I think new pre/power combo Mercury/Solis which is comming from Rega next year will be the right amp-engine for this extraordinary speakers. Ophidian is already well respected brand even small one. Topic of resale value is more valid for people who twist speakers each two years. Great video, thanks😉.
Thanks for sharing the content. What a lucky community to have you. Quality HiFi shops are rare these days. Even in the Chicagoland area. I have to drive an hour to a shop. It’s worth it every time.
Great video Phil as always and i applaud your comments regarding the smaller companies that strive to create the best they can with their limited budget. I love the look of the Ffion's . . . would love to hear them when i pop over. :)
I came very close to buying the Mojo 2 a few years ago, but ended up with the Neat Motive instead. Both speakers were absolutely superb, the mojo sounded enormous and are well worth a listen and consideration.
@@markjohnathanappleton8642 the mojo 2 had a massive and impressive soundstage, which I felt could possibly get tiring. I felt it was something that you would use to impress your mates with (massive sound from tiny box) but I was not sure what it would be like to live with long term. The Neat Motive SX3 just sounded more natural in the presentation. Also the Neat worked better at lower volumes with the Brio, the Ophidian needed a bit more volume to really come to life. But when they came to life, boy were they good. As I live in a Semi-detached, low to moderate volume listening is important to me. It was a very close call, the Neat just seemed ‘right’ for me and a safer all-round option. The Ophidian was a bit more of a party animal.
I think it's true that well healed consumers/ enthusiasists will take a chance on niche products , whether considered expensive or not. But then, in fairness , the average consumer may be inclined to buy products they know by reputation and that they feel will offer support in the product package. Of course, a speaker that size will fit nicely in the sort of room you might think it would, for the sort of consumer it is being directed at. Nothing random in any of that.
Agree with all of that. People with more sense than money will wait and buy slightly used low volume niche speakers ( As with cars). There is a pair of used Voodoos on E.bay right now which could probably be had for just over £3k, They cost £16k new!
Thank you for your review Phil. It's a shame I'm the opposite end of the country to you, because I get the feeling that our taste in speakers is very similar. I really like the ranges you stock. The Ffion's are too spicy for me price-wise, but I appreciate there is a market for that price point too. Would definitely like to have an extended listen of the Minimo, Mojo and Mambo though. Maybe I should arrange a holiday in your direction soon. Hmmm. I wish Ophidian every success with these.
I predicted that you would say Royds when people came in for Missions, because that’s exactly what I used to do! Sometimes I’d win, but people who wanted a pair of party speakers left with a pair of Missions!
When you get into the over 5 grand market there’s an awful lot of competition out there and they have to be very very very good because you are up there with the big boys 🤔so good luck
Not a rant at all. Is there not an association of small independent manufacturers and stores that everyone contributes to which could pool resources to do social media campaigns and other publicity more? Love my Ophidian Mojo 1's, by the way. ♥️
Wonder where Rega stand in your manufacturer standing? They have some new speakers called the Aya which you haven't said anything about. You are a Rega dealer are you not?
Eew! Strange looking! I wouldn’t have them in my house! I’m awaiting delivery of a pair of Serhan Swift Mu2 mkll from Australia! I home demoed them recently, they sound wonderful! I totally agree with your ‘rant’ (it didn’t come over as that). I have only seen a few reviews of the Serhan Swift speakers, never seen an advert for them…but I have listened to them at home for nearly two weeks. That made my mind up, they are superb!
Re-sale value is VERY important. Your current speakers are a springboard to your next speaker. It's horrible, I know, but a less well known manufacturer's speakers will never hold it's price like a better known one... unless this speaker gains some traction in the overcrowded market. You might not even be able to re-sell it, or it may take a long time and you will have to take a massive hit from the drop in price you have to accept. This is not a judgment, simply a reality.
Agreed. We are looking at £3k a pair used value ( If you are lucky) . There is a pair of Voodoos on E.bay right now which are open to offers over £3k. They were £16k new. Yikes! Its like buying a new Morgan for £100k and only being offered £25k for it in PX three years later. A big chunk of the new price of small specialist niche manufacturers speakers like these is dealer mark up and VAT not components. I know. Im an ex hifi salesman. The Peerless 830656 bass / midrange units that Neat use in their Motive range cost them about £20 to buy in, maybe less. ( I have Motive 3s by the way)
They're certainly an interesting design with the ventilation holes in the back, but £8k for a pyramid shaped HDF box? Good point about marketing and PR. It must be next to impossible for new speaker companies to break through in 2024.
