Do Mobile Fidelity Vinyl Re-issues Have a Digital Step in the Process?

[dminches]

I am just referring to the fact that when specifically questioned about the digital rumors people from the company denied them.

I see. To me, companies are advertising their products and trying to get the consumer to conclude about what they are buying. This obviously is not limited to the audio industry. For records, they want you to believe they are all analog and use words to help you get there without actually saying it. Impex realized that’s what they did with this release.

 

[Audire]

Please show me where on MoFi’s older descriptions where they said their records were “pure analogue.”

Look at the MoFi images that they had on their site and their new ones. Compare this one below with their new image they have online which states one steps come from DSD256. Unfortunately that’s not right either as some of them are DSD64. See Ron’s explanation of this image on #84.



There’s also statements such as,:”MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers.”



Then there's:





And then there are the individual emails they sent out.

 

[dminches]

Look at the MoFi images that had on their site and their new ones. Compare this one below with their new image they have online which states one steps come from DSD256. Unfortunately that’s not right either as some of them are DSD64. See Ron’s explanation of this image on #84.

View attachment 96801

There’s also statements such as,:”MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers.”

View attachment 96802

Then there's:


View attachment 96804


And then there are the individual emails they sent out.

I am not trying to let them off the hook. They deceived the public.

Having said that, none of their issues say “AAA”. Again, I don’t think that is the point and I agree with you that they tried to paint a picture that said “all analog.” By me asking the question of that you quoted I was saying that Impex’s description was the same as MoFi’s picture. Both wanted you to conclude “ANALOG.”

We are in agreement with the big picture of deception.

 

[Ron Resnick]

How so?

The change in the first bullet point.

 

[dminches]

The change in the first bullet point.

Oh! I thought you meant my statement.

I agree.

 

[XV-1]

Did you try to equalize sound levels for the comparisons?

Yes we did. The louder we played it the more realistic the KG was.

 

[Audire]

Lawsuit filed over Music Direct's quality of audio on vinyl

This point is further up in the thread. Some attys have already commented upon it.

 

[Drikus]

This point is further up in the thread. Some attys have already commented upon it.

Ah okay I'll delete it then. Didn't read all the previous posts.

 

[microstrip]

I see. To me, companies are advertising their products and trying to get the consumer to conclude about what they are buying. This obviously is not limited to the audio industry. For records, they want you to believe they are all analog and use words to help you get there without actually saying it. Impex realized that’s what they did with this release.

It is the usual marketing system in the high-end. See for example class A. Most of the time they tell consumers they are 100W at class A, although they know that most speakers have dips around 2 ohm!

The real problem is that since it is cleary proved now that no one can reliability detect such "digital steps" by listening in a reliable way we are still just speculating and slowly learning. But anyone following professional forums and activities knows that the best professionals in current industry considers the higher bit rates sonically transparent.

Digital recordings formats are another example of lack of transparency. Bit rate of the file does not tell the whole story!

 

[microstrip]

Yes we did. The louder we played it the more realistic the KG was.

Thanks. Just to be clear, you were comparing the versions being referred in this article? https://www.analogplanet.com/content/does-umes-50th-anniversary-whats-going-beat-mofis-one-step

 

[XV-1]

Thanks. Just to be clear, you were comparing the versions being referred in this article? https://www.analogplanet.com/content/does-umes-50th-anniversary-whats-going-beat-mofis-one-step

Yes. Just make sure you get the "real" KG mastered 50th anniversary release

 

[microstrip]

Yes. Just make sure you get the "real" KG mastered 50th anniversary release (...)

Well, reading both your appraisal and this one just proves gain that in this hobby one man's meat is another man's poison.

 

[XV-1]

Well, reading both your appraisal and this one just proves gain that in this hobby one man's meat is another man's poison.

U like the Modfi better?

All 3 in the room preferred KG, not just me.

 

[davidavdavid]

Sign/Sigh of the Times:

 

[davidavdavid]

One Month in and so much happened, from the first video to the present:

The MoFi (Mobile Fidelity)[Music Direct] Carole King Tapestry One-Step which is presently sold out on the website is $125.00. I have been monitoring the secondary market on numerous titles and have found there to be a glut of this particular one on eBay, Discogs and Facebook Marketplace.

