MoFi controversy

How one feels about vinyl vs digital, about prices for 1-Steps, or about the sound quality of MoFi products isn’t the point, compared to the issue of the little banner across the top of MoFi albums....there are 2 and they used to have a meaning....

"Original Master Recording" meant it was sourced from the original master tapes, and the other banner "Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab" meant they had to use something else as the source (often a duplicate "safety tape", or the master was lost/damaged and all that is left is digital, for examples) and now their third category, super duper 1-steps , (because it was digitized somewhere in the process) and suddenly all of those distinctions are meaningless. It’s a big omission to people who care about transparency in the process.

For me it isn’t about the "quality" of the sound (they’re incredible most of the time) it’s just not 100% analog which is deceptive when Master Tapes are part of your brand identity. It’s a small but very competitive segment of the market. And obviously the consumers care.

I think the only people who are upset are the ones that have been:

1. Screaming (loudly) that analog is the only way to go and that digital sucks.

2. Extolling the virtues of MoFi’s products and using it as a basis to support point #1.

I’m a digital guy, but we all have an audiophile friend who meets the above criteria.

As for the controversy itself, I think MoFi has made a fortune using misleading advertising, as well as playing to the "word of mouth" movement during the analog resurgence of the last 15 years or so. But hey, it’s a business.

Caveat Emptor.

There’s no doubt that MoFi recordings are absolutely top notch. I’d be a little salty, too, though if I paid $100+ for a "One Step" pressing of what amounts to a SACD that you can buy for $30-$40.

If you like your MoFi recordings, great! Keep playing them. I certainly wouldn’t be mad enough to go smash the record in the street or anything like that, lol.

If you’re an analog only guy, perhaps re-evaluate the what’s and why’s and where you stand, and let’s all move on.

Happy Listening!

Consumers felt that MoFi was not transparent and the fact that they charge $125 for what is essentially a digitally sourced pressing is what rubs people the wrong way. I have no dog in this fight. I get all my high quality records from Analogue Productions whose owner Chad is a very passionate individual and made it his life long mission to bring the best of what vinyl has to offer.

The other dogma about analog being better than digital ????  Personally, I enjoy both.... All depends on the material and the rig matters a ton !

This is old news, records have been cut from digital recordings primarily for 3 decades. But these records still sound like “vinyl.” Perhaps there are distortion characteristics built in to record playback that are pleasing, and that has been the secret sauce.

 I have listened to very high end digital and very high end record playback systems, and I have felt for a good 5 years that records smooth off the top and add warmth. I find that MQA adds a very similar tonal characteristic, making recordings sound like records. Thus, I prefer the high resolution recordings streamed by Quboz as they sound more like the real thing. 
 

At my level, where I have similar investments into digital streaming and record playback (Aurender N100H and Schiit Yggdrasil vs Ariston Rd11s and modified Grace 707 and Benz Ace with Hegel V10), the digital side does everything better, especially spatiality, dynamics, and inner detail).

It will make a lot of harm for the record industry. Especially for premium products. Sales was rising so well especially for premium records, now this trend can change.