Any thoughts music hall MMF 5.3 turntable?

there does not seem to be a lot of reviews out there.and my local hi fi dealer is talking it up.
just curious if anyone has any thoughts.

 

Yes, I have some thoughts.
.
.
Oh wait, should I share them?
My experiences are with the point twos. My vote - spend the xtra dollars and get the 7.
The 5's are sweet, just not anywhere close to the 7's.
The decoupled motor takes the line to another level, very close to the 9 series.
Hard to loose whatever your choice.

 

Very happy MMF-7 owner here!

 

Very happy (original) mmf-5 owner here.

 

I used to have the original 5 and now have a 7.1.
FWIW: Two things that always bothered me are the isolation cones on the five seemed like a better functional way to isolate between the plinth sections -you could take a 5 apart and put it back, and possibly tweak that setup (or not).
The 7.1 does the same thing differently and is not so easy to take apart or put back together. I changed the arm on my 7.1 and this required separating the plinth sections, which was a pain.
The other thing is the 5/.1 arm is a tad longer in length, which is a good thing.
The 7.1 arm is better quality though (carbon fiber not a metal alloy) and as a whole is a better deck in the end, I just never tried tweaking more performance out of that 5, so I always wondered if it could have possibly gotten better than it was out of the box.
The old 5 had the glass platter which was actually a nice sounding setup the way it came with the Goldring 1012 when they first came on the market, very bang for the buck.
I would say that the 7.1 is a better deal overall -in the end it will probably work better with different cart. setups, and I can vouch for the Origin Live platter mat designed for acrylic platters as being a simple but great upgrade on it.

 

Another very happy 7.1 owner here

 

thanks for the feedback! i have an acrylic platter that i use on my current pro-ject debut lll.would that be an upgrade to the platter that comes with the MMF 5.3?

 

Looks like it's an alloy metal platter. This is a much better deal:
Music Hall MMF-7.1 Audiophile Turntable (Display Model) »

 

New MMF5 owner here....pretty dang solid performer....foot fall friendly, stable and reliable. Sounds excellent for sure

 

I'm looking at the MMF 5.3. Do you have any more thoughts on what you like about this table?

 

Not that the 5's aren't nice, but with the 7.3 coming out, the 7.1's are showing up with some deep discounts....and it's a much better table than the 5's, much quieter and with better isolation. The "SE" edition of the 5 would be the closer to the 7.1, but still not the same.

 

Where are you seeing the discounts?

 

I think the MMF 2, 5 and 7 are all quite good at their respective price points. It's interesting they're not discussed like Pro Ject or U-Turn are, as I think they're competitive at the $300 price point and up. I had the 2.2 and now have a 5.1

 

Can you give me any info on why the 5.3 would be a better choice than the 5.1? I'm asking this since you like your 5.1.

 

I dig the dual plinth design - and prior tables used in the same spot were subject to foot falls - so that's been a very nice aspect. I can tap on the plinth when it's playing and there is zero effect. I've found the speed to be very stable, and there is literally zero rumble of any kind that I've noticed. The arm is pretty good too, but yours will be different. Pretty nice interconnects. Swapping speeds is a pain in the ****, but I've only done it once or twice. There are a few upgrade options for mine, platter being the one I will end up doing. It's a good looker too. Best of all, it sounds excellent. I've got it hooked into a Fisher X-100-3 tube integrated and it's very very nice.

 

I cannot speak to the differences between the 7 series and the 5 series but i am listening to some Blood Sweat and Tears right now with an MMF 5.3se and here is what I like about it
- very quiet , no hum even at high volume and believe me I like high volume
- very stable - my system is on the second floor and I was concerned about footfall/vibration problems and there is none of that
- the interconnects are not attached & was a problem with the 5.1 as I recall. Use whatever interconnects you like
- the 5.3 SE comes with an Ortofon bronze cartridge already mounted - a good deal and sounds awesome
- I really love the rosewood finish on the SE model although ymmv

 

Yeah, I think I'm pretty sold on the 5.3 The 7 is a bit above my reach, and to be honest, my almost 60 year old ears might not really benefit from what it has to offer. Dang, I hate this rabbit hole that I've decided to enter. Of course I entered it when I got my first job and had the money to do it! Have you had any dealings with their customer service?

 

I've had a 7.1 for a while and have been pleased with its performance, I imagine the 5.3 with a 2m Bronze would be very nice.

I have dealt with Music Hall customer service, every time was speaking with the owner himself. Very helpful.

 

Music Direct for one, but I see none available at the moment.
Nice discount on the 5.1 at the moment...
Music Hall MMF-5.1 Turntable at Music Direct »

 

If you can get a 5.1 or better at a killer price, then you will be fine. If a 7.1 does pop up for within less than $200 more and you can afford it -it will be well worth it for the motor/arm and platter improvements.
Isolation wise I think they are equal as far as footfalls and all that but the motor on the 7 is decoupled completely from the plinth. These improvements mentioned do make it all that much better and are easily worth the difference in price if not more.

 

Looking on different sites and checking specs.....some say the 5.3 comes with an alloy tone arm, some say it comes with a carbon fiber tone arm. I'm looking at the black 5.3....not an LE or an SE or any other designation. Can anyone comment on what arm comes with this table?

 

Sure looks like a Project 9c tone arm, which would be carbon fiber, with an alloy headshell.

Strange though on Music Hall's website, they do not directly name the arm. They state this instead....

• Top tier 9” alloy tonearm with flexible internal wire
  drawn from high purity copper

 

The Music Hall web site says: Top tier 9” alloy tonearm with flexible internal wire drawn from high purity copper.
This is essentially the same as the original 5, and is the same on all 5 models. FWIW the 7.1 uses a 222mm mounting distance with a carbon fiber arm which is the same mount spec. as Linn (I think). It is called the 9c and is all CF until the headshell piece which is aluminum, the next arm up is the 9cc which is all CF and has slightly better bearings and mount base.
The mount distance on the 5 models is different, so you couldn't just plug in a 9cc or 9c arm.
Visually if you look at the arm on all the 5s you see a straight tube in a matte black color, if you look at the 7s you will notice the arm tube is slightly tapered and glossy.

 

Oh yes, I see now. Looking at arm on computer screen vs phone, it is clear it isnt the 9c.

 

I know this is a few month old thread, but I am now noticing two 5.3 models. The one with the 9 alloy tonearm and 9 carbon fiber tonearm and that goes for the 5.3 and 5.3SE. with that said, I have my eyes set on a 5.3 with the carbon fiber at around $875 with ortofon 2m blue. The lowest priced 7.1 $975 no cartridge. Add 2m blue brings it up to $1225. Now that the 5.3 has a carbon tonearm, is it just worth taking that for $875 with 2m blue?