Mo Fi OML 1 bookshelf monitor

[JohnMichael]

I noticed that Music Direct has the OML 1 speakers discounted for clearance. Anyone have any experience with this speaker? They look well made and what little I have read so far indicates they would be good for the discounted price. Thanks for any input.

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/72604

[audio amateur]

That's definitely a good discount if it is one.

[PeruvianSkies]

Those are good speakers, but you have to really like neutral sounding speakers. A friend of mine used to have the OML-2 before he switched to Martin Logans.

[JohnMichael]

The other day I was saying to myself, self you need to jump in the car and drive to Columbus and listen to speakers. The Onkyo is a nice amp and I thought I would get it a new pair of speakers for Christmas. I bought the Ascends in January and they are great speakers for the money but the Onkyo showed me I need to kick it up a notch. Well later that day I found myself using the telephone and ordering the OML 1's.

Well they just arrived. They were very cold and I am letting them warm up at low volumes. They are so handsome. So far they are singing very sweetly. One of the first sounds that impressed me was on Rickie Lee Jones "it's like this" was that for the first time I heard clear seperation between the keyboard and piano in one of her songs. The speaker has better imaging and a more holographic soundstage. It is too soon to comment on bass response. Good first impressions and much cleaner then the Ascends. I am sure the heavy braced cabinet helps along with the quality drivers.

They were interesting to unpack. I opened the outer box to find an inner box suspended by 8 foam corners. Next I opened the inner box to find two individual boxes. I opened the first of the two boxes and found the speaker suspended by 8 more foam corners. Nothing was going to get to those speakers. I lifted the first speaker out and it was wrapped in plastic. After removing the plastic I had to take the speaker out of it's blue velvet bag. I love the look and shape of the speaker. The front baffle is not much larger than the drivers.

Well back to listening.

[PeruvianSkies]

The other day I was saying to myself, self you need to jump in the car and drive to Columbus and listen to speakers. The Onkyo is a nice amp and I thought I would get it a new pair of speakers for Christmas. I bought the Ascends in January and they are great speakers for the money but the Onkyo showed me I need to kick it up a notch. Well later that day I found myself using the telephone and ordering the OML 1's.

Well they just arrived. They were very cold and I am letting them warm up at low volumes. They are so handsome. So far they are singing very sweetly. One of the first sounds that impressed me was on Rickie Lee Jones "it's like this" was that for the first time I heard clear seperation between the keyboard and piano in one of her songs. The speaker has better imaging and a more holographic soundstage. It is too soon to comment on bass response. Good first impressions and much cleaner then the Ascends. I am sure the heavy braced cabinet helps along with the quality drivers.

They were interesting to unpack. I opened the outer box to find an inner box suspended by 8 foam corners. Next I opened the inner box to find two individual boxes. I opened the first of the two boxes and found the speaker suspended by 8 more foam corners. Nothing was going to get to those speakers. I lifted the first speaker out and it was wrapped in plastic. After removing the plastic I had to take the speaker out of it's blue velvet bag. I love the look and shape of the speaker. The front baffle is not much larger than the drivers.

Well back to listening.

Did you get the Walnut finish on them? My friend had the Ivory finish, which I never was really fond of, but they sounded great, incredibly neutral though.

[basite]

congrats,

will you review them here?

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[JohnMichael]

I purchased the black ash model. My equipment is black as is the stand and speaker stands. In my living room I have several antiques in different woods so black is a good neutral choice. Yes they are neutral but not as forward as the Ascends but not as recessed as the SuperOnes. They demonstrate the need for a good solid braced cabinet. I am hearing lots of new things in the music. Lots of good things.

Bert I will review them after some weeks of music. Mo Fi suggests playing them at moderate levels for the first 75 hours. I always wonder if they are talking about 75 clock hours or 75 playing music hours. Probably the latter. The brochure also stated I will continue to hear improvements up to 300 hours of play. The Onkyo seems to play well with the OML 1's.

[Jack in Wilmington]

I purchased the black ash model. My equipment is black as is the stand and speaker stands. In my living room I have several antiques in different woods so black is a good neutral choice. Yes they are neutral but not as forward as the Ascends but not as recessed as the SuperOnes. They demonstrate the need for a good solid braced cabinet. I am hearing lots of new things in the music. Lots of good things.

Bert I will review them after some weeks of music. Mo Fi suggests playing them at moderate levels for the first 75 hours. I always wonder if they are talking about 75 clock hours or 75 playing music hours. Probably the latter. The brochure also stated I will continue to hear improvements up to 300 hours of play. The Onkyo seems to play well with the OML 1's.

