Feelings on the Music Hall MMF 7.1

The Music Hall mmf-7.1 and the VPI Scout are not in the same league because the Scout now lists for $2100 and the mmf-7.1 lists for $1300 (without cartridge). That's over 60% more money to buy a Scout; I would expect it to be in a different league. The question then is: Should I go ahead and spend more money for an even better turntable? If you consider what's available in the range of $2100 then I'd also look at the Music Hall mmf-9.1 (without cartridge), the Pro-Ject RM 9.1 or PerspeX, or even the the Avid Diva II with the Jelco arm for another $400. I have no experience with any of these tables but they're the ones I'd look at if I were upgrading my mmf-7 right now. (I'm not, and I'd probably look at turntables another notch up if I were.)

If you don't want to spend the extra money, the mmf-7.1 with the Pro-Ject 9cc carbon tonearm is a decent turntable for the money in my opinion. My mmf-7 (with the Pro-Ject 9 aluminum arm) is still going strong and sounds great with a DV-20XL cartridge. I eventually would like to upgrade but the mmf-7 has allowed me to experiment with cartridges and phono preamps and learn the finer nuances of cartridge alignment and cartridge loading by being responsive enough for me to hear the differences each time. If you have the extra money, there are certainly better tables, but the mmf-7.1 is still a good buy at $1300.

Tom

For around the price of the MMF-7.1, the Rega P3 and P5 are much better tables.

I'm a VPI Scout owner, former MMF-5 owner.

I was originally looking at the p5, but I was kind of turned off by the fact it doesn't have VTA adjustment.

I thought I was in the market for a P5 to upgrade from my Pro-Ject Xpression III but I really like the look of the MMF-7.1 and wish I would have gone with that over the Pro-Ject. Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do :/

I just purchased a used MMF-7 from here on A'gon. Let me just cut to the chase and say I am enjoying every moment with the MMF-7. No, it's not the last word in detail, or transparency, but it is as musical as all get out. It has a natural warmth, with lot's of air, and really a great soundstage, and has a nice, fully adjustable tonearm. Bottom line, it sounds great.

Now, is it competative at list price? As I've never listened to the similarly priced Regas, Projects, etc., I really can't say. However, I don't think Tfkaudio's comparison of the VPI Scout and the MMF-7 is valid. MMf-7 list price is $1295 (w/o cartridge) $1495 (including cartridge...and really a nice one at that) vs. VPI Scout $1799 (w/o cartridge). I'm sure the Scout is a fine tt, and one I will consider upgrading to in the future, but for right now, the MMF-7 is very affordable (especially when purchased used) and ultimately enjoyable (ie, musical).

Find a used one here on A'gon, plug it in, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I am!