Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has been cutting vinyl from digital since a long, long time ago...

I have the original and a couple of others. The Mofi imo is better.

 

All good! Hopefully we can all find some kind of win out of this scenario. For MOFI, if they were able to start following their 100% transparency policy and actually show us some examples of how they handle their production process then I would consider purchasing select titles on SACD like I have been doing all along. It's up to them to build their trust and reputation back to a positive state.

 

Considering the unsatisfying response by the defendant party, the use of the brand name MoFi and the letters M O F I in that order are temporary prohibited in the next comments.

 

Oddly this kerfuffle has made me want to get a One Step, just to hear what all the fuss is about from both sides of this ever circling argument.... I don't have a copy of Thriller, and figured that may be the one to get.... but then I'd have nothing to compare it to.... Then I figured From Elvis In Memphis would be better, because I have several variations of that album, but they are all cd's, so it seems like it would be redundant.... and then I think "well I could buy three sacd's for the price of a One Step", and it seems silly to even consider it.

This thread has been enlightening in many many ways for me reading through it....

It seems there is no such thing as a best pressing, it is more a case of each person has their personal preferred sounding pressing.

It seems like folks don't realise how many lies or misrepresentations there are in the marketplace with labelling, and it all comes down to bending the laws, and using the labels that appeal to consumers, but the product only barely fits into the category as laid out... for example Cage Free Eggs, doesn't mean the Chickens are never kept in cages... No added sugar, doesn't necessarily mean no added sugar, because for some reason a certain percentage of sugar is acceptable, and the label no added sugar can be used...People like to buy light oil, and it is remarkable how many folks think that makes it some kind of diet product, when all it actually means is it is light in colour..... There are similar labelling issues with beef and just about everything else, because marketing and labelling is anything but directly honest, it is aimed at getting people to buy stuff based on misleading information.

I certainly don't condone the misleading labelling that Mofi have used, but the source was the master tapes, at some point in the proceedings, whether a copy made by them, or by the record company.
Also the all analog mastering chain isn't necessarily a lie either, as once they have their copy, from that point it appears it is an all analog chain.....
I must say I am not defending them, or saying people can't be annoyed, it is more that, if you require something to meet a certain set of guidelines, no matter what it is these days, you need to explore the realities of the labels being used.... I know you shouldn't have to, but that's where we are at unfortunately....

I know there has been this silly war between digital and analog, and records and cd's, it is a terrible shame when that blows out to people hacking on each other....
If anything actually comes from this, I would hope that it is people just enjoying their music the way they want to, without having to feel they need to defend their choices, or attack anyone else's

 

Perhaps?

 

This is the exact area of focus where MOFI need to stop lying to us. Even though they issued out a public apology and promised a 100% transparency policy across the whole company, they are still stating the same things over and over again through video interviews, their own website, and on the pamphlets of their own final product. At every given point they keep stating that they pester the record labels to death to provide them the best Original Master Recording so they themselves can run the source through their custom built Tim de Paravicini GAIN 2 system, specifically focusing on the Studer tape machine and their custom DSD256 convertors. It's part of why we are buying into MOFI as a brand and it's also a justification point for them to be asking $125 for a "One Step", because they are claiming to do all of that time consuming and painstaking work themselves. If they are just obtaining a digital source from the label and not doing the A/D conversion work themselves then they need to stop stating it, plain and simple.

 

I think Acoustic Sounds were selling mostly other DSD files like HD Tracks from the major labels. If AS were selling their own, which they probably did on some titles, they would need special permission as part of their agreement with the home label.

 

You're right. After all, schizophrenics too have the right to express themselves.

 

I wouldn't disagree with that.

I get the impression that some are supplied by record companies, and some they do a transfer on.... but that's just speculation.

But this is where it all gets sticky. Are record companies getting more protective of these tapes? I have no idea, and mere speculation isn't clearing things up.

It seems like someone with the connections or contacts would need to inform us of that kind of thing....
If record companies have started making access to master tapes more limited, or in fact only supplying digital copies, that changes up a lot of stuff....
I have no idea one way or another.

It would seem odd for Mofi to employ guys to do transfer work, if there were no transferring going on... particularly if their practices were merely to drive up profit margins.

 

Adding the poll to this thread was a mistake.

 

Agreed completely. I think MOFI do get SOME master tapes to work with, but highly doubtful that they are getting the tapes for each and every release. If they are only getting digital sources via direct file transfer from the major record labels (Sony seems to be the big one flagged repeatedly), then maybe they should consider pressing those releases to a standard 180g/45RPM format and charge the $59.99 they are asking for this specific format. I think the "One Step" brand is now sullied and it would be in MOFI's best interest to re-evaluate their marketing and branding strategies. No time like the present to start following through on that 100% transparency policy.

 

Agree...

I can't help but be interested in what these "magic discs" sound like, but it would need to be something very special for me to pay a hundred bucks for...

Not that it is Mofi, but the records in The Kinks Village Green SDE somewhat rebooted my interest in records, great sounding records, and it was a hundred bucks for a bunch of records, cd's, books and various bits of padding... that was at least interesting to me... I have no idea of the source for those either lol

 

My life with the MFSL cult.

