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

2015. (when they got DSD256)

 

Thanks Bill for taking the time to post the info. Kind of you. Ill be on the lookout if mine isnt the same on the GHs!

 

Maybe I just lucked out with one of those Tom Port-style Hot Stampers

Cheers,

Bill

 

I had a couple audio engineer professors at SF State. This was around the 2001/2002 and one of the professors was all about Pro Tools and the other was a strict believer in recording analog. They both kind of hated each other and would talk smack about the other in their respective classes. I remember the one who recorded analog specifically pointing out that Natalie Merchant was a huge proponent of recording to tape. He said that she insisted that all of her vocals be recorded analog. Not sure if everything was recorded to tape but I believe he had first hand knowledge that she at least partly used tape on her albums.

 

Too bad they were not clear about it ???
They deliberately deceived their customers from the beginning by hiding the digital step in their mastering process.
The evidences are everywhere : YT, press articles etc.
They were not "not clear" about it , they HID it ! and they admit it by adding this step in the technical description included in their so-called One Step release.
Now ask yourself : WHY ?
And please please don't tell me something like "that's not so important, after all most of their releases are great sounding ones", bla bla bla. It's not the point and it never will be.

 

Maybe they just didn't have the balls to own their own product?

Davis done the right thing yet?

 

I assumed that they do all ”mastering moves” analog while converting dsd files back to analog. So no digital editing required. DSD step was only required because they do not get actual analog masters to their premises. Better not assume anything, I guess.

 

It could be one answer, yes.
IMO they choose to "not be clear" about it because 1 they feared to alienate the core of their customers, 2 they wanted to make use of the MoFi brand high reputation.
Their decision is retrospectively ridiculous though. They could have said "look, we are opening a new chapter in the audiophile market and in MoFi 's history, we have developped a new mastering process based on the last digital technics, we believe this is the future and we are proud of it". And everything would have been ok then.

 

It's thought (according to Fremer at least) they get tapes from Warner. Pre 2015 Warner are AAA. So in that case they are copying everything to DSD256 for convenience and to have an archive copy. They also could only do the large runs of One Steps from digital as you can't run an original master tape many times without risking wear. For Sony they have been making DSD64 copies going back years before 2015 (Miles Davis, Carol King , Dylan). Yes the cutting system is all analogue after the D/A convertors. That is what they are using to misleadingly market these records.

 

Wow, it’s been over an hour since the last message. Is this thread finally slowing down?

 

Guess they thought “ who’s gonna know “.

 

I got the AP 45 box a week ago, not a single click or pop over the 8 LPs! I'd been on the fence for years about getting this as I have the ORG45 + the Speakers Corner of Child & 3, then all this MoFi fiasco I thought what the heck I'll get it. From one listen I'm very happy.

 

I won't buy a One-Step or anything MoFi again at retail going forward. If I see a MoFi in the used bin for a low price at a record store or in the classifieds here, I might pick it up.

 

The guy that allegedly punches holes in walls? Don't hold your breath.

 

Revelation.
How are high end hi -fi shops handling this?

 

It depends on the forum, but the Hoffman forum skews older. I'm not a spring chicken at 41, but I've been on the Hoffman Forums since my 20s and I was on other forums and newsgroups (who remembers newsgroups in the 90s?) in my teens.

That said, I know there are young guys in their 20s on this forum. Unlike us, they're smart enough not to argue for weeks and for almost 600 pages about Mobile Fidelity.

 

Thanks I thought it was Basie Sinatra & Teagarden.

 

IMO you missed the point.
This thread is not about Mobile Fidelity, this thread is about truth, honesty, righteousness.

 

To some degree, but certainly not totally.

 

Good point, and probably one that would stand up in FTC court or whatever. They could surely demonstrate technically that DSD256 has 'more capacity' than analog tape, can virtually eliminate generational losses and technically prove through tests & instrumentation that despite their crafty marketing they were actually 'helping' the consumer when 'tricking' them by using DSD256 (compared to greater generational losses that would inevitably occur in an AAA chain).

 

(Minor) change in the Vinyl section : the 45RPM sub-section has disappeared and has been replaced by an ALL VINYL sub-s.


Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab

 

Of course not.
I agree.

 

As usual, you completely ignore the fact that MoFi advertised AAA OMR recordings and sold fakes for over a decade but you think that’s ok because some couldn’t tell the difference. A fake is a fake, people pay the big bucks because they want the real thing.

We already know digitally sourced LP’s can sound great, this is no revelation. We know the master tapes won’t last forever and need to be preserved digitally. We know that eventually all LP’s will be digitally sourced but we aren’t there yet, which is all the more reason why people want the real deal.

You don’t address if MoFi’s DSD process is so great why not be upfront about it, why hide it. That fact alone should tell you all you need to know about the integrity of this company and why they did what they did because they know the DSD source doesn’t have nearly the same value so they decided to fleece their customer base.

You don’t address what MoFi is going to do moving forward. One thing I know FOR SURE is they can’t survive selling DSD one steps @ 125 a pop, not even close. So when they either have to go back to AAA or start selling the DSD versions for FAR less than what they are now you can thank all the AAA folks who stood up for what is right.

 

I don't have time to read all 594 pages - can somebody summarise for me whether this mystery was solved? Have they been cutting from digital masters all along?

 

Read through a bit of this thread. I have Mofi stuff and here in the UK it has always been a slightly expensive indulgence except for the times I was able to pick up some titles on trips to the USA. This is the only music site I visit so I have no idea what the wider audio world makes of this.
Storm in a tea cup or likely to cause serious damage to MFSL?