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Taken together these qualities made for great microdynamic reflexes and timing. Naturally careful setup is mandatory to optimize this with path lengths that are matched very precisely between left and right speaker. Testing the Mojo casually for a few days in our upstairs 2-channel video system which puts us at just 2 meters had them cohere perfectly. Crossover integration appeared very well done. This was demonstrated by the intelligibility of talk snippets where my wife and I had previously wondered "what the hell did he just say?" With music tracks certain losses don't register. You don't know what you don't know until more resolving gear shows up. With video you know perfectly well was goes missing when dialogue that's delivered too rapidly, with marbles in the mouth, very poor enunciation or barely whispered falls below your threshold of understanding.
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Video often also exhibits greater dynamic range where very low-level ambient data, music and foreground dialogue overlay. The level difference between voices and scenery noises can be greater than between instruments on most music. The Mojo was superbly astute on things like the pin pricks of background rain and various outdoor din in nature settings. This wasn't a case of sounding different but hearing more. The presence of an Amphion Impact 400 subwoofer covered infrasonics. On video those routinely exceed acoustic music on extension and particularly with character-driven fare tend to show up at very subdued levels to register subliminally as mood rather than action-based sounds.
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In the big system and coming off the Fantasia S, I initially found the Mojo a bit lightweight and lean. Switching my Esoteric C-03 preamp to 24dB of voltage gain rectified this in seconds. No other address of cable or amplifier swaps was required. Higher gain simply increased bass power and overall body. The usual compromise on transient impact which accompanies the densification of this setting telegraphed far less than it does on less exacting slower speakers. While I've come across radically more affordable preamps that can equal the Esoteric per se, none of them offered its 0/12/24dB gain options plus ±18dB of input trim. Adjustable voltage gain independent of attenuation acts as a perfectly predictable analog equalizer of sorts. It allows me to compensate review components without rebuilding the system. This better facilitates comparisons and makes the Esoteric well worth its price.
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The Mojo's resistive porting became testament to quality over quantity. It mostly eliminated the resonant ringing which so often accompanies forced vented alignments. Extension was solid to about 40Hz and showed sufficient signs of life below to not seem lacking. The design concept obviously sacrifices brute force and slam/welly. In a room my size however it didn't give any indications of loss unless one knew this going in by coming off something bigger. Admirable here was wisdom of integration and properly reasoned matching of artillery to common space conventions. It meant that the dark shadows of true full-range designs—room boom issues—were absent. If the choice is between more and lower bass at the expense of problems which must be overcome but often aren't; or well integrated non-problematic bass... set & forget domestic types are wildly better off with a Mojo. It deals in reality, not abstract ideals or testosteromonic record attempts. This is an instance where a bit less really can be substantially more.
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Soundstage scale in both depth and width are clear strengths. This goes beyond ubiquitous small speaker equals big stage predictions. Placement accuracy is very high. Tiny percussive elements don't increase in size, wave or wander. Fades don't seem to fizzle out prematurely. Such specificity of lens lock tends to be typical for designs which pay attention to phase errors. Whatever people might believe about their audibility or not, the Mojo's general exactitude makes a good argument in their favor. Unlike Burmester's Heil-type driver implementations which at shows exhibited a strange Teutonic obsession with excessive loudness and upfrontery that was hard as nails, Gryphon's Mundorf tweeter integration doesn't draw attention. The speaker as a whole is obviously fast and meticulous. The ear simply doesn't break it down into "super-fast tweeter with lagging or even well-matched mid/woofers".
In my review of the Fantasia I commented on fabulous dynamic contrast. To me it set a precedent for its maker on how to seamlessly mate cone drivers with pleated diaphragms. Earlier M+D models particularly certain smaller monitors exhibited a tendency of leading with their AMTs. This wasn't on amplitude but dynamic contrast. On top they felt too energetic or snappy. Textural continuity wasn't (continuous). While the Mojo steps back the Fantasia's extreme contrast setting, it does so straight across the board. It ends up just as seamlessly even. Once background volumes recede it's simply not as preternaturally resolved on dynamic difference.
Should you encounter and fall for speakers of Mojo and Fantasia caliber which operate on a higher plateau of transient and microdynamic precision, it's impossible to go back no matter other aspects. The difference is akin to basking in a superbly executed Thai meal where highly keen opposing fresh flavors coexist harmoniously. The next day you cheap out on conventional single flavor fare whose various ingredients have lost their individuality to blend together in the relative anonymity of mush. If you enjoy high flavor contrasts and the intersecting tensions of hot, spicy, sweet, sour and bitter, the Mojo delivers the goods. The slightly smaller portion relative to the gruel the other joint serves becomes sorely irrelevant!
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Envision the mature buck-in-heat roars of Michael Brecker's raunchy baritone saxophone, the younger lither squeals of Perico Sambeat's alto sax, Gerardo Nuñez's silvery flamenco guitar, Carles Benavent's twangy and popping electrical bass, Renaud Garcia-Fons' bel canto five-string upright, Fareed Haque's watery e-guitar, Tino Di Geraldo's prickly drums and Cepillo's slappy cajon all at once [Jazzpaña II]. Presenting this Latinized whole with all its constituents intact and individualized to maintain their various polarities and play off intense flavors and textures... that's where the Mojo excels. If speakers could be amplifiers, the Mojo would be a FirstWatt F5 - fast, resolved, dynamic, smooth yet energetic but not massive, slamming or super rocking.
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The main fallacy with the F5 as stand-in is value. At $3.000 the now discontinued Nelson Pass amp approached setting a record. At €12.500/pr the Gryphon Mojo is an unapologetic luxury item. Since it delivers on sound, that's nothing fundamentally against it. It only pares down appeal and core audience. Given how I segued into this review, it also proves that the silent engineering team behind Gryphon's speaker endeavors plays ball in the top leagues. If you're a Gryphon owner already or always envisioned yourself as one, starting or continuing with a Mojo rather than one of their acclaimed electronics appears just as valid. Again such equality of competence is far from the norm. Claims for it often falter upon closer inspection. The Mojo would be a bona fide maxi monitor if it came from one of the top speaker houses. It's the same maxi monitor coming from Gryphon. Does that make Gryphon a top speaker house by common triangulation? On the strength of its smallest speaker I'd have to say 'yes sir!'... |
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Quality of packing: Good.
Reusability of packing: A few times.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: A cinch.
Condition of component received: Flawless.
Completeness of delivery: Perfect.
Human interactions: Good.
Pricing: Luxury turf.
Final comments & suggestions: The Mojo benefits from burly amplification not because it's hard of hearing but because it appreciates the benefits of image and tone density this tends to bestow. The matching stand is cosmetically and dimensionally matched but an equivalently priced specialty performance rather than fashion stand from the likes of Track Audio will give even better performance. |
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