Blue Mo-Fi Headphones Review
I’ve had these headphones for two months and used them daily before writing my review. Always keep in mind how much time a reviewer actually spent with the item and how they used it before reading any review.
Right off the bat I can tell you that other than some Koss headphones I used in the late 90s-early 2000s these are simply some of the best sounding headphones that money can reasonably buy. I don’t remember the name or model of those Koss headphones but considering they were made in 1999-2000 they are way out of production even though I would recommend them as well. I’m only mentioning those Koss headphones because for many years those headphones set my standards so high for sound quality in headphones that I consider most headphones to have a garbage sound quality. These Blue Mo-Fi headphones however meet my high standards in sound quality, a nearly impossible feat. They are designed with a real audiophile in mind. With that in mind, know that the designers assume you know what you’re doing with your audio equipment. What I mean by that is that one of the first things you will notice is that these headphones don’t have a volume knob built directly into them. You have to regulate the volume from your audio source which can sometimes complicate their use but it’s also one less component that is less likely to fail over time. Volume regulation can be done directly from your sound source or through one of the modular cables the headphones come with.
The first things you will notice about the Blue Mo-Fi Headphones is how LOUD they can be. The headphones have internal batteries that require no maintenance. The only thing they require is charge should you desire to use the amplied modes. The headphones have three settings: OFF, ON, ON+. OFF is what a normal person will use or what you will want to use most of the time if you’re not doing anything intense. This mode is still pretty loud compared to other headphones and it’s fine for everyday use. ON is when they headphones start to use their internal battery to power the built-in amplifiers (notice I used a plural). In this mode they literally amplify their volume by about what to me seems like 500-700%. All while maintaining this power I didn’t notice distortion in sound quality. ON+ is what you will want to use if you are watching a war movie or listening to heavy metal/industrial/rock music. This mode seems to amplify the volume by about 1000% of what you hear in the OFF mode baseline. ON+ also seems to really kick in the bass compared to the other modes.
The headphones come with a warning on an external paper, in the manual, and on labels in the cable bags to be careful about setting the volume too high on the source of what you connect them to and rightly so this is for a good reason. Do you remember the intro to the movie Back To The Future where Marty McFly goes into Doc Brown’s garage and turns up all the speakers too high only to explode the entire sound system and nearly kill himself with the sound? Well, putting your sound source all the way up and on ON+ mode is sort of like that scene except that the headphones will be able to handle the output without losing fidelity but probably your ear drums will be destroyed! In other words, be careful, but the crazy part of my brain says to GO WILD and listen to them as loud as your ears can handle. Without exaggeration the Mo-Fi Headphones sound better and louder than the best music concerts and night clubs I have ever been to and that’s taking into account that in my younger years I liked to stand right next to where the speakers for those places were!
The sound is so crisp and loud that I am starting to hear parts of songs that I never knew existed. I’m even starting to hear all their imperfections. Since these headphones will let you hear everything from the source they will also let you hear any background noise that your source might have (that you probably never noticed before since you were using filtered headphones). On my main gaming PC I can hear the background noise the onboard soundcard makes because the headphones will boost all sounds from the signal source. This is only really noticeable to me when I have nothing playing. When I tested it with a better non-built-in sound card there was no background noise because of the superior components of the better sound card. When I tested them with my phone and a portable mp3 player I also heard no built-in noise. I only heard an internal buzzing sound when I was using them amplified and were charging them at the same time.
The next thing you will notice about the Blue Mo-Fi Headphones is how well constructed they are. All major parts are made out of metal. Every time I pick them up it feels like I’m picking up something that’s really well crafted. This feels as well constructed as the inside of a luxury supercar, they’re that refined. The side of the earpieces have hidden LED lights that light up based on the status of the battery (like when it’s charging, etc.). You can adjust the height of where the earpieces are positioned as well as the width of the top support so that people with any size of head can use them. The left earpiece has a connector which is modular so that you can connect one of the two cables it comes with to your preferred audio source. The cables are of different length so depending on what you intend to do you can swap out the cable on the fly depending on your needs.
The cables are also standard audio cables so they are easy to replace should they ever get damaged or lost. This is a huge advantage over most headphones as I can tell you throughout the years of always using headphones that over time cables WILL get damaged unless you are meticulous and/or don’t have any pets/kids. I’ve had to replace many headphones throughout the years usually because a major cable got ruined. One of the cables has a built-in volume adjuster control that will make life easier for you should you use a sound source with no volume control. The earpieces are so well constructed that they block out most external noises. Most of the time when people talk to me while I’m wearing them I can’t even hear them, especially if I’m playing something. This can be a huge benefit if you happen to live in a loud home like I do but there are down sides as well such as increasing the chance of missing phone calls. ;-] They’re great for helping you ignore the world and to me that’s always a good thing! The metal components feel cool and nice to the touch as well.
The Good:
-Metal construction doesn’t mean they will fall apart or crack like plastic headphones usually do.
-Sound dampening will literally hide all external noises.
-They can be extremely loud while still maintaining fidelity.
-Modular cable lets you replace it should it ever get damaged.
-Standard audio cable lets you hook them up to almost anything.
-Built-in amp modes can amplify volume beyond what most people will ever need.
-Best headphones I’ve ever used for listening to rock music.
-Sound quality is so great they will make you want to go back and rehear your entire music collection!
-They come in a well packaged cube that’s worth keeping for storing them. Packaging also includes a bag for transportation as well as adapters that let you hook them up to anything.
-When used in amplified mode they will turn off to save battery should you close the headphones.
-One of the cables it comes with has a built-in volume control which is useful for connecting them to a sound source with no volume control (it’ll prevent you from going deaf!).
-No need to install any software or drivers to make them work.
-The manual is fun to read.
The Bad:
-High cost of $350 can be prohibitive for a lot of people but if you want quality you must pay for it.
-Metal components make them slightly heavier than lighter material counterparts.
-They must be charged in order to use with their amplification (this takes 3-4 hours according to the manual and what I observed in my testing). Good thing is that the battery lasts for a very long time (roughly around 12 hours of charge) and they can still be used unamplified if the battery is depleted. Charger also happens to use a fairly common connector.
-Although loudness is generally a good thing they can literally make you deaf should you crank them up all the way to a very loud sound source. Be careful!!!
Conclusion:
If you love immersion and especially music and can afford to get them these are a must own.
Technical Specs:
AMPLIFIER
-Output power: 240mW -THD+N: 0.004%
-Frequency response: 10Hz-20kHz -SNR, self noise: <105 dB
-Noise: < 20 uV -Battery capacity: 1020mAh
DRIVERS
-Type and size: 50mm, titanium-reinforced dynamic driver
-Impedance: 42 ohms
-Frequency response: 15-20kHz
-Enclosure details: Sealed enclosure with tuned damping materials
HEADPHONES
-Weight: 466 g (16.44 oz) -Outer dimensions (closed): 21mm x14mm x12mm (8.27” x 5.51” x 4.72”)
-Outer dimensions (open): 18mm x 29mm x 12mm (7.09” x 11.42” x 4.72”)
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