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

Why didn’t he mention and follow the pretty detailed overview that Michael Johnson (poetry in plastic) outlined on YouTube? One of the best and most accurate. And he did interview MJ.

It seems he spoke with MoFi folks but outlined very little about exactly why they still haven’t come out and spoke to us. Aside from one wonky press release.

Where does MoFi go from here ? Do they shake things up or simply stay the course ?

Aside from Sony why do they think other labels get tapes and they don’t?

if they felt the DSD improved things, as they have stated; why didn’t they stand up proud and promote that improvement?

why didn’t someone pick up Jim Davis at SFO?

that’s a start.

 

Remember Volkswagen's emission-gate? The company is still around.

 

The price for New Sealed USA based seller is down $200 from 7/21 and there have been no units sold. So, For now I would say yes, but let’s give it some time. Some people still don’t know about the DSD step and many don’t care.

 

I think that comparing VW to mofi is a bit absurd.

 

I went back through the thread to find the "road not taken" --I had forgotten it was @Stone Turntable who posted this- and at the time, I thought it was a very good insight. I still do, and maybe it could inform part of MoFi's approach going forward.
Let's say they figure out a way to demonstrate how transparent the 4xDSD step is, compared to an analogue tape copy. And that some of their "secret sauce" isn't just all the Tim De Paravicini mods, amps and analog signal path, but judicious mastering to reveal more from the source (also done analog as I understand) and benefitting from the elimination of metal parts, which might also be compared to the same copy done with a more traditional three step process.
I know doing all that would be expensive, but we are talking about the reputation of the company. Realistically, I don't know how much this would cost, and haven't spent much time thinking through a strategy to help rehabilitate the company- there could be other things they could do.
My impression, sorry, MoFi, is that the company is doing the minimum. I remember hearing -- maybe it was in the Interview video-- that the packaging for some of the product-- "Thriller" may already be done- I got the sense that they didn't want to sticker (not that expensive, I've dealt with that as a remedial measure many years ago when I was active).
I don't see MoFi releasing more Abraxas or cutting the price of the One-Steps, though there is an interesting argument about the fancy box being wasteful.
I think there's a lot here to work with and the company could certainly bring somebody in if their in-house staff wasn't enough, to consult. The new marketing guy showed up just as this thing was breaking-- he might have some ideas.
But, I think rather than reacting, they have to go back to the beginning: think about how this could have been introduced in a positive way and play out the steps. Then consider that they have to rebut concerns about truthfulness and sound quality as well as the sour taste left by their deception. That's why people are up in arms for the most part- they weren't told and at this point, "trust us" doesn't work after you've been caught out.

 

The bosses are not.

 

Lost in all this seems to be “who is Jim Davis”? Is he a man with a simple goal of pushing product and making money? Or, is he an audio and music enthusiast whose personal passions have aligned with business? Or, somewhere in between? A pattern of pushing the edge of ethics or someone who has lived a straight life as best he could?

A little more information on this guy would go a long way towards understanding whether writing to him would mean anything. Not saying you are the one to provide this. I know nothing about this man and it seems many others don’t as well.

Contrasting to this, I know that no matter how much Fremer repeatedly and narcissistically tries to make this story about him, the story is not about him. Video after video will not change this. Nobody should care whether MOFI lied to him about being given the story and/or in general, did not get the story or a MOFI interview, or that he suggested Bay Area journalists over Mike E.., or finally, that he thinks Mike E. was the wrong person or was railroaded by MOFI. At this point, it’s also irrelevant that he liked digital records without knowing.

 

No I haven't. Which video ?

It is what was written or advertised in the past that misled the consumer to buy the product, so it would have to be on the packaging or broadly published promotional materials . A one time video clip could not be used to argue that consumers were mis-led into buying their product.

 

He doesn’t own a turntable, but hoards multiple copies of OneSteps. Allegedly (or so an ex-employee has claimed via Twitter).

 

They were far more deceitful than MoFi, yet survived the event.

 

Because they are a huge international car manufacturer with turnover in the hundred 0f millions. Where as MoFi, according to the WaPo, has annual turnover of just $9m.

