The Return of Moos Audio to CES

Last year I blogged about the MOOS Mini from MOOS Audio, a fantastic little speaker that is designed in Australia and built in the Scanspeak factory in Denmark. Using the finest Revelator drivers, these brightly-colored little speakers offered a big sound in a big room, a task at which small monitors usually fail. I heard a passive version last year, but I was told that these speakers would ultimately be active and feature a unique combination of features.

Well, a year has passed and the little MOOS has really matured into an exciting product that does so much for a relatively affordable price. While it looks pretty much the same as it did in January 2012, a lot of technology has been been packed inside such as multiple DACs, DSP anbd wireless capabilities. Since the Mini is now an active design, all you really need to add is a laptop and iTunes to achieve a truly high-end sound for the 21st century.

The sound quality of the MOOS has also improved considerably over the last year. In its passive version it was a competent and likable monitor speaker which projected a fairly deep and believable soundstage. In its full-tech guise, it offers sound quality that far surpasses anything I have heard from a wireless speaker. While it was possible to create static and break-up in one channel while walking directly in front of the speakers, it was brief and not too distracting. (Most of this was due to the huge amount of wi-fi saturation at CES, and would never happen in a home environment.) While sitting in the sweet spot, I heard nothing but clarity, detail with the right balance of warmth--something I consider rare for a product so jam-packed with technology.

The MOOS will be available soon in the US for $2500, which includes the wireless transmitter, a pair of speakers and all the goodies inside (which you can see in the photo to the left). I've been looking for a simple, elegant way to listen to downloads on my computer, and this is the best-sounding solution I've heard so far. You can find out more information on Moos Audio at http://www.moosaudio.com/.