Very Nice. Congrats. They look similar to the Opera "Callas" speakers, and that's not a bad thing to be sure. If I wasn't getting new speakers in the spring time, I'd take a flyer on them.

[JohnMichael]

Very Nice. Congrats. They look similar to the Opera "Callas" speakers, and that's not a bad thing to be sure. If I wasn't getting new speakers in the spring time, I'd take a flyer on them.

Thanks Jack. Several of the reviews I read mentioned that they are very similar to the Von Schweikert VR-1's. One reviewer called them a tweaked version. May I ask which speakers you are considering?

[bobsticks]

Hey, congrats John. Given the others that you were considering this is an unexpected choice but I can't belive that Mobile Fidelity would put their name on anything that didn't deliver the goods. I look forward to hearing your impressions as things develop.

After re-reading your revised gear list it looks like you're getting into serious synergy over there. I bet you have one outstanding listening space.


Cheers

[Jack in Wilmington]

Thanks Jack. Several of the reviews I read mentioned that they are very similar to the Von Schweikert VR-1's. One reviewer called them a tweaked version. May I ask which speakers you are considering?

Now that's a very good thing, considering that the VR-1's are discontinued. As for myself, after extensive auditioning my short list had twindled to two. The Usher X-719 is the front runner followed by the Dynaudio Focus 140. But as the months went by as I was saving up my money, a couple other speakers have come into the picture. The Opera Callas and the Dali Helicon 300. Both would probably be a used purchase off Audiogon. Of course when a great deal like you got comes along you can never tell.

[jrhymeammo]

Congrats to you JM.

I'd never considered MoFi loudspeakers cuz I thought they were all 84 dB sens. You just sprouted my curiousity since I'm in a market for a pair of bookshelf.
Maybe I should finally come up there and hangout.

Congrats on your new pair, man. There's been some nice new toys for ARers but you are stacking them up this year.

J in W,

Dali would be a great choice, and looks like they are having some incredle sales all over the net. Not sure how much of an upgrade mk2 will be over their 1s, but I've always loved their Helicon line and up.

JRA

[JohnMichael]

Congrats to you JM.

I'd never considered MoFi loudspeakers cuz I thought they were all 84 dB sens. You just sprouted my curiousity since I'm in a market for a pair of bookshelf.
Maybe I should finally come up there and hangout.

JRA

The towers sensitivity were rated at 84 db but the bookshelf is 88 db. The Onkyo is very nice but I do not think it could do 84 db. It is so nice to hear the body of Joshua Bell's violin. I was listening to Mike Ness "Under the Influences" today and it was nice to hear drums with speed and impact. Good things I have heard on friends very high end systems I am starting to hear on mine. Of course you are welcome any time.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Congrats to you JM.

I'd never considered MoFi loudspeakers cuz I thought they were all 84 dB sens. You just sprouted my curiousity since I'm in a market for a pair of bookshelf.
Maybe I should finally come up there and hangout.

Congrats on your new pair, man. There's been some nice new toys for ARers but you are stacking them up this year.

J in W,

Dali would be a great choice, and looks like they are having some incredle sales all over the net. Not sure how much of an upgrade mk2 will be over their 1s, but I've always loved their Helicon line and up.

JRA

I would like to hear the Dali's if I could. I've listened to the Mark and Daniel Maximus speaker with that small ribbon tweater and would like to know if the Dali's have a similar sound. With a bit more bottom end than the M and D's would be nice.

[JohnMichael]

I recently purchased taller pillars for my Sanus stands because the Ascends needed the height. This brought the tweeter closer to ear level. When I received the MoFi OML 1 I placed them at the same height since the speakers were the same height. Today I realized that with the 5 degree tilt the speakers needed to be back on the stands with the shorter pillar. 24 inches is a good stand for the OML 1's. I have been looking at better speaker stands and I am glad I realized this before spending a couple of hundred dollars on sturdy fully welded stands.

Another intersting discovery is that for some reason the OML 1's did not sound their best with the AlphaCore MI1 speaker cable. I will try them again after more break in but they were mostly midrange with very little highs or lows. Very strange and this was in the first day of playing music. Bass is improving so I know the woofer is loosening up a bit. If things keep getting better I will be a very happy man.

Now I need to go back and read everyones' cd player suggestions. The Marantz 5001 has held up well with the improvements but the bug for better sound has bitten. A new cd player will not be until early next year. I need to have some time to familiarize myself with all the changes I have made.