MoFi UltraDeck / StudioDeck Owners and those interested

Man am I tempted by the new Manley oasis. It’s just a little out of reach and the dealers I’d be buying from are mainland uk so makes trade ins difficult…
If there was a good trade in program I would have probably already done it, lol. Tempted to see what I could get for the Chinook, but I'm sure there are going to be a few on the market with the Oasis release. The Chinook is still rock solid, I just like the fact that all the settings are external now, no need to pop open the chassis.......among other things.

Maybe we'll entertain this again in a year ;)
 
Steve did not quote me. I want a replacement for the existing stylus, no upgrades, which, per Angsty's comment, could be in the ~$200 range.

That said, my Nagaoka MP-200 arrived yesterday and is going on the deck this week. Quick question, because I can't recall. How do the anti-skate rings work on MoFi decks again? Where is ring 1 (closest to the fulcrum or furthest?)
Very interested to get your thoughts on the MP-200. I've rarely heard of anyone disliking it but I'm always open to a different take.
 
Hana is a consensus go-to. I don't have an MC pre-amp (yet), but I want to try it one day as well. Just need to pull the trigger on a Darlington upgrade to the MP7. Waiting for a sale/deal.

I will report back on the Nagaoka. I love the sound of the 110 & 150 stylus I had years ago, so I'm expecting similar warmth in my mostly rock collection. One thing of note, the MP-200 pack-in manual said the stylus has a 150-200 hour life. That seems very low.
 
Hana is a consensus go-to. I don't have an MC pre-amp (yet), but I want to try it one day as well. Just need to pull the trigger on a Darlington upgrade to the MP7. Waiting for a sale/deal.

I will report back on the Nagaoka. I love the sound of the 110 & 150 stylus I had years ago, so I'm expecting similar warmth in my mostly rock collection. One thing of note, the MP-200 pack-in manual said the stylus has a 150-200 hour life. That seems very low.
Nagaoka is infamous for advertising low stylus life compared to other brands. Diamond is diamond; theirs wear no faster than others.

You might consider a Hana SH instead of an SL if you are not ready to drop coin for a new phono. It will be a bit less transparent than the SL due to the greater coil mass, but the signature sound would still be there.

However, I might not have gone to the SL if I had heard the MP-300 first. The sound is close in my opinion, but the Hana is somewhat better. The MP-300 might have saved me a subsequent SUT purchase.

Then there is a MP-500 stylus on a MP-200 body…
 
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Nagaoka is infamous for advertising low stylus life compared to other brands. Diamond is diamond; theirs wear no faster than others.

You might consider a Hana SH instead of an SL if you are not ready to drop coin for a new phono. It will be a bit less transparent than the SL due to the greater coil mass, but the signature sound would still be there.

However, I might not have gone to the SL if I had heard the MP-300 first. The sound is close in my opinion, but the Hana is somewhat better. The MP-300 might have saved me a subsequent SUT purchase.

Then there is a MP-500 stylus on a MP-200 body…
Its petty I know, but one Youtuber (can't remember the name) soured me from even trying out a Nagaoka cart, he was such a fan boy nothing on Gods green earth could best them, let alone be competitive, lol.
 
Happy to hear all that, on a side note............
View attachment 215152

Just sayin' ;)
You're killing me, Smalls.

I've actually been in touch with Richard at Upscale, but would have to sell my extra Benchmark AHB2 speaker amp for this to work.
:rolleyes::ROFLMAO:

Still, thanks for planting the seed.

There's no doubting ARC components sound blissful together but I can't exactly spring for their REF Phono 2 at this time.

First world problems...
 
You're killing me, Smalls.

I've actually been in touch with Richard at Upscale, but would have to sell my extra Benchmark AHB2 speaker amp for this to work.
:rolleyes::ROFLMAO:

Still, thanks for planting the seed.

There's no doubting ARC components sound blissful together but I can't exactly spring for their REF Phono 2 at this time.

First world problems...
I actually just spoke to him this week, lol
 
Just got the MP-200 on the table and it sounds excellent. I hear a little better separation and warmth than the MasterTracker, but am reserving judgment until it's broken in.

I get paranoid when aligning a new cartridge. I used the MoFi GeoDisc as a guide, and it sounds great. The channels are distinct, and no sibilance on the inner tracks so far. Any other go-to correct alignment checks?

One more thing I did want to poll the group on. The MP-200 is physically smaller/shorter than the MasterTracker by a few mm. Does this warrant a vertical tracking alignment adjustment?
 
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