I can see how the design has been intuitively created, which is basically a more shapely Neat design, and the business philosophy. The footprint of the plinths would be impossible to easily accommodate in most UK living rooms however and the price rules them out for most anyway.
@@Benvos Hi. Yes, I am aware of that, but to get the best out of them you need the plinths ( Apparently) and if you dont have them, you will suffer from FOMO .
@@devaplan You ABSOLUTELY don't need those plinths. They are being used here them because the listening room he uses is upstairs with wooden floorboards which resonate and make the bass really boom. Downstairs concrete floors won't have this issue. There are other options for floorstander isolation on floorboards that don't have anywhere near the footprint of these isolation plinth 'beasts'. Isoacoustics Gaia being one.
I have just bought some DALI Opticon 6s. They are awesome. £1500. So when I hear someone gushing over speakers costing £8.5k I find myself thinking 'well if they weren't awesome, I'd be f**king furious!'
They are an upside down Castle Inversion. A Castle Eversion? I like the look, but 8 grand seems a bit of a reach. The small drivers remind me of Totem Acoustics speakers. Of course if they sound wonderful then 8 grand is fair enough. PS. Looked at the Voodoo and he is asking £4000 for a very ordinary aluminium plinth. That is crazy.
I thought he said 4 grand, yeah too expensive. would cost him about £500ish to make. you can't be charging that for an unknown company I would say about 1200£ is a fair and realistic prices
It looks a big price for the size. But when you compare to most other manufacturers, they are quite reasonable. I agree with Phil that smaller, new companies usually offer much better value and sometimes/often better sound than the big boys, who are primarily driven by bean counters mostly interested in profit.
Since when do large speakers not perform well in small rooms? That's such a common urban myth. My room is 3.6mcby 3.8m. My speakers are Horns FP15s as in 15" bass drivers and they work superbly well. There's no relationship between room size and speaker size - it's all in the interaction between the two.
I'd like to think we know he means no necessarily bad relationship. The speaker/room interaction obviously becomes increasingly important depending on playback volume.
@@devaplan I haven’t. The room speaker interaction is independent of the size of either the room or the speaker. I ad the smaller fp10s before the larger fp15s and the smaller speakers over energised the room with bass whereas the larger speakers play wonderfully
Reviewing speakers in a room that doesn't have extensive acoustic treatment is pointless. By extensive I mean all surfaces fully covered by traps. About 50% porous traps and 50% sealed membrane traps. The sealed membrane traps should be designed to be centre tuned to the standing wave frequencies in the room. Also extensive acoustic room treatment of this standard allows the use of very big speakers in a small room with no bass problems at all. Only problem is that it's very expensive to achieve even if you design and build the traps yourself as I have done several times.
You have a point but, 99.9% of potential buyers would be misled as they dont have the luxury of such a room. Its like saying that reviewing a Skoda Karoq is pointless unless its tested at Millbrook.
@@devaplan Okay I understand. The last listening room I treated was about 3,2m by 3.5m. Total cost was around £3000. Not too bad if you want astonishing sound quality. Also I own my house and live alone so no woman telling me what to do.
![BABYMONSTER - 'DRIP' M/V REACTION [WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS!!!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/t0Lpgr1jo3Y/mqdefault.jpg)
I think new pre/power combo Mercury/Solis which is comming from Rega next year will be the right amp-engine for this extraordinary speakers. Ophidian is already well respected brand even small one. Topic of resale value is more valid for people who twist speakers each two years. Great video, thanks😉.
Thanks for sharing the content. What a lucky community to have you. Quality HiFi shops are rare these days. Even in the Chicagoland area. I have to drive an hour to a shop. It’s worth it every time.
I listened to the Ffions at the North West Audio Show and was very impressed with them. Great looking too which is a plus.
At the end Phil you are making a really really important point and well made it is Sir
Great video Phil as always and i applaud your comments regarding the smaller companies that strive to create the best they can with their limited budget. I love the look of the Ffion's . . . would love to hear them when i pop over. :)
I came very close to buying the Mojo 2 a few years ago, but ended up with the Neat Motive instead. Both speakers were absolutely superb, the mojo sounded enormous and are well worth a listen and consideration.
