Music

I wonder what Mo-Fi sales look like these days (12/19/2022)? I noted this morning that they are still asking a lot ($125) for these, not so limited items that they're selling. The $125 was for the first CSN album reissue as a One-Step. That album was poorly mastered, per the mastering engineer. Done so, he admitted, because Steven Still raved about the bass. So, if you want a fancier package for a poorly engineered album... now's you chance to spend away.

Not for me.

IMHO this really falls short, its not an apology or even an acknowledgment of the damage they have done to their reputation, and the lack of respect for their community. But regardless of the fracas this has created, its moved me further in the direction to sell my analog front end and record collection.

If Mofi thinks DSD ands higher is good enough for archiving precious masters, I am less inclined to give the time, energy, care and feeding to an analog setup. It looks more like facing backwards than forwards.

Interesting, thanks for posting!

Official Response from MoFi:

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/mofi-president-jim-davis-on-the-companys-mastering-process

Washington Post picked up on this https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/08/05/mofi-records-analog-digital-scandal/

I think there's a legitimate concern about transparency, but aside from that the issue was blown out of proportion by people who co-opted the issue as a argument for analog vs digital.

Also, as a person who watches alot of YouTube vinyl community videos, I'm sort of tired of hearing about it because people are going on and on about it like it's the end of the world as we know it. Some of the best videos are people who are advocating for better transparency but it doesn't mean they still don't love the albums they bought.

And if this results in lower prices and better availability... then that's ok with me. I have no sympathy for people who hoard records to sell them.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

From MoFi’s website:

Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set is mastered from the original analog master tapes, pressed at RTI, and strictly limited to 40,000 numbered copies.