MoFi controversy

@sns

I feel for the average audiophile. They are not technical. The are bombarded day in and day out by advertising, media articles by audio personalities, and comments by other audiophiles that are filled with a litany of incorrect information if not outright lies about supposed deficiencies of digital or superiority of analog. Critical thinking and analysis is not only not encouraged, it is actively discouraged and the few people who possess the background to speak knowledgeably on the topic are treated like a pariah.

I have absolutely no doubt that MoFi used a DSD transfer because it was if not the absolute best option sonically for them, it was close enough and superior to any analog format they could have chosen. Their process of going to the studios and accessing 1st generation tapes is the right one. Others using all analog processes will not be using first generation studio masters to run their lathes. In most cases the 1st gen would not even be allowed to leave the studio necessitating use of an inferior 2nd or 3rd gen which will still be called a master, and then they may need to make a generational copy, not to mention the inherent generational copies in the a most complex vinyl stamping process which MoFi avoids with their 1-step process.

So while I feel for audiophiles, I have no sympathy for them in this matter. They are totally responsible for the conditions that resulted in MoFi feeling it was advantageous to without information about a digital processing step as opposed to being honest that by any measure, their use of a digital step resulted in a far superior end product.

I only care about the SQ. My understanding about the One Steps is that they improved the vinyl production process (and providing the best vinyl quality) by eliminating 2 steps in the typical lacquer/stamper process where distortions inevitably occur. I didn't think they were doing anything different in the mastering process.

I wanted to compare them to the UHQRs I have from back in the early 80s, which are the best sounding records I own. Those UHQRs are at a disadvantage since they are 33s and not 45s. I have the original Paul Simon Still Crazy on vinyl and from the second when I dropped the stylus on the One Step, it blew me away. Easily as good as or better than the UHQRs. Counting for inflation, $100 for a 33 One Step or $125 for a 45 is about right compared to the UHQRs which I think listed for $50, which you could buy discounted. The UHQRs gave an authenticity certificate and graphical printout of the frequency response of the record, which is pretty cool. The One Steps have the album graphics on a separate insert, which the UHQRs didn't provide. I'd like to be able to get reasonable priced outer sleeves for these that fit.

I don't like the scalping/collectability aspect of these records, with people only intending to treat them as investments and never playing them. They were meant to be played and enjoyed. They are not stamps or coins. If there was some way to avoid that (I know they try to limit it to by allowing the buying of only 2 copies, but scalpers get around that by hoarding or whatever). I wonder how much closer the price would be to other amazing sounding records like  Analogue Productions 45s which go for about $60, but don't have all the extra packaging, which I am sure adds a lot to the retail price. Maybe they'd come down $20-25.

$125 is a lot to pay for a record, and I would only add to my One Step collection (now at 2) if 1) It is one of my favorite albums and 2) my existing copy leaves something to be desired. For example, my Nightfly Japanese pressing is already a reference within my collection, so I never thought of buying the One Step. If I was trying to make money, I surely would have bought a couple of them. 

Maybe they can only sell them to retailers who agree to sell them for MSRP, like they do for record store day releases. That would be a help.

Can't wait for Cannonball's Something' Else to come out on the One Step.......the list of others I would buy is pretty short in case anybody has any impact on the title selection reading here....Royal Scam, Pretzel Logic, Deja Vu, John Barleycorn. If anyone has a great Japanese pressing of one of these, please DM me.

One last posting on this mess. This copied from Cookie Marenco at Blue Coast Music. (Yes, just like PS Audio's Octave Records they sell CDs and DSD files of music they record using DSD).

"It was hard to avoid the conversation about Mobile Fidelity (MoFi) and their vinyl releases over the last few weeks. I have my own perspective on the situation - take it or leave it...

In case you missed it, here’s what happened.... Mobile Fidelity has been a long time favorite brand for audiophiles to purchase licensed vinyl. They master in their own facility in Northern California using well respected engineers and top notch equipment. After watching the interview with the mastering engineers, I believe they made the best choices possible to preserve the sound of the original tape and transfer that to vinyl. Even the vinyl critics agree that the sound is spectacular.

