Definitive Audiophile pressings

AnthonyI said:
…this whole thing isn't really about the sound, its about truth.
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Oh, I completely respect that. My issue is only people that seemingly share your same opinion but try to relate it back to the product now being inferior. I am not a big Mo-Fi guy to begin with and I am definitely not an Audiophile but to see people’s opinions change about the product due sourcing is wild to me.
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Joe Mac said:
i suppose half the reason I’m not quite so arsed is that it’s not like it’s pile of tripe, the ones I have really do sound great.
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Same here. I can count on one hand the MoFis I have that don’t sound great. And at the end of the day it’s the sound quality that I care about. One of the AP Lightnin Hopkins albums is a needle drop and it was $40. It sounds excellent still.
TenderLovingKiller® said:
Oh, I completely respect that. My issue is only people that seemly share your same opinion but try to relate it back to the product now being inferior. I am not a big Mo-Fi guy to begin with and I am definitely not an Audiophile but to see people’s opinions change about the product due sourcing is wild to me.
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Yep. This is the somewhat funny part to me. Two weeks ago these people were trying to get their hands on every MoFi release ever because they said they sounded great. Now all of a sudden they are cancelling preorders and saying digitally sourced albums suck.

I totally understand not wanting to support their tactics, or not wanting to drop $100+ on a One Step if the source was digital transfer from analogue. But at the end of the day the sound quality is what people are after and that hasn’t changed since these “revelations”.
 
HiFi Guy said:
My issue now- given what we know, is the pricing on the MoFi releases. It’s still a good product, but I’m not sure I’m in anymore given the price.
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This has long been my frame of mind about MoFi releases. AP often beats them. Impex beats them. The MoFi SACD titles are often as good as the vinyl, and given their customer service and quality control, it really takes an exceptional record for me to even really consider picking up a MoFi record. I sold most of the ones I have (I think I've got a few left, but e.g. I sold my grateful dead mofi -- they sound great, but so do the reissues that I picked up. And I'm not a stickler for sonic purity -- I've got shitty cassettes and terrible mp3 bootlegs I listen to).

So the one-steps were never really appealing to me other than I guess it would be nice to own a curio or have the kind of disposable income that you see in the mofi facebook groups where guys show off their complete collection of one-steps with multiple sealed copies of titles. The "I'm a huge audiophile that's why I would never ruin a record by opening it and listening to it" guys.

Jbraswell said:
People are posting they have canceled $1,000s of back/preorders.
One guy said MD hung up on him today when he called to cancel orders.

There's a bit of a mushroom cloud going off here.
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If it brings the prices down, I'm all for it. MoFi records for 20 to 60? totally worth it. More than 60? I'll just get a FLAC to listen to on the PC while I work and find an acceptable copy to listen to on the record player when I'm trying to unwind at night. Maybe I'll splurge and get a CD for 5 to 10 bucks.
 
yukbon said:
This has long been my frame of mind about MoFi releases. AP often beats them. Impex beats them. The MoFi SACD titles are often as good as the vinyl, and given their customer service and quality control, it really takes an exceptional record for me to even really consider picking up a MoFi record. I sold most of the ones I have (I think I've got a few left, but e.g. I sold my grateful dead mofi -- they sound great, but so do the reissues that I picked up. And I'm not a stickler for sonic purity -- I've got shitty cassettes and terrible mp3 bootlegs I listen to).

So the one-steps were never really appealing to me other than I guess it would be nice to own a curio or have the kind of disposable income that you see in the mofi facebook groups where guys show off their complete collection of one-steps with multiple sealed copies of titles. The "I'm a huge audiophile that's why I would never ruin a record by opening it and listening to it" guys.



If it brings the prices down, I'm all for it. MoFi records for 20 to 60? totally worth it. More than 60? I'll just get a FLAC to listen to on the PC while I work and find an acceptable copy to listen to on the record player when I'm trying to unwind at night. Maybe I'll splurge and get a CD for 5 to 10 bucks.
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I avoided them because of the price at first, but as vinyl has crept up some don't seem as bad as they once did. And with space limitations, quality over quantity is more appealing to me now. But that Eldorado really blew me away and sold me on mofi, then the Lotus album did so again. I've been semi-impressed with the AP albums, but I only have a few of the Norah Jones and even though I don't have her debut on AP the anniversary version is so good to my ears that I'd be happy with the rest if they were that good in that price range.

My first Impex should ship soon, I hope, although I think MDs system upgrade may have screwed up my order.

I've said it before, but I'm rarely disappointed by anything MOV does and can usually get those on eBay for reasonable prices and they put out more of the kinds of music I'm often looking for anyway. So my heathen view is that they're the top for me so far based on my calculus of cost/quality.

One of the reasons I love hanging out with most all of you on N&G is that we're mainly in it for good sounding music, we respect that's subjective, and don't try to shame anyone (except U2 and Steely Dan fans who are wrong 🫣, I keed, I keed).