 

Yeah, but Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore also said, with great regret in his case, "Some day this war's gonna end." I use that line a lot in public interactions and most of the time, people just look at me like I'm crazy. I stopped using the "wrong week to quit sniffing glue" thing altogether.

 

Or hundreds of hires downloads. Proper digital

 

i wish some investigative journalist would pursue the question of why so many people prefer analog to (redbook) digital. i mean, really dig down there into all the science, cognitive theory, filtering, etc. none of this flowery stuff about warmth and nostalgia and you can read the liner notes etc. etc. none of this stuff about how scientists put down their pencils after nyquist because that was the end of the story. there are real reasons people hear what they hear. get them out there on the table, all in one place. like, why do the MoFi guys use DSD256 -- a sampling rate beyond what's commercially available even to hi-res fanatics? could it be that they, too, think there are problems with lesser digital reproduction techniques? isn't it worth sounding them out about it, rather than taking the easy way out and saying "nyah nyah no one was even able to hear the difference!" that's grade a trolling but it's not what you'd expect from the washington post.

 

And in Texas. My wife years ago, back East, has this childhood friend who is like Mary Poppins. Very straight. And she's in a parking lot where another woman who is a friend of "Mary" shouts "Hey, I got that Mexican Coke you asked for- it's in my van."
Does taste better than the high fructose stuff but you gotta die from something, right?

 

more like hundreds of billions...total sales revenue in 2021, according to statistica = 250 billion and that's in 2021 euros. Pretty damn sure that mofi can't float it's ship on spec alone the way vw more than surely could.

 

Thanks I'll forward to Michael

 

It may be that Jim Davis knew the engineers weren't going to come off well on camera. And they didn't.

 

Wells Fargo . . .

 

I don't think Geoff can answer any of those questions.

I'd ask him about what he thinks makes this story interesting to non-audiophiles.

 

There likely are not enough plaintiffs to support a class certified by a court. Even if there were, it's unlikely that full refunds would be awarded anyway ... a settlement is a high probability with the class plaintiffs getting perhaps a $5 - $10 coupon off their next MoFi purchase, and the attorneys keeping the lion's share as fees. Not a desireable result in my book.

IMHO, a possibly expeditious course for anyone who needs to litigate (which I don't recommend here) might be small claims court seeking a refund. Filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission also may be an alternative. Note that with any litigation, once a Judgment is entered, the other side may appeal. Further, even after all appeals have been exhausted (and presuming that the Judgment is upheld), the plaintiff then has to find assets of the defendant on which to execute. That shouldn't be too tough here, but what a PITA. Litigation, together with post-judgment appeals and enforcement proceedings, takes a lot of time and is expensive.

I don't think that anyone really wants them to go out of business. They produce excellent product, but they weren't up front about the process and folks feel that they have been misled. I see no reason for the One Steps to sound any different now than they did prior to the Mike E video. Yes, people are rightfully ticked off that they paid beaucoup bucks for the product given its actual provenance. There are legal remedies for that but, in the final analysis, does anyone really want to be dealing with the legal system on this issue for any great length of time? Perhaps, as my late mother used to say, this is all the "price of an education." Plainly, the members here "won't get fooled again."

 

He can answer if he discussed these things with MoFi folks. I mean they are basic questions based on the situation.

 

Not my area and too lazy to Google it But I agree - the comparison is unhelpful/inappropriate .

 

I was never in that market, but I am sure the news is regrettable for many. Yet original tapes, such as they are, will most likely remain sequestered the farther into the future we go, understandably so, given their inevitable decay. Which makes vinyl from the 1970s and before the most dependable route to an analog of the source tape, to me, at least. However, some remain out of reach, and the digital Prestige, Blue Note and Sony/Mark Wilder projects and reissues have been stunning and greatly appreciated.

 

I don’t think class action is even a remote possibility. No one can show that they were harmed in any way, unless I’m missing something. Hell many of the records are worth more than people paid for them, they can get their money back any time they like. If the thing you paid for appreciates in value and you are not harmed by the false advertising, I can’t see an argument for a class action.