MoFi So Long So Wrong


I gather I may be reigniting a firestorm here, but is there a problem with MoFi's SO LONG SO WRONG or with my system?

The last two tracks on Side 2 are unlistenable.

I thought it was my copy of the record. Those two tracks are noticeably darker (in color) than the other two on that side. A friend bought the same LP, and his copy does the same thing on my table and his--both are Rega P5s with Exact II styli.

Mo Fi, for their part, asserts that there's no problem with the record. It's been a while since I bought it, so i can't return. I'm kind of hot about that, too--if it's a manufacturing defect, they ought to be willing to stand behind their product. And they aren't.

The rest of the record sounds fantastic.

But those two tracks are just awful.

Sibilance, distortion, a kind of cracking sound. As though the master level was messed with during cutting.

I've checked everything I know to check. The table seems to be dialed in pretty well. Anybody brave enough to offer an opinion?

(This may have been discussed before, but all I could find looking were what seemed like references to some OTHER thread.)

Thanks,

Marty
mpriola
Yeah, my copy of that Sinatra Mofi is a bit dead in the sonics, too. Not bad but not great, like you say. Milt Jackson's Invitation, on the other hand, is great sonically. My Michael Brecker's Pilgrimage is sonically so-so but my Little Feat's Sailin' Shoes is great.

On the other hand, I have a Grateful Dead Mars Hotel from the mid-80s that's disappointing, too, so I'm not so sure the old Mofi was always that more consistent.
I've purchased several mofi pressings and have found they are not nearly as good sounding as the HQ-180 pressings from Warner bros. Also, anything by analog productions sounds very good. I am not planning to buy any more mofi pressings until I hear they have improved. I love that they exist but their quality needs to get better.
No wonder people spend so much on cables. It is about the only thing, digital excluded, that got much better.
LPS HAVE NEVER BEEN RETURNABLE AS A RULE.  If the master is problematic so will be the end product. Find something else to worry about besides a single vinyl platter. Best of luck.