MoFi v/s UHQR

I have records from both MoFi and AP and, while they’re both good, I’ve come to prefer the AP UHQR recordings. To my ear, they sound richer, fuller, and with more depth.  And Acoustic Sounds customer service is excellent. 

What I’ve “almost” totally stopped buying are records from any number of the other producers. I’ve had several that the quality wasn’t even bad — it was horrible. Case in point was “Natalie Cole - Unforgettable 30th Anniversary Edition from Craft/Concord Records. More skips and pops than a popcorn popper. I’ll be sticking to the better quality production plants going forward.

If anyone is interested in exploring a completely different track, check out Supersense from Vienna, Austria. They’re outrageously expensive (especially with the shipping charge) but I’ve heard a couple of their recordings and I have to admit — they were like nothing I’ve ever heard before or since. I finally broke down and bought one — BUT THAT”S THE LAST ONE! Anymore of those get delivered to the house and the WF is going to erupt!  

@whart 

Very well said!  I agree with you that the focus should be on finding those gems and new music to enjoy.  It takes more effort too...it's much easier to replace an album you have or simply buy the latest audiophile of an album you don't have on vinyl but already know.  I do both and definitely enjoy both!

@mikempls 

You made me remember my success with Rhino records' audiophile releases.  If I recall correctly, they are only $40 and are excellent quality and sound.  I recently bought a Devo Van Morrison and Black Sabbath and they were all great pressings, flat, quiet, great sonics and packaging.

I've owned perhaps 75 different MFSL LPs over the past 35 years.  Regardless of whether they were from back in the day (mastered by Stan Ricker and pressed on JVC Super vinyl, with the smiley EQ curve), or modern releases within the past five years or so, I now own ZERO MFSL pressings.  The last through the door, the 45 RPM 'Making Movies' from Dire Straits was indeed dire, and screamed its digital-ness; it was a lifeless, soulless abomination.  I've probably profited more than I've lost over the years with the liquidation of those LPs.

I've had nothing but joy from Analogue Productions' efforts over the years.  Not everything is (or can be) perfect, but there are some real gems that Chad and company have released, and that I'm happy to own.  The recent Atlantic 75 series is a case in point - some amazing sonics on several of them that easily better the original releases.  Can't say that ever occurred with a MFSL release (disclaimer:  I've never heard the Santana Abraxas 1-step, some people say it's special).  Just my 2¢.

For those wanting to access the quality of MoFi  vs. Analogue Productions versions of the same album, compare the pressings of Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis. AP offers the album in both 1-LP/33-1/3 RPM and 2-LP 45 RPM versions.

Lumping all MoFi LP's together is to over-simplify the situation. There are quite a few MoFI LP's that were mastered in pure analogue fashion, including three Ry Cooder albums, all of which sound excellent. By the way, for those wanting to boycott Mobile Fidelity for their outright deceitful lying when claiming all their LP's were made free of a digital conversion step (even when asked point blank), the German company Speakers Corner also offers some of Ry's albums made in pure analogue fashion.

The best way to buy LP reissues is to look at who is cutting the lacquer. Kevin Gray does all his mastering through a custom-made, all-tube, pure analogue system, and is amongst the best engineers now working. Other names to look for are Bernie Grundman, Ryan Smith, Chris Bellman, Steve Hoffman, Robert Ludwig, and Doug Sax.

As for pressings, QRP (Quality Record Pressing, a division of Acoustic Sounds, along with AP all owned and managed by Chad Kassem in Salina, KS.) is making the best LP's the world has ever seen. Single Analogue Productions LP's sell for about $40, doubles $60. You don't have to buy a MoFi 1-Step or Analogue Productions UHQR to get a great sounding reissue.

The are another couple dozen or so smaller companies doing great LP reissues, including Intervention Records, Rhino Hi-Fi ($40 for a 1-LP pressing), Light In The Attic, Music Matters, Blue Note Records, IMPEX, and Vinyl Me Please.

There are also new albums being released on LP in numbers not seen since the mid-to-late 80's. Some of them were recorded digitally, some purely analogue (I've been in studios lately that contained both a 2" multi-track analogue recorder and a full digital work station). YouTube is full of videos in which new and reissue LP's are reviewed, many commenting on sound quality (of new releases), even comparisons of different pressings (of reissues).

If you want good sounding LP's, you have to do your homework, just like you did to assemble your hi-fi.

I should have mentioned that original pressings of 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s LP’s are plentiful, and often available at low cost if you live in a city/town with a good used record store. Just yesterday I found a NM copy of the original pressing of the debut Wings album for five bucks at Music Millennium, just one of the many (a couple dozen) Portland Oregon shops stocked with thousands of used LP’s (even more new releases).

I prefer to buy used LP's in person when possible, as my grading standards are higher than those of sellers on ebay and even Discogs.