MoFi UltraDeck / StudioDeck Owners and those interested

AnthonyI said:
Just to echo some of the other comments, here's my 2 cents. I think you'd be happy with either the Darlington or UP, I'd lean towards the UP for a couple of reasons. Cost, this is your first pre-amp and if you can save a couple of bucks to learn more about them and the sound your looking for why not. The MoFi pre-amps are theoretically designed for the MoFi decks, so you're definitely going to get a specific sound signature being generated, that said, I've had the StudioPhono and UltraDeck running a Grado Opus3 and they're a wonderful match..........plus your gaining a headphone amp on the UltraPhono.

My last bit of advice is this, while there are a ton of reviews, opinions, even from the fine folks here, including me, I'd always take it all in with a grain of salt. It's good to hear that a piece is solid and gets the nod from the majority of it's users, but the honest reality is that we all have our own ears, preferences and gear set ups. So while all the opinions are great to have and serve as a great guide, use it as a filter to get to something that appeals/interests you by comments and try it out. Which brings me full circle, if you're wanting to "try it out" go with the deal for now and figure out what you're looking for ;)

You might be perfectly happy right out of the gate with either of these, you never know. But hanging around here, highly unlikely, lol. For the most part anyone who chimes in around here is speaking from long term experience with something and I'd give their thoughts a little more weight, but they're my people, and we've been on many interesting gear paths over the years.

Last note, you gotta try a Grado at least once. I still have my Opus3 and currently running a Sonata3, love them both.
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Well said. Listen to this guy.
 
BluesDaddy said:
I will. I suspect it is NOT serviceable. I actually asked that question but didn't get a response, just that they'd replace the lifter mechanism under warranty. The current one is apparently "oozing" liquid out the bottom so when I take it off I'll give a look to see if perhaps it's a seam that isn't supposed to "separate" rather than something with seal that failed - if you get what I'm saying. Anyway, I'll take pics.
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The new one came yesterday. Installed this morning. Had to find a screw driver small enough for the screw that holds the lift arm to the lifter itself. Here some pics. Oh, and I did have a decent pic of the bottom of the new lifter. Looked the same as the old one. Believe it or not, I dusted with a micro fiber towel before taking them but have a super bright LED light at my turntable.

Edit: Not sure the iPhone pics can be seen when uploaded from my PC. I converted them to JPEG and reuploaded. First pic is original; second is replace I was sent. Took a bit of fiddling to get it to the right height.
 

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BluesDaddy said:
The new one came yesterday. Installed this morning. Had to find a screw driver small enough for the screw that holds the lift arm to the lifter itself. Here some pics. Oh, and I did have a decent pic of the bottom of the new lifter. Looked the same as the old one. Believe it or not, I dusted with a micro fiber towel before taking them but have a super bright LED light at my turntable.

Edit: Not sure the iPhone pics can be seen when uploaded from my PC. I converted them to JPEG and reuploaded. First pic is original; second is replace I was sent. Took a bit of fiddling to get it to the right height.
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Great , you now have become a forum expert on replacing the arm lift . If someone could invent a way to remove all the static dust that would be something .
 
BluesDaddy said:
The new one came yesterday. Installed this morning. Had to find a screw driver small enough for the screw that holds the lift arm to the lifter itself. Here some pics. Oh, and I did have a decent pic of the bottom of the new lifter. Looked the same as the old one. Believe it or not, I dusted with a micro fiber towel before taking them but have a super bright LED light at my turntable.

Edit: Not sure the iPhone pics can be seen when uploaded from my PC. I converted them to JPEG and reuploaded. First pic is original; second is replace I was sent. Took a bit of fiddling to get it to the right height.
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This is super useful. Thanks!
 
HiFi Guy said:
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- the MoFi weights are the only ones I’ve ever heard that make a noticeable improvement in sound quality.
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I’m waiting for delivery on an Ultradeck and am now debating with myself on the record weight. Like others I’m skeptical, but assuming the weight makes a difference what accounts for the $200 price of the base unit and why is the Super Heavyweight $200 more than the base model?

If these weights are so important to the deck functionality, why weren’t they included as part of the packag?
 
mindhead1 said:
I’m waiting for delivery on an Ultradeck and am now debating with myself on the record weight. Like others I’m skeptical, but assuming the weight makes a difference what accounts for the $200 price of the base unit and why is the Super Heavyweight $200 more than the base model?

If these weights are so important to the deck functionality, why weren’t they included as part of the packag?
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They look nice and can help with bowl or dish warps, but I’ve never really picked up any significant difference in sound with or without one. Optional.

I actually just put my own heavy record weight in a drawer this morning and have been spinning without.
 
mindhead1 said:
I’m waiting for delivery on an Ultradeck and am now debating with myself on the record weight. Like others I’m skeptical, but assuming the weight makes a difference what accounts for the $200 price of the base unit and why is the Super Heavyweight $200 more than the base model?

