Meanwhile...

My take is that if it sounds good, I don't care if its direct from tape or 4xDSD.

But what I do care about is the deception. And the premium price they charged for it.

Jul 23, 2022 13:13:25 GMT 12 michaelw said:

Meanwhile...

And Part Two, posted about the same time you posted that.

I enjoy M. Fremer's rants to camera ;=})

I'm pleased to see I have flac needle drops of several MFSL albums he mentioned.

Elvis Costello Get Happy (2 x 45rpm)

Little Feat Waiting For Columbus (but unfortunately the 2010 version he pans!)

The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's, both the normal 180g and the UHQR 200g, so I should compare to confirm but seem to remember some disappointment in the latter too.

(However, although same turntable and phono preamp, former is from Ortofon 2M Black and latter Audio-Technica AT33EV MC.)

Plus other Beatles in MFSL 180g.

Jul 23, 2022 18:09:22 GMT 12 Citroen said:

My take is that if it sounds good, I don't care if its direct from tape or 4xDSD.

But what I do care about is the deception. And the premium price they charged for it.

Agreed, digital recording to vinyl playback sounds better than digital recording and digital playback.

Do MOFI claim their pressings are all analog?

+1 on their pricing but if people are prepared to pay it you can't blame them.

They initially claimed that "Original Master Recordings" (at the top of their covers) were all analog, and that if it had "Mobile Fidelity Soundlabs" it was from another source.

Then changed the wording, which suggested it was the same but didn't directly say ORM's weren't from the analogue tapes.

Error by omission and deception!

People were prepared to pay because they thought it was all analogue.

Also seen in the YouTube sidebar - from 7 days ago, and an hour, twice as long, not watched yet.

Michael Fremer discusses RECORD LABEL MASTERING TRANSPARENCY+his take on the MOFI MASTERING RUMORS!

Jazz guru Ken Micallef thinks its OK to mislead because "its a business", acceptable marketing.

Steve Guttenburg agrees

"Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac
10 hours ago
You nailed it Ken!!"

Maybe those on the inside know more about the deceptive practices of retailers than the average joe. Call me innocent, but it still doesn't make it right, fair or justifiable IMHO.

Couldn't agree more

Explained in simple terms 😁

Good thing I'm not MoFi fan or I'd be really annoyed




PS - how do i fix the typo in the tread title ?

Only have 4 MoFi's as I've found them too expensive for what you get, analogue or not!

Title edited.

Thanks, editing was busted for me.

I've got a couple of MoFi's (Fleetwood Mac, Al Stewart) that sound worse than average NZ copies,

One MoFi Aimee Mann that sounds worse than the CD !

All nicely pressed and packaged but oh the sound.

Stepping back for a wider view, there was this thread earlier:-

darklantern.proboards.com/thread/2575/half-speed-mastering

And for even more nostalgic fun reading...

darklantern.proboards.com/thread/595/michael-fremer

I don't have many MOFI's either as they arent that great for the $$. I did buy the Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue UHQR 1 step blah blah for $200 aud tp see what the fuss was about. Decided that would be the first and last as it just isn't worth it.

"We at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab are aware of customer complaints regarding use of digital technology in our mastering chain. We apologize for using vague language, allowing false narratives to propagate, and for taking for granted the goodwill and trust our customers place in the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab brand.

We recognize our conduct has resulted in both anger and confusion in the marketplace. Moving forward, we are adopting a policy of 100% transparency regarding the provenance of our audio products. We are immediately working on updating our websites, future printed materials, and packaging — as well as providing our sales and customer service representatives with these details. We will also provide clear, specific definitions when it comes to Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab marketing branding such as Original Master Recording (OMR) and UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S). We will backfill source information on previous releases so Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab customers can feel as confident in owning their products as we are in making them.

We thank you for your past support and hope you allow us to continue to provide you the best-sounding records possible — an aim we've achieved and continue to pursue with pride.

Jim Davis
President, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab"


...caught with their pants down, got a good spanking & now the "spin-doctoring" ...to the rescue?  

"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]

If you want to ruin your day read the 769 (and counting) pages of angst on this subject in the Steve Hoffman forum.

Much of the wailing is about the one-step MOFI product, not something that bothers me because I've never been tempted.

