Washington Post article on MoFi vs. Fremer vs. Esposito


Here's a link to a Washington Post article on the recent dustup with MoFi. The comments section (including posts by Michael Fremer) are interesting.

Disclaimer: This is a "public service announcement, a point Im adding since some forum members complained the last article I referenced here was "paywall protected", I'll note that, for those who are non-subscribers, free access to limited numbers of articles is available by registering (trade-off: The Post will deluge you with subscription offers)

kacomess

“I bet the majority of listeners actually like highly compressed music.”

@larryi …sadly majority of listeners just don’t care. Spotify still has the largest subscriber base due to their vast catalog, streaming in 160kbps - 320kbps range. 

i don't doubt that the digitally-tweaked vinyl sounds better, and i would argue that mofi doesn't deserve the death penalty. bottom line, though, is that if, as alleged, mofi intentionally misled those analog purists who paid a superpremium for these records mofi should face some financial consequences. nobody's above the law, right?

English is not my first language so I apologize for asking this question which I offer genuinely, sincerely, and honestly but I see nowhere on any of the Mobile Fidelity products that I own any reference, promise, or indication of an "all -analog" process so where is it exactly that this company is accused of "lying"??

@clearthinker Is not withholding critical information is in fact misrepresentation to some degree, ultimately, courts will decide this issue.

 

My issue is with what are the harms done to individual purchasers of Mofi recordings? Did suddenly gained knowledge of digital step in mastering instantly change inherent quality of recording? No, the inherent qualities of recordings are absolutely the same as prior to this knowledge. Some may suddenly dislike the sound quality, total delusion based on anti digital bias. So there is no devaluation of these recordings based on sound quality. Then there is the question of market value of Mofi recordings, will these recordings drop in market value due to same bias?  What a shame for  Mofi to suffer based on anti digital bias, remember no devaluation based on sound quality.

 

I don't see any harms to individual purchasers of Mofi recordings. The misrepresentation should have some consequence, I'd suggest any financial settlement should accrue to entire mastering industry, not individuals, whether in class action or individual suit.

@clearthink - from what I've seen on those YouTube videos, you are correct; they haven't said 'all analog' since 2015 or something.

But I guess there is still an implication of such to some folks, and some people who paid a lot of money for what they mistakenly thought was 'all analog' are upset... I've got no opinion one way or the other.