MoFi UltraPhono phonostage... Sound quality?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by dogpile, Mar 14, 2017.

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  1. ishmaelk

    ishmaelk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madrid
    I received the StudioPhono this last Tuesday, too. I haven't had a chance to sit and listen to it properly (work...) but I intend to dedicate some time to it this weekend.
    What I didn't like right out of the box were the flimsy mono and subsonic buttons.
     
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  2. MikeJedi

    MikeJedi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Las Vegas
    I guess the buttons don't bother me much The actually piece looks nice and feels sturdy ... It looks like something off a MoFi mastering console , which I think was their idea YMMV..
     
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  3. ishmaelk

    ishmaelk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madrid
    It's not really that it bothers me. But my first impression was that build quality was on the cheap side. But I can't forget that for its price... well, it's a pretty cheap phono stage.
    I love the design, though. And call me shallow but with mono and subsonic buttons and those looks... I had to buy it.
     
  4. Giacomo Belbo

    Giacomo Belbo Journalist for Rolling Stone 1976-1979

    Any comments on performance?
     
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  5. MikeJedi

    MikeJedi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Las Vegas
    Giacomo Belbo likes this.
  6. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    MoFi just arrived today so way too early to talk about sound.

    Construction-wise the Lounge makes the MoFi look and feel like a toy. The MoFi RCA jacks wiggle when you attach/detach an interconnect.
     
  7. MikeJedi

    MikeJedi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Las Vegas

    Mine don't wiggle .. Then again maybe it depends on what kind of interconnects are used? The lounge is definitely more substantial piece of metal than the MoFi but the MoFi feels pretty substantial and looks like something out of a mastering studio but that's just me .. It will be interesting to hear what it sounds like vs the lounge which is an excellent piece and gets great reviews for the most part ;)
     
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  8. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
  9. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    Huh??:confused:
     
  10. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    Mine don't wiggle either.
     
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  11. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    I mean, he's promoting it so he can sell it. He's only going to say good things about it, right? To me that's not much of a review. :)
     
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  12. Minty_fresh

    Minty_fresh Forum Resident

    Location:
    B.
    I’m 93% set on a LCR MKIII but I have to admit a mono button would be fantastic.

    I’m excited to read about comparisons.
     
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  13. MattG

    MattG Unreliable Narrator

    Location:
    Maryland
    If I'm understanding this correctly, the only difference between the Studio and the Ultra is the Ultra includes a headphone amp, correct?
     
  14. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    I don't think most of us know that, the spec for the Ultra shows lower distortion on both MM and MC inputs too, maybe just a spec anomaly, or maybe a different phono circuit? Pretty likely they are very similar circuits, but I haven't even seen a picture of the insides of one yet.
     
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  15. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    I see. Well...at the time, there was such a scarcity of any information on the web about Mofi's new Phono Stages....anything was better than nothing! :)
     
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  16. MikeJedi

    MikeJedi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Las Vegas
    Hopefully we see more reviews soon ;)
     
  17. ishmaelk

    ishmaelk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madrid
    It's surprising that not a single professional review of the MoFi preamps has come out yet.
    I'm happy with mine, but the best preamp I compared it with was the Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement.
     
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  18. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I'm strongly considering a Studio Phono. If I do get one I'll post my impressions.
     
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  19. Chester0711

    Chester0711 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis,MN
    I picked one of these up. It is quite nice sounding. Not saying much , but it beats the integrated on my Marantz 2220b and my Cambridge Audio CP2 by quite a bit....the whole system just woke up. If I was paying $175 for the CP2 and this is $250 I would t even think of worrying about the $75 difference....you get quite a bit for that price...plus a mono button!
     
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  20. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
    I gather from this you have, or had, both the Mofi and Lounge? Very interested to hear your findings!!!
     
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  21. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
    If I recall correctly, didn't you buy one of these a while back? Did you post your impressions in another thread? If so, please link, or share with us please sir!!

    Any comparison to other stages would be greatly appreciated, including build quality!
     
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  22. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Yes, I did buy a Studio Phono. I posted some first impressions in another thread - too many threads on MOFI hardware to keep up with!

    At any rate, I have been using it for a few weeks and here are my impressions:

    Compared to the Schiit Mani I had been using on my primary turntable before, the sound is less analytical and detailed, and more tilted towards the midrange and bass frequencies. That said, it does not lack detail. Compared to the Rega Fono Mini A2D I have, it is less laid back and polite, more punchy overall.

    RFI is also not an issue like it was with the Mani. It is much quieter overall in my system. Right now I have it loaded down to 39K using loading plugs for my Signet/AT hybrid cartridge. I have tried it without the loading plugs and it sounded quite good that way as well, I just prefer it loaded down with this cartridge. I also tried it with my Vessel A3SE cartridge, which does not need loading plugs. It sounded very nice with that cart as well.

    The built in subsonic filter seems to work well and the mono switch has been getting a lot of use on old mono pressings and mono reissues. I wish more manufacturers would include this feature. Even stages with a lot of loading options and such often lack this feature.

    I wish I could tell you how the stage sounded with LOMC or HOMC cartridges but I don't have any of those so I can't comment on how it might pair with them. There are some MC loading options via dip switches on the bottom of the unit, and you can configure the Studio Phono to use up to 66db of gain if necessary.

    Build quality is good. There is some "give" on the RCA jacks on my example (my cables use the large, tight fitting Canare connectors), but I was told that was normal, and the unit was torture tested by MOFI without issue, so I'm confident it's not going to be a problem.

    Very happy with the unit overall so far.
     
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  23. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Is there any way to open it up and take a picture? Just curious, not much info around, be fun to see the insides.
     
  24. vinylbuff

    vinylbuff Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Port Florida
    I have the Ultraphono and just started using it with a brand new Rega Ania moving coil on a Rega RP8.
    My RP6/Exact/Lounge was quiet, real quiet, and very impressive.
    My RP8/Ania/Utraphono is even quieter...... no noise, no hum, no nothing. I've only played 5 lps on it so far, but for everything being new with no break-in, I am, in a word, IMPRESSED! I expect it to only get better over the next couple weeks.
     
  25. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    I do have them both. But they are on the back burner because I started using my Conrad Johnson PV12 preamp which has in it my best sounding phono preamp. No A/C in my listening room so my tube equipment only gets used in winter.

    I'm a big fan of the Lounge. The Mofi sounded pretty good but I need more listening time with it. I'll get back to them in the spring. :)
     
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