I've got a few MOFI recordings and I think most of them sound great. Some, like Surrealistic Pillow, are a revelation. A few are meh.

There are heaps of records out there where the stars aligned on the engineering/production process to produce magnificent sounding records, in these cases I reckon its hard for a re-release to add much value if you've already got a mint original. Sometimes a sow's ear recording can be made into a silk purse by a talented mastering engineer breathing on it. But if the source tapes are flawed then its game over.

I'm pleased that the only MoFi pressings I have are older ones. I did buy What's Going On and Let's Get It On a decade or so ago, I believe the master tapes were used but will probably never know. I didn't buy them believing they were all analogue, I knew they'd sound nice and just wanted to have them.

Older ones I have are all the proper Japanese pressings - Wes Montgomery "Bumpin'", Abbey Rd, Tapestry, Elvis From Memphis, a few more, I think.

But yeah, an everyday pressing in good condition can be better than one made in this way. Funny old world, innit?

Singer/songwriter at: www.dominicblaazer.net
180g album, "The Lights of Te Atatu" released 2018

Looks like they are gradually updating all of their releases to state if all analogue or from dsd, and at what rate.

President Jim Davis interview
mofi.com/blogs/news/mofi-president-jim-davis-addresses-the-digital-lp-mastering-controversy

Class Action suit against MoFi

Aug 12, 2022 20:08:52 GMT 12 Citroen said:

President Jim Davis interview
mofi.com/blogs/news/mofi-president-jim-davis-addresses-the-digital-lp-mastering-controversy

Yeah, except that it isn't really an interview.

As many people pointed out on the Steve Hoffman forum the interview looks very much like a PR department response to written questions. In a past life I may have produced my fair share of this type of "that'll shut them up".  Slippery, very slippery.

The question that should be asked is "Why did you continue to actively promote the view that you used a 100% analogue production chain in your products when you started using DSD in 2011?" ... or, more succinctly .."Why have you been lying to your customers for 10 years?"

Anyway, I don't care, if their product sounds better than anything I can get from anywhere else I'll probably buy it.  

I've followed the Hoffman thread since day one and it's long been worthless with the same few members posting the same views over and over.
I still have around 28 MoFi lps and about the same number of sacd.
Most of the titles I have were picked up when our exchange rate was good and cheap post was still available.
I don't have originals of any titles bar Richard Thompson's Rumor and Sigh . Originals in the same playing condition would be near impossible to find here and probably much more expensive.
Never been tempted to chase any one steps as they're artists that don't interest me and too expensive....plus I don't have the gear or ears to appreciate such things.
The various law suits seem to be conflicting and as usual the lawyers will be the winners.
This whole analogue good digital bad mantra is a side show pushed by people like Fremer and in some ways has come to bite them on the arse.
MoFi have been naughty not being more upfront about sources but the hysteria in some quarters has more to do with wounded egos than any "crime".
Anyway, like Citroen I'll continue to enjoy the records I have and any disappointments will be more about mastering choices than a digital elemen

The scary thing is that dozens of pair of golden ears didn't notice the intrusion of digital technology into the pressing process for 10 years.

I think this guy said (in 1st video) - he wasn't going to go through his entire archive looking at his comparison videos that included MoFi - but he looked at half a dozen of them and the MoFi came second in all of those. Two example videos are below that.

Several posts on Discogs preferring the MoFi to the AP press of Folk Singer. Subjective, no correct answer unless there's something seriously amiss.

Currently spinning the early Classic reissue. It'll do me.
www.discogs.com/release/3212018-Muddy-Waters-Folk-Singer

It appears the people who may be hurting more than most with the Mofi reveal are the flippers.
A quick look at the Muddy Waters Folk Singer one step on Discogs shows about 90% of the 130 plus listing are still sealed.
www.discogs.com/release/22385077-Muddy-Waters-Folk-Singer

MoFi caught out again.

Their inner sleeves have long claimed to be archival quality made from "rice paper" and 2 layers of HDPE.

Turns out they aren't rice paper at all, and now they have been forced to update their website to

"They are imported, three-ply, anti-static, premium sleeves (similar to rice paper)"

Class action to follow... 😂