“Mofi-gate”

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by recstar24, Aug 1, 2022.

  1. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    I saw that today. Not really surprised to read that. Other possible dubious marketing stuffs to audiophiles I question: 180~200 gram records, half speed mastering, 45 rpm playback speed (which requires more records).

    I’m thinking simply it’s the overall mastering quality and the vinyl make-up quality are the 2 biggest factors and everything else is just mostly window dressing.
     
  2. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Have to say I hate 180g (and more), they don't feel to me like real records. I've always wondered: is the effect on VTA of the increased thickness enough to audibly increase bass and therefore make people think 'betterer'?
     
  3. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    Interesting to know snake oil didn't start with cables.
     
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  4. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    I think snake oil started with... snake oil?
     
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  5. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    Should've clarified... audio world snake oil.
     
  6. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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  7. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Heavyweight vinyl - Total scam

    Half-speed mastering - Not exactly a gimmick, but a process with pros and cons. Pro: More time for the cutting head to cut the grooves can result in more accurate reproduction of the waveform. Con: Cannot monitor the playback of the tape in real time to fine tune mastering moves. Not favored by the revered mastering/cutting engineers listed upthread.

    45 RPM playback - Absolutely not a scam, 45 RPM has multiple benefits over 33, with the only downside being less minutes of music per side. This is a good rundown of the benefits: https://classic45s.com/why45s/45sound.html. 45 RPM greatly reduces IGD, 45 RPM reproduces more of the detail from the source, and 45 RPM generally eliminates bleed through in the cutting.

    When given the choice between 45 and 33, all else being equal, I take the 45. The only situation where I would opt for the 33 would be a record like What’s Going On or Thick As A Brick or A Love Supreme where the album was designed to be played through on two 33 RPM vinyl sides.
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2022
  8. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    All this stuff makes me really nostalgic for the time when records were just the way we bought and played music.

    I guess there must have been audiophoolery and snake oil even then. Most of us were blissfully unaware of it. We just enjoyed the music.
     
  9. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    The full-geek explanation of the distortion part of this is in Graeme Dennes's tonearm geometry summary, available on vinylengine if you have a membership.

    He describes how Loefgren (1938) showed that tracking distortion is not only proportional to tracking error but also, at a given rpm, inversely proportional to radius - which came from an earlier proposal that distortion should be related to the ratio of groove amplitude vs wavelength. Wavelength at any frequency is proportional to groove velocity, so for a given frequency and amplitude, the angular deviation of the groove from tangential will be less if the record is going faster.

    So all other things being equal, a faster-spinning record will have less tracking distortion at all points than a slower one. Although the relative change in this component of tracking distortion from outside to inside will be the same on a 12" 45 as on a 12" 33.
     
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  10. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    This (apparently emailed) Q&A with TAS answers most of the questions about the Mofi mastering process, at least for me. https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/mofi-president-jim-davis-on-the-companys-mastering-process

    A couple of thoughts I had after reading it:
    - EQ is done in the analog domain after DSD capture of the master tape.
    - Licensing and other production related issues prevent them from just “cutting” more one-steps from the DSD. If licensing wasn’t an issue, then the EQ steps would have to be painstakingly done again months or years later. So really, this begs the question of why do these as one-steps? You are artificially limiting yourself and your ability to press future discs. In my mind, ditch the one-step process and then if licensing can be procured, for a lot less work you would be able to produce stampers and repress those Abraxas, SRV and other popular but limited records people would like to get their hands one without paying an arm and a leg. Of course they don’t have that now, so it would mean practically starting over on those releases.
    - ditching the one-step process would seem to bring the cost down some to influence the retail price to be a bit more palatable.
     
  11. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    They do it as a one step precisely to fire off those FOMO neurons. Hell, an ex-Music Direct employee has been posting online saying Jim Davis (MD and MFSL owner) hoards every 1-99 numbered release of every title and then sells them secondhand for profit. Who knows if that's true but you know he must LOVE seeing Abraxas going for $2k+ secondhand, it makes it seem like every One Step release is a potential gold mine, causing investors and speculators and flippers and collectors to buy in addition to music fans.
     
  12. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    If that’s true, that sincerely sucks and seems awfully slimy.

    I’d also think being able to sell a few more thousand records (over time) for each offering would be more attractive than seeing the second hand market sky rocket. But that’s my perspective of ‘get this into as many hands as you can’.
     
  13. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I think they know that vinyl is currently in a bubble and are looking to capitalize on that.

    And the more we learn about their practices, the slimier they look.
     
  14. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    At the end of the day, this entire event was a much needed wake up call for an industry and hobby that was becoming insufferably corrupt ... whether it's ridiculously overpriced TOTL headphones that sound tonally worse than mid-fi stuff and need a serious price decrease, or endless FOMO gear cycling to chase the dopamine dragon, or companies that let insatiable greed cloud their better judgement and contribute to an out of control second hand market.
     
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  15. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    It says that it is all very difficult, that their engineers are very clever, uses the word azimuth frequently and also mentions the name Tim D’Paravicini as often as it can. Also Sebastopol. And remote places.

    So... Everything's fine. Right?
     
  16. recstar24

    recstar24 Friend

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    Ugh what a puff job. Those are some softball ass questions lol. Come on TAS do better!
     
  17. luckybaer

    luckybaer Friend

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    Sounds like they failed to mention digital in the chain. That’s a misrepresentation. I know there are those who buy those crazy-expensive MoFi LPs believing they are AAA, so they’ve been misled.

    I own some MoFi LPs - I don’t think any of them are of the >=$100/LP OneStep variety. I just bought my MoFi LPs because I really liked the LPs, and wanted them. I didn’t think about them having digital in the chain.

    Good digital sounds really good to me. I’ve heard lousy-sounding vinyl products, so just because it is on vinyl doesn’t mean it will sound as good or better than a digital product. I’m preaching to the choir, and most folks here are pragmatic when they make music purchases - I’m not saying anything controversial.

    I lean heavily towards digital these days- not because I’m terribly cheap (I’ll spend for an LP if I really want it), but because I’m terribly lazy, and if I do my research, I can usually find a digital release that kicks ass (at least for stuff I listen to, which is mostly pre-1993).

    Too bad MoFi wasn’t more honest. Their products are good, so had they sung the praises of their DSD step, I don’t think they would have lost many customers. They should sing the praises of DSD the way PS Audio does - LOL… there’s some hardcore DSD marketing!

    FWIW, I sometimes do needle drops to DSD 64 and then convert to FLAC in order to save any click reduction and hiss removal performed.

    Anyway, I’m still looking forward to Thriller and the Van Halen releases on MoFi SACD. I’m sure they will sound great, and $29.99 is a lot better than $125.00!
     
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  18. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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  19. Qildail

    Qildail Friend

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    That honestly took longer than I expected. Over/under on settlement amount being $30 a record?
     
  20. recstar24

    recstar24 Friend

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    I would easily and gladly place a good sized bet on the under
     

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