Just out of interest why did you for the neat,as also in both
@@markjohnathanappleton8642 the mojo 2 had a massive and impressive soundstage, which I felt could possibly get tiring. I felt it was something that you would use to impress your mates with (massive sound from tiny box) but I was not sure what it would be like to live with long term. The Neat Motive SX3 just sounded more natural in the presentation. Also the Neat worked better at lower volumes with the Brio, the Ophidian needed a bit more volume to really come to life. But when they came to life, boy were they good. As I live in a Semi-detached, low to moderate volume listening is important to me. It was a very close call, the Neat just seemed ‘right’ for me and a safer all-round option. The Ophidian was a bit more of a party animal.
These look great, a wood finish would seal the deal!
Great! Waiting for the complete review of the aura mc phono
I like your rant and 100% agree with you.
Heard them at Cranage earlier in the year. Absolutely fabulous. A bit less keen on the looks but very interesting.
I think it's true that well healed consumers/ enthusiasists will take a chance on niche products , whether considered expensive or not. But then, in fairness , the average consumer may be inclined to buy products they know by reputation and that they feel will offer support in the product package. Of course, a speaker that size will fit nicely in the sort of room you might think it would, for the sort of consumer it is being directed at. Nothing random in any of that.
Agree with all of that. People with more sense than money will wait and buy slightly used low volume niche speakers ( As with cars). There is a pair of used Voodoos on E.bay right now which could probably be had for just over £3k, They cost £16k new!
Very wise words and thats why most of my hi-fi is vintage its sounds more musical !
Look like Totems. Great review. Thanks!
Well said 👌
Thank you for your review Phil. It's a shame I'm the opposite end of the country to you, because I get the feeling that our taste in speakers is very similar. I really like the ranges you stock. The Ffion's are too spicy for me price-wise, but I appreciate there is a market for that price point too. Would definitely like to have an extended listen of the Minimo, Mojo and Mambo though. Maybe I should arrange a holiday in your direction soon. Hmmm. I wish Ophidian every success with these.
Well said .
I predicted that you would say Royds when people came in for Missions, because that’s exactly what I used to do! Sometimes I’d win, but people who wanted a pair of party speakers left with a pair of Missions!
When you get into the over 5 grand market there’s an awful lot of competition out there and they have to be very very very good because you are up there with the big boys 🤔so good luck
Not a rant at all. Is there not an association of small independent manufacturers and stores that everyone contributes to which could pool resources to do social media campaigns and other publicity more?
Love my Ophidian Mojo 1's, by the way. ♥️
Wonder where Rega stand in your manufacturer standing? They have some new speakers called the Aya which you haven't said anything about. You are a Rega dealer are you not?
Eew! Strange looking! I wouldn’t have them in my house!
I’m awaiting delivery of a pair of Serhan Swift Mu2 mkll from Australia!
I home demoed them recently, they sound wonderful!
I totally agree with your ‘rant’ (it didn’t come over as that). I have only seen a few reviews of the Serhan Swift speakers, never seen an advert for them…but I have listened to them at home for nearly two weeks. That made my mind up, they are superb!
I wish you'd say more about technical aspects of equipment.
what drivers is he using in the speakers? and what order of crossover is he using?
Re-sale value is VERY important. Your current speakers are a springboard to your next speaker. It's horrible, I know, but a less well known manufacturer's speakers will never hold it's price like a better known one... unless this speaker gains some traction in the overcrowded market. You might not even be able to re-sell it, or it may take a long time and you will have to take a massive hit from the drop in price you have to accept. This is not a judgment, simply a reality.
Agreed. We are looking at £3k a pair used value ( If you are lucky) . There is a pair of Voodoos on E.bay right now which are open to offers over £3k. They were £16k new. Yikes! Its like buying a new Morgan for £100k and only being offered £25k for it in PX three years later. A big chunk of the new price of small specialist niche manufacturers speakers like these is dealer mark up and VAT not components. I know. Im an ex hifi salesman. The Peerless 830656 bass / midrange units that Neat use in their Motive range cost them about £20 to buy in, maybe less. ( I have Motive 3s by the way)
I feel the same about Atoll gear... I'm sure they're amazing but can I resell it?
