Blue Microphones is best known for making fantastic microphones such as the Yeti and Snowball, which you may have seen a number of video game streamers use. The longtime audio recording tools company is pushing into the world of listening with its Mo-Fi. How does Blue's foray into the competitive headphones space fare?
The Mo-Fi are not just any pair of cans – they are powered high-fidelity headphones with an integrated audiophile amp. The quality and features come at the high price of $350 and their premium nature shows even in the packaging. They have been reviewed to perform very well monitoring the top electric guitars in the world. The large, sturdy box the Mo-Fi arrives in is roughly 8 x 8 x 9 inches (about 20.32 x 20.32 x 22.86 centimeters) and houses the headphones in an upright position on a cloth-textured, molded insert. The headphones themselves are constructed mostly out of dark metallic grey plastic with shiny silver highlights. Like a lot of Blue's microphones, Mo-Fi's design doesn't scream modern but rather a retro-futuristic look.
Underneath the bottom insert lies a cloth storage bag, instructions, a micro-USB charger, and two 3.5mm audio cables: a 3-meter (nearly 10-foot) one and a 1.2-meter (nearly 4-foot) one with inline microphone and Apple device controls. (The inline mic performs about how you'd expect, so using a separate external one like Blue's Yeti mic is recommended for better voice quality.)
Setting up the Mo-Fi is a relatively simple affair. First, the 12-hour internal battery powering the on-board amp must be charged for 3 to 4 hours using the micro-USB charger. Select either audio cable and insert the longer tip into the port located on the bottom of the left earcup. A wheel knob on the back of the headband allows you to increase or decrease the tension. As you put on the headphones, you can easily adjust the multiple points of suspension to fit your head. Lastly, plug in the other end of the audio cable into your source, like a PlayStation 4 controller, and you're ready to go.
On the left earcup near the audio cable, the Mo-Fi sports a small dial to control the three powered amp settings: Off, On, and On+. Off places the headphones in a passive state allowing you to use them without using power or when the battery's drained out. Switching to On increases the volume, and turning to On+ provides improved bass performance. The powered modes are useful if your device's amplifier is not very powerful and sounds quiet. Usually low volume from the source indicates a cheaper amplifier, which is at risk of distortion at higher volume settings. Thanks to the Mo-Fi powered amp, you can put less of the workload on your device, saving its battery life and your listening experience. This feature is especially beneficial when using the PS4 DualShock 4 controller, with its less-than-stellar battery life and somewhat soft volume output. Be warned though: the Mo-Fi amplifies the volume greatly so I greatly advise to start at a low volume before turning to the On or On+ settings. Additionally, I could hear electronic interference from particular devices, including some laptops or PCs, while the headphones were turned to On or On+.
The audiophile-grade amp combined with the earcups' 50mm titanium-reinforced ultra-responsive dynamic drivers produces spectacular sound quality from just about everything you throw their way, even low bitrate sources. The Mo-Fi's audio processing delivers crisp and clean sound with a wonderful dynamic range, making for great highs, mids, and lows. These are headphones you want use to re-visit your music, film, and, yes, game collection with. Using them to listen to songs truly felt like rediscovering my music collection. The dialogue and sound effects in my movies and TV shows sounded lifelike and organic. I discovered minute details in the soundscape of the environment while playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and could better listen for patrolling enemies. The Mo-Fi's clear, well-defined audio allowed me to hear my foes' footsteps or jetpack boosts and their directional positioning in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Black Ops III. The sonic experience here is one not everyday headphones can come remotely close to.
Unfortunately, the marvelous-sounding Mo-Fi is tragically dragged down (literally) by their greatest weaknesses: their weight and comfort. The over-the-ear cups and headband feel good due to faux leather texture and memory foam insides. Furthermore, the multi-point suspension allows moving the headband further to the front or back of your head and for the earcups to rest at the correct angles to the sides of your face. No amount of position re-adjusting I did successfully redistributed the weight or lessen the feeling of pressure (and I had the tension knob at its lowest) to feel comfortable for long periods of use. I believe many people will find it difficult to don the Mo-Fi after more than an hour or two. The 16.44 oz (466 gram) weight feels heavy even at the start and I could feel my neck strain increasing as time went by with them on. Maybe the only way to comfortably use them for hours on end is while laying down or in a reclined position.
Blue Microphones Mo-Fi headphones are a hard set for me to wholeheartedly recommend. The price of admission is high at $350, which is how much a PS4 retails for nowadays. And while the price point is justifiable if the Mo-Fi was solely judged on sound quality, the fatigue from the uncomfortable weight and bulkiness is too much to ignore. Couple all that with the few other shortcomings such as electronic interference and a lack of a better dedicated mic and it's easy to see why I cannot advise this as a recommended purchase.