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Mobile Fidelity Introduces UD1S Analog

MOFI has finally, (well actually it was announced awhile ago) the first UD1S record, Santana "Abraxas".

Here is more on the UD1S process:

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior

Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master tape. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.
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cousinbillyl
190 posts
 
I'm hoping someone can correct me.

The master tape is? - a long piece of tape, with a bazillion little magnets on it. A split second after the recording, those tiny (realigned) magnets start influencing each other, and start trying to shift position.

Unless I'm mistaken, tapes should be stored in a fridge/freezer.

There's also a small electromagnetic field trying to realign all those tiny little magnets, it's called planet Earth. The tapes need to be stored in a lead case (possibly a little dangerous for the handlers).

Every remaster I've ever bought is missing something. When I play the scratched/tick/popped original pressing, I always pack the new one, and sell it.

Or am I lost?
oleschool's avatar
oleschool
722 posts
 
cousin,
I have a thread on this exact thing .I feel the same way with almost every remaster i have.There are a few but in general they either sound like a cd (digital but not as good lol ) or are so over mixed in the low end and have just a weird sound to them ,to me it gets worse the better the system is .
the thread is "why do i keep torturing myself with remasters"
rlawry
478 posts
 
I don't think you are lost.  I have found very very few remasters that sound as good as the original, including those dreadful half-speed remasterings.  There has been endless speculation on why this is, but IMO the problem lies not only with deterioration of the master tapes but also the loss of industry know-how, aging equipment,and the fact that virtually no one takes the time and effort in comparing reissues with originals.  I spent a lot of time doing just this and quit buying reissues merely to confirm that they were in most cases the worst-sounding pressings I could find.  Only today I compared a half-speed remaster to an original Bob James Sign of the Times LP and cannot for the life of me understand how anyone, including the record companies, could market something under the guise of "extended range recording", when it clearly had less extended bass and treble, not to mention a loss of dynamic range and immediacy.  It sound like electronic equalization was applied to simply boost the bass and treble, i.e. the "smiley face" graphic equalization I used to do 30 years ago when I had one of these equalizers.  It results in a loss of detail and extension, completely overwhelming the rest of the sonic spectrum and making the music unlistenable, IMO.  The treble became white noise, like cans of spray mist being actuated, and the bass was all mid-bass and boomy.  Get an original, especially one from the country of the parent record company (look on Discogs to find this), and ones with the independent mastering house like Sterling and Masterdisk are usually the best.
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness OP
4,982 posts
 
Just heard that this first release, (Santana "Abraxas")  will be "Extremely Limited To 2500 Copies".

Not sure if this will be the norm or if this is just for the initial release.
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craigus
7 posts
 
For what it's worth, I heard this played in the MoFi room at either CES or THE Show , can't remember which exactly. Not that I've heard all versions on every system, but it was clearly the best I had ever heard that album.  I was not the only one who thought it was excellent. It was black vinyl.There was talk of more releases but no specific titles
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