumer electronics in general over the past half century, there’s been this constant drive towards miniaturization of components, so that things that used to be independent devices (like MP3 players or digital cameras) can now be incorporated into a single device, such as a smartphone. With the Mo-Fi’s, Blue is bringing this trend to headphones. No external amp, it’s all inside. I’m amazed they are doing it at such a competitive price.
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