They're certainly an interesting design with the ventilation holes in the back, but £8k for a pyramid shaped HDF box?
Good point about marketing and PR. It must be next to impossible for new speaker companies to break through in 2024.
I can see how the design has been intuitively created, which is basically a more shapely Neat design, and the business philosophy. The footprint of the plinths would be impossible to easily accommodate in most UK living rooms however and the price rules them out for most anyway.
The plinths aren’t part of the speaker, those are to isolate the speaker from the floor. The speaker base ends where the white ends.
@@Benvos Hi. Yes, I am aware of that, but to get the best out of them you need the plinths ( Apparently) and if you dont have them, you will suffer from FOMO .
@@devaplan You ABSOLUTELY don't need those plinths. They are being used here them because the listening room he uses is upstairs with wooden floorboards which resonate and make the bass really boom. Downstairs concrete floors won't have this issue. There are other options for floorstander isolation on floorboards that don't have anywhere near the footprint of these isolation plinth 'beasts'. Isoacoustics Gaia being one.
@@dirtharrisUnderstood, but most older houses in the UK ( Pre 1940s ish) have floorboards with voids underneath on the ground floor.
I have just bought some DALI Opticon 6s. They are awesome. £1500. So when I hear someone gushing over speakers costing £8.5k I find myself thinking 'well if they weren't awesome, I'd be f**king furious!'
I have mk1 bought second hand and they're amazing. The new black ones are the prettiest speakers I've seen.
They are an upside down Castle Inversion. A Castle Eversion?
I like the look, but 8 grand seems a bit of a reach. The small drivers remind me of Totem Acoustics speakers.
Of course if they sound wonderful then 8 grand is fair enough.
PS. Looked at the Voodoo and he is asking £4000 for a very ordinary aluminium plinth. That is crazy.
at over 8 grand, 'm out!
Me too! 😉😱🤐
@@jimsregaturntableshifijukebox Me to Jim
I thought he said 4 grand, yeah too expensive. would cost him about £500ish to make. you can't be charging that for an unknown company I would say about 1200£ is a fair and realistic prices
@@hoobsgroove Agreed. These are actypical example of "Giffen Goods".
It looks a big price for the size. But when you compare to most other manufacturers, they are quite reasonable. I agree with Phil that smaller, new companies usually offer much better value and sometimes/often better sound than the big boys, who are primarily driven by bean counters mostly interested in profit.
Since when do large speakers not perform well in small rooms? That's such a common urban myth. My room is 3.6mcby 3.8m. My speakers are Horns FP15s as in 15" bass drivers and they work superbly well. There's no relationship between room size and speaker size - it's all in the interaction between the two.
You do realise that you have contradicted yourself in your final sentence!
Agreed.
I'd like to think we know he means no necessarily bad relationship.
The speaker/room interaction obviously becomes increasingly important depending on playback volume.
@@devaplan I haven’t. The room speaker interaction is independent of the size of either the room or the speaker. I ad the smaller fp10s before the larger fp15s and the smaller speakers over energised the room with bass whereas the larger speakers play wonderfully
Needs more "Fs" in the name.
£8000!!!! 🤯🤯
I appreciate their prototype but the right speaker needs a hair cut.
They look a bit weird unfortunately
You lost me at £8500. They may sound superb but they need to look far better than they do to shell out that sort of money. Visually not my cup of tea,
Reviewing speakers in a room that doesn't have extensive acoustic treatment is pointless.
By extensive I mean all surfaces fully covered by traps. About 50% porous traps and 50% sealed membrane traps. The sealed membrane traps should be designed to be centre tuned to the standing wave frequencies in the room. Also extensive acoustic room treatment of this standard allows the use of very big speakers in a small room with no bass problems at all. Only problem is that it's very expensive to achieve even if you design and build the traps yourself as I have done several times.
You have a point but, 99.9% of potential buyers would be misled as they dont have the luxury of such a room. Its like saying that reviewing a Skoda Karoq is pointless unless its tested at Millbrook.
@@devaplan Okay I understand. The last listening room I treated was about 3,2m by 3.5m. Total cost was around £3000. Not too bad if you want astonishing sound quality. Also I own my house and live alone so no woman telling me what to do.
To big for most living in the UK
Not those who can budget that much for speakers. Probably looking at circa £15 - £20k total with a top notch amplifier & source ?