Plus as someone who thinks all businesses are evil exploiters of labor, I don't trust any of them and when they get exposed as scumbags trying to squeeze every bit of our money from us, well, that's the nature of bull shit businesses under capitalism. I'm ready for the workers of the world to seize the means of vinyl mastering!
 
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There is a huge parallel universe with the vinyl and bourbon community.
They all like to show off their unopened highly expensive splurges.

The insta/book of faces people are the worst.

No thanks. Life is too damn short for this ludacris hoarding.
If Mofi aftermarket prices crash, these people would give me the most chuckles.
Bourbon prices probably will never crash (unfortunately).
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
I am definitely not an Audiophile but to see people’s opinions change about the product due sourcing is wild to me.
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1st rem the Classic titles of the 60s/70s/80s that we are talking about were originally recorded all analog. However, many of the vinyl pressings of the day were done cheaply. Mass produced to the extreme. At some point the OG analog master tapes will be gone and then we will be fortunate to have very high quality digital copies to work from because ADA can obviously sound fantastic.

But, part of the implied value of the “all analog mastering chain” was that these records were “possibly” the finest all analog versions of these classic titles that have ever been pressed or ever will be. This is the niche market for these titles at this price point that MoFi implied that they were filling.

3 separate markets niches:

a) An original or early pressing because it is an historical artifact. In great condition well worth paying for so u can enjoy it, preserve it, and pass it on to future music lovers.

b) The best possible all analog version done with loving care from the original analog master tapes. These OG tapes will someday be worn out and gone. Pressed on the highest quality vinyl. Maybe the last and best pure analog versions of these titles that will ever be produced. This is what the One-Steps (and most MoFi titles in general) were thought to be.

c) The best sounding records that can be made using today’s technology. Combining both old analog and today’s digital technology. It is always possible and indeed likely that a better sounding version will be produced in the future as digital continues to improve. This is what MoFi is apparently currently producing since they added DSD tape copy into the previous all analog product they were famous for.

Three separate market niches. I buy all three types and enjoy them all. I’m just not sure I need to worry about having every MoFi title of group “c” that interests me at this time because a better ADA is always a real possibility in the future. And, I definitely don’t like being tricked into buying a different product than I thought I was paying for.
 
Jbraswell said:
There is a huge parallel universe with the vinyl and bourbon community.
They all like to show off their unopened highly expensive splurges.

The insta/book of faces people are the worst.

No thanks. Life is too damn short for this ludacris hoarding.
If Mofi aftermarket prices crash, these people would give me the most chuckles.
Bourbon prices probably will never crash (unfortunately).
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The best bourbon is the bourbon currently in my glass.
 
Joe Mac said:
I bet. They’re made to be played. It’s like the grown ups who buy kids toy cars and put them on shelves without ever taking them out of their boxes…
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I am weird about some stuff though. Like I have hundreds of cool stickers that I have saved over the years just waiting for the perfect surface of something to defile. Also, I have lots of fancy notebooks that I am saving for no other reason than I want to use them for something substantial. Most things that I collect though I also enjoy.
 
Joe Mac said:
I bet. They’re made to be played. It’s like the grown ups who buy kids toy cars and put them on shelves without ever taking them out of their boxes…
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I am weird about some stuff though. Like I have hundreds of cool stickers that I have saved over the years just waiting for the perfect surface of something to defile. I also have lots of fancy notebooks that I am saving for no other reason than I want to use them for something substantial. Most things that I collect though, I also enjoy.
 
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TenderLovingKiller® said:
I am weird about some stuff though. Like I have hundreds of cool stickers that I have saved over the years just waiting for the perfect surface of something to defile. Also, I have lots of fancy notebooks that I am saving for no other reason than I want to use them for something substantial. Most things that I collect though I also enjoy.
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Ah yes! I've been looking for an excuse to post a pic of what I do with my vinyl stickers. Literally a shit post. lol That is the sewage pipe for the upstairs bathrooms.

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TenderLovingKiller® said:
I am weird about some stuff though. Like I have hundreds of cool stickers that I have saved over the years just waiting for the perfect surface of something to defile. Also, I have lots of fancy notebooks that I am saving for no other reason than I want to use them for something substantial. Most things that I collect though I also enjoy.
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You have good intentions, which makes it ok. I mean, who here has read every book on their shelves?
 
I have quite a few MOV pressings and all have sounded good to great. But what I find disappointing is the often lack of artwork that was available with the original pressing or even the original cd for newer titles. I just got Son Volt's Trace the other day and my original cd comes with a 4 panel fold out, including several pictures not reproduced on the MOV package.

Now I know even the original vinyl for Trace did not have a printed sleeve, but I find this is the often the case with MOV pressings. Nicely printed outer but no additional artwork.
 
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