MoFi UltraDeck / StudioDeck Owners and those interested

Angsty said:
That Prime X is attractively priced. It's even a bit lower than the Super Prime Scout 21 (what a mouthful!) that Upscale Audio had been hawking.
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They don't seem to have it on the Upscale site any longer, but I swore I saw some of these Super Prime Scout 21s (whew!) offered with the 10" gimbal. To me, thats the best bang for your buck available from VPI right now. I know the Prime X has a 12" (!!) unipivot - insane! Great deal there.
 
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I feel like I've had my UltraDeck forever, but it's only been a year... :cool:
Before I found the pre-owned UD (thanks kvetcha!) I was trying to buy a new StudioDeck but couldn't find it in stock, Audio Advice told me that MoFi was introducing updated models in September. I wonder what happened to that plan...
 
renpar61 said:
I feel like I've had my UltraDeck forever, but it's only been a year... :cool:
Before I found the pre-owned UD (thanks kvetcha!) I was trying to buy a new StudioDeck but couldn't find it in stock, Audio Advice told me that MoFi was introducing updated models in September. I wonder what happened to that plan...
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Totally conjecture, but I have a feeling that price point just isnt their market, especially since the UD is now down to $1500, which really isn't much more than what a SD was before they discontinued & discounted them. The SD would have to be a ~$1K table, and there's just a ton of competition there right now.
 
I figured a new model was likely on the way at some point, but the real question for me will be who is designing it. I’d kind of be surprised if AP was willing to do another round of reasonably priced decks.

I also think there are potentially just facing challenges with the reality of hitting competitive pricing, mass production, and made in America.

As much as the MasterDeck looks interesting, I’ve never thought it looked $6k interesting and that’s just been reinforced as I looked at it more. Combined that with the the way they made early adopters feel with the price drops on SD and UD… I just think even if I was compelled to the MasterDeck I’ll also wait to see if they do drop it to $5k, or even $4500.

Pure Fidelity, VPI, Feickert, and others all have interesting models in $5 range. And one thing I’ve noticed is most of those also have the option to make substantial arm upgrades if you want to move up without upgrading the whole deck. I think the lack of potential arm changes in the MasterDeck is a miss in the price category honestly. I know they market the new arm well with the MD, but it just seems like upgradable and 3rd party options are an almost expected feature at the price point.
 
HayesWeighsIn said:
They don't seem to have it on the Upscale site any longer, but I swore I saw some of these Super Prime Scout 21s (whew!) offered with the 10" gimbal. To me, thats the best bang for your buck available from VPI right now. I know the Prime X has a 12" (!!) unipivot - insane! Great deal there.
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Posting the links to both turntables in the VPI thread.

Angsty

Post in thread 'The VPI Turntable Thread'

Posting these here to not incite envy in the MoFi thread. 😂

upscaleaudio.com

VPI Super Prime Scout 21 Turntable w/ 10.5" Tonearm & VTA On the Fly

Bad-ass cartridge bundles with huge savings! Upscale Audio is the only VPI dealer in California that is VPI Trained & Certified to handle all of your VPI needs!
upscaleaudio.com upscaleaudio.com

upscaleaudio.com

VPI Prime X Turntable with JMW 12" Unipivot Tonearm

VPI listened to you and engineered a number of refinements into the award-winning Prime, offering a facelift and sonic improvement for 2021.
upscaleaudio.com upscaleaudio.com
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displayname said:
I figured a new model was likely on the way at some point, but the real question for me will be who is designing it. I’d kind of be surprised if AP was willing to do another round of reasonably priced decks.

I also think there are potentially just facing challenges with the reality of hitting competitive pricing, mass production, and made in America.

As much as the MasterDeck looks interesting, I’ve never thought it looked $6k interesting