In the last few years, MoFi engineers started cutting from DSD256 rather than make a second analog tape stage. I completely understand. I love analog tape, but I’ve made the comparison tests myself... making a copy on tape from another tape (called a safety copy) doesn’t sound as "good" to me as making a copy of the tape to DSD256. If you have to chose between a safety copy on tape or DSD256, I would choose DSD256. And besides, as a tape lover myself, finding new tape that sounds good is a problem. After Ampex/Quantegy went out of business, I had questions whether I could tolerate the sound of new tape... some of it sounds worse than PCM recording - just my opinion.

It happens, one of the mastering engineers, Krieg Wunderlich, had been our repair tech for more than 20 years and he talked about their processes often. I knew what they were doing and how. It was never a secret. He never said, "Don’t tell anyone how we do this".

But, many vinyl music lovers felt there was a coverup as to how MoFi was mastering their vinyl recordings. I think the journalists and reviews for vinyl didn’t want to ask the right questions. Technology changes... tape and machine become obsolete and fragile. Changes to processes have to be made to offer anything on vinyl or other formats. One thing was clear in all the confusion... the audiophile reviewers loved the sound MoFi was getting for their vinyl reissues.

I watched a lot of videos taking advantage of the ’click bait’ opportunities with even the mention of "MoFi" on their youtube channels. There are interviews of journalists, reviewers and more about how "outrageous" the situation was. Then, they interviewed each other. There was also a lot of misinformation being spread by these outraged journalists. People heard what they wanted to hear and made up what they didn’t pay attention to. Frankly, I was more disappointed in the journalists involved than MoFi.

One thing was clear - the journalists and reviewers felt the MoFi DSD256 vinyl recordings sounded fantastic.

So why did I know how MoFi was mastering and not the journalists or reviewers? Maybe because the journalists didn’t want to know and never thought to ask? Didn’t want to learn something new? Needed a dumbed down answer because the truth is technology is difficult to understand? There were a lot of assumptions being made on a very difficult subject. Personally, I believe that if any journalist decided to interview any of the great mastering engineers they would hear a lot of things they don’t want to hear... or understand.

Having been in the business of selling DSD and HD downloads for a long while, we get a lot of questions from consumers and even other distributors. If there were easy methods for any of the recording, mixing or mastering process, everyone would be doing it. But there’s no easy explanation. We routinely respond to our customers and many ask the same questions 10 times... to which we answer 10 times. It’s like using the word "best"... If a $200 DAC is the best or a $20,000 DAC is the best... then what does the word "best" mean?

People want black and white answers when there are multiple shades of grey. Systems aren’t perfect and each mastering has a different set of issues. Believe me, we all wish that wasn’t the case. At Blue Coast Music we try to be transparent in our work by adding the provenance to each album.

Since all this news shattered the vinyl enthusiasts dreams, MoFi has released a statement that they will include the information about the methods used in each mastering. Better late than never.

There is (of course) the other side of this which is..... A lot of DSD enthusiasts who listen to vinyl already know how good DSD sounds and many people wondered what the fuss was about.

Here we say ----

Enjoy your music, how ever you want to listen to it!

Cookie Marenco"

Thank you for the post @moonwatcher.   I hope all the people who hold analog and tape up as some holy grail will hone in on one sentence,

And besides, as a tape lover myself, finding new tape that sounds good is a problem. After Ampex/Quantegy went out of business, I had questions whether I could tolerate the sound of new tape... some of it sounds worse than PCM recording - just my opinion.

I will repeat it again for those that do not want to believe,

sound of ... tape

If tape has a sound, then obviously it is far from perfect.

I don't think it was because the reviewers and vinyl\analog promoters did not want to know, or didn't want to ask an uncomfortable, for them, question. No, for all their bluster as being the experts, they simply did not know and it they didn't ask because it never occurred to them to ask. Nothing nefarious except not holding nearly the expertise they claimed.

Unfortunately, people want to hold onto their truths, so some companies are getting accolades because they are "pure analog", working all analog from the masters to the stamp. From the article above and as I stated.  It will not be the original, 1st master, driving the cutting heads. It will be a 2nd gen, maybe 3rd gen (but still called a master). Do you see all those pure analog companies telling you how many steps removed from the 1st master the tape driving their cutting heads are? Nope.

So it’s okay to use deceptive practices, and charge more money for it. I’m pretty sure it’s a lot easier to use DSD than analog, but they charged for analog.