Today I was on eBay checking out the available prices for NEW, SEALED units and I came across this post for $89.99 + shipping. I was genuinely surprised but not stunned to see a One-Step selling this far below as a Buy-It-Now (no auction) at this price. Honestly now, I was prepared for sub-100 dollar offerings but sub-90 dollars. And to think that today, August 14th, has been exactly one month since the first YouTube video alleging digital steps be taken by MoFi/Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs/Music Direct.

Look closely at the second graphic. At the time I captured it sixteen watchers, all of them with equal opportunity to pull the trigger and snap it up, had not so done.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you, David, for monitoring the market for Mobile Fidelity UD1S LPs. The price decline is interesting, and suggests that, regardless of sound quality, consumers don’t like being misled.

It will be interesting to see if the price decline you are observing factors into the Plaintiffs’ argument regarding the calculation of damages.

On the three UD1S titles (all sealed in boxes) I have posted on eBay, I have not received any interest above the original purchase price of $125.

 

[PeterA]

Thank you, David, for monitoring the market for Mobile Fidelity UD1S LPs. The price decline is interesting, and suggests that, regardless of sound quality, consumers don’t like being misled.

It will be interesting to see if the price decline you are observing factors into the Plaintiffs’ argument regarding the calculation of damages.

Ron, Were you able to sell your MoFi records?

 

[dminches]

One Month in and so much happened, from the first video to the present:

The MoFi (Mobile Fidelity)[Music Direct] Carole King Tapestry One-Step which is presently sold out on the website is $125.00. I have been monitoring the secondary market on numerous titles and have found there to be a glut of this particular one on eBay, Discogs and Facebook Marketplace.

Today I was on eBay checking out the available prices for NEW, SEALED units and I came across this post for $89.99 + shipping. I was genuinely surprised but not stunned to see a One-Step selling this far below as a Buy-It-Now (no auction) at this price. Honestly now, I was prepared for sub-100 dollar offerings but sub-90 dollars. And to think that today, August 14th, has been exactly one month since the first YouTube video alleging digital steps be taken by MoFi/Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs/Music Direct.

Look closely at the second graphic. At the time I captured it sixteen watchers, all of them with equal opportunity to pull the trigger and snap it up, had not so done.

The prices on Discogs for US sales have dipped some, but not a ton. This was not the best received reissue to begin with. I am interested how the prices of the other, more sought-after titles do.

On a side note, and just my opinion, I have no sympathy for people who bought extra copies to sell, especially those who are music fans. I am never been comfortable doing that and making my fellow music fan pay more for something. /soapbox.

MoFi's business will be hurt for a while. Eventually the marketplace will get over it since they are not alone in deceitful advertising. I do hope this debacle brings about change so we are clear in what we are buying.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Ron, Were you able to sell your MoFi records?

Nope. On the three UD1S titles (all sealed in boxes) I have posted on eBay, I have not received any interest above the original purchase price of $125.

As I would like to think that my taste in music is not as defective as is my taste in equity securities, I would prefer not to sell these six LPs at a loss. I canceled my Thriller pre-order.

Fortunately when I purchased my LPs in the 1980s and 1990s and the 2000s I found the early Mobile Fidelity AAA releases to be on the bright-sounding side, so I always kind of shied away from Mobile Fidelity products. I now understand that Mobile Fidelity remediated that early brightness issue over the years, but I didn’t know that along the way.

When Mobile Fidelity released their UD1Ss of some of my favorite titles I bought two copies of each of three of my very favorite titles for the heck of it, as I almost always do when a company releases a product of one of my very favorite titles. My early bias against the sound of Mobile Fidelity reissues, except for these six LPs, has kept me away from buying Mobile Fidelity products up to the present day.

When I open my boxes of LPs, hopefully sometime in the next few months, I expect to find a lot of DCC Compact Classics (which I thought generally are the best sounding albums of my favorite rock and pop titles), Classic Records, Chesky and Sheffield Lab.

 

[adrianywu]

DSD is numerous steps backwards from the real thing. That’s one reason why MoFi went to extremes to try to convenience everyone that their one steps were AAA vinyl. If as you state it was better, then why did they feel the need to fake it? They faked it acknowledging which format they knew was superior!

Not better than AAA vinyl, but the DSD file should at least be better than the One Step LPs that were derived from it.