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
I had a friend bring his Mission775sm Table with a 774sm tonearm and a Dorian cartridge. Every record that I have sibilance on was gone on his table. Same setup other than different table and tonearm. Has everything to do with the table and arm IMO. I wonder if gimbal arms are less prone to this type of distortion. maybe better unipivots would track better
Perhaps this discussion should be limited to one LP, but I just bought the Mo-Fi re-issue of "Only the Lonely" (Frank Sinatra). As I listened to it, I was thinking that I have a life-long experience with this album, and I can sing every ballad on it. I bought a copy when it originally came out by taking the bus to THE record store in New Haven, CT, because I was too young to drive. I have owned a couple of Japanese re-issues since. Anyway, I am not going to say the Mo-Fi re-issue is "bad", but it is nothing special; I was hoping for a revelation. I was recently listening to one of my "old" Mo-Fi's (Dave Brubeck quartet with Gerry Mulligan in concert). There is no comparison; the Brubeck/Mulligan LP is far far superior to the Sinatra and conveys the illusion of reality that is uncanny at times. Granted, the difference between the two is at least partly due to a difference in the quality of the original sources. I would still buy a Mo-Fi, but my expectations are lowered.
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.