If these weights are so important to the deck functionality, why weren’t they included as part of the packag?
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You can run the table with great results without it, but the weight is like the cherry on top.

If the weight came with the table, the package would likely cost $200 more. It’s a competition for consumer’s money and I’m thinking they want to show a lower “base” price.
 
kvetcha said:
It's not the MoFi Super Heavyweight, but a Turntable Lab model that weighs twice as much. Doesn't have the same cachet. :)
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I see. Mine is a cheapie I got off Amazon years ago because it was affordable and had a decent aesthetic. I’ve been curious about the MoFi weights but not sure I’ll ever be able to bring myself to drop the money on one. I don’t doubt it makes a difference but I’m sure I’d achieve more improvement with that money spent elsewhere.
 
Received my Ultradeck. Initial impressions are disappointing.

I unboxed the deck and basic setup was pretty simple. Trouble started with the tone arm. It was too low so I had to use the hex key and raise the arm. No big deal except that this was supposed to be set at the factory. It’s an open box purchase so something may have been changed before I got it.

I then had to adjust the tracking weight. Luckily the scale I ordered from Amazon also arrived today. I got it settled in at 2.1. It’s hard to get it dialed in because everything moves every time I try to adjust. I can play with that more later.

Next issue is the tone arm lifter. It doesn’t seem to lift very much and it doesn’t have a consistent movement. If I lower the lifter arm to far it doesn’t descend all the way. I need to be careful and slowly lower the arm for it to descend onto the record properly. Is this normal? I would expect the lifter to have a little more travel in it.

Last thing and most disappointing is the table seems to be spinning slow. I started playing some records and everything sounded a little slow so I downloaded an RPM app to my phone and ran a few tests. Speeds ranged from 33.09 - 33.14. I ran the same tests on my Project Evo and got a consistent 33.3 RPM in 3 tests. Is there anything that can be done to get the platter speed tuned correctly?

This is disappointing because I can hear the improvement of the deck over my Evo. That said, the Project deck was super easy to setup and has never given my any trouble in terms of configuration. It’s been rock solid for 3 years at 1/4 the price.

I don’t mind making the adjustments. I figure once dialed in I won’t have to mess with it much, but the platter speed issue is show stopper.
 
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mindhead1 said:
Received my Ultradeck. Initial impressions are disappointing.

I unboxed the deck and basic setup was pretty simple. Trouble started with the tone arm. It was too low so I had to use the hex key and raise the arm. No big deal except that this was supposed to be set at the factory. It’s an open box purchase so something may have been changed before I got it.

I then had to adjust the tracking weight. Luckily the scale I ordered from Amazon also arrived today. I got it settled in at 2.1. It’s hard to get it dialed in because everything moves every time I try to adjust. I can play with that more later.

Next issue is the tone arm lifter. It doesn’t seem to lift very much and it doesn’t have a consistent movement. If I lower the lifter arm to far it doesn’t descend all the way. I need to be careful and slowly lower the arm for it to descend onto the record properly. Is this normal? I would expect the lifter to have a little more travel in it.

Last thing and most disappointing is the table seems to be spinning slow. I started playing some records and everything sounded a little slow so I downloaded an RPM app to my phone and ran a few tests. Speeds ranged from 33.09 - 33.14. I ran the same tests on my Project Evo and got a consistent 33.3 RPM in 3 tests. Is there anything that can be done to get the platter speed tuned correctly?

This is disappointing because I can hear the improvement of the deck over my Evo. That said, the Project deck was super easy to setup and has never given my any trouble in terms of configuration. It’s been rock solid for 3 years at 1/4 the price.

I don’t mind making the adjustments. I figure once dialed in I won’t have to mess with it much, but the platter speed issue is show stopper.
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Couple of questions:
- Did you grease the barring?
- Did you wait for the platter to settle for a few hours, ideally over night?
 
mindhead1 said:
I did not grease the barring. I did not let the platters settle over night. It dropped into place in about a minute.
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A touch of SuperLube grease would not hurt, depending on whether someone wiped it clean before re-packing. And the bearing can take a little time to settle in. My table tested at 33.33-33.35rpm when I last had it plugged in.

Regarding the tonearm lifter, at least on my table, it's pretty heavily damped, so I tend to only turn it just enough that it will gently descend the rest of the way on its own.
 
kvetcha said:
A touch of SuperLube grease would not hurt, depending on whether someone wiped it clean before re-packing. And the bearing can take a little time to settle in. My table tested at 33.33-33.35rpm when I last had it plugged in.

Regarding the tonearm lifter, at least on my table, it's pretty heavily damped, so I tend to only turn it just enough that it will gently descend the rest of the way on its own.
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Super Lube that I can get from Ace Hardware will do the job? I don’t need a magic audiophile grease?

This was the TT speed rating after letting the platter sit for 24 hours.
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