All this has helped me wake up - I was buying MFSL titles almost as if in a dream state. I have purchased a lot of them over the last 15 years or so. I am not planning on selling them and I will continue to listen to them as that enjoyment hasn't changed for me (maybe spoilt a tiny bit - but they sound the same as they did when I thought they were AAA).

However, I will be much more selective when purchasing new titles. I plan to get the two forthcoming Warren Zevon 2x45rpm titles. I have high expectations of them and expect them to be more enjoyable than the Rhino S/t and MOV Excitable Boy that I currently own. I am not interested in anything else that they have up for pre-order and have cancelled 15 titles with Music Direct.

I cancelled One Steps of:

James Taylor / G Hits - I have the Grundman box
Miles - Bitches Brew - I already have a US original and the MFSL dbl LP
Miles - Sketches of Spain - I have a UK original, a US original, Classic Records 33, Classic Records 45rpm and MFSL 33
Elvis - From Elvis In Memphis - I have the SC version
Crosby Stills & Nash - I have the Classic 4x45rpm and I think there is zero chance the MFSL beats this
Cannonball - Somethin' Else - I have the AP45rpm, the Music Matters 33 and the Classic 33
APP - I Robot - I have and enjoy the MFSL 45
Paul Simon - There Goes... - I have the Legacy 33 AAA done by Ryan Smith and a US orig
ELO - Eldorado - I had forgotten that I don't like ELO much
Eagles - One The Border, One of These Nights, Hotel California and The Long Run - I only really like the first 2 LPs what was I thinking

Plus supervinyl releases of Sorcerer and Miles Smiles - I have the MFSL 45s of these and US originals

I was caught up in a fog of buying pretty much whatever MFSL were putting out (I drew the line at Foreigner and Billy Joel). I realized that I don't really need the above titles. The fog has lifted and that's a good thing for me. I don't hate them or wish them ill - it's a hobby nobody died. But I am no longer in the cult.

 

This thread just entered the top 50, folks !
Big time, Jim ! big time !

 

Are their inner and outer sleeves any good?

 

Anyone here still willing to defend Mobile fidelity now that the DSD bit rates for some titles have been released?

I appreciate that the proof is in the pudding and mine still sounds great but why are some 64 and others 256? If it's down to price then they should produce more records and cut the price. No reason for limited runs to inflate prices in the scalper market imo.

 

It was brought up once and has been part of a continuing conversation.

 

Don't they have to pay more in licensing fees in order to produce more? How/why would they pay more and then reduce price? Doesn't make a lot of sense for them.

 

This "scandal" came at the right time, as I was very close to laying down £100 to pre-order their one-step Thriller. I'm a huge MJ fan and would have loved to have a brand spanking new original master copy of the vinyl of course, but I'll save my money and either listen to my existing first edition copy, or stream it via Qobuz. I've also got a special edition CD somewhere.

I suppose this whole ordeal is somewhat of a "win" for the CD and that format's enthusiasts...

 

ok-the way you first posted, it had to sound good AND have good reviews, now it's just good reviews.

 

Who has defended them? I have seen people not terribly upset by it (myself included) but I havent seen anyone say their lies/deception were OK. I did join about 100 pages or so ago though so I may have missed something?

 

There seem to be many different reasons for the 64 and 256 ....
When the transfer was done, and available technology.
Whether the record company would allow access to the tapes, or just provide their own digital copy.

It just doesn't seem to be that simple....

The other thing that strikes me now, and I don't think it has come up...
Record companies apparently charge a premium for licensing.
They also apparently know when and how their tapes are accessed or not..

It would seem like the record companies themselves would have known about the digital files.....

 

Nah....cant be. The record companies are ran by a bunch of great people with a ton of integrity and wouldnt support lies

 

Also the all analog mastering chain isn't necessarily a lie either, as once they have their copy, from that point it appears it is an all analog chain.....

Wha??? That's like me saying I was a valedictorian candidate at Vanderbilt when I started-I was, until the first semester grades came in. Or, someone never cheated on their spouse-except when they did.

 

I have started reading through a thread dedicated to the MOFI mono releases that dates back to 2014. Here’s a comment from Stone Turntable dated June 14, 2014 discussing his “AAA” copy of the MOFI Milestones. Not everyone was agreeing it bettered a digital version done by Mark Wilder for Sony, and he took issue with that….

“I'm reeling a bit at the steady dinging of the MoFi mono vinyl Milestones in this thread. This AAA LP sounds flawless to me. If the digital-sourced Sony mono sounds significantly better, it must be truly astounding, but I don't feel moved to investigate because the MoFi is pure heaven to my ears.

I also wonder if there's a bit of a leap from reading what Mark Wilder had to say about utilizing the Milestones safety tape for the cleaner bass and possibly better alignment he heard in preparing the Sony mono, to concluding that the original master that MoFi used was somehow compromised or worn out or otherwise significantly flawed. Wilder certainly doesn't offer those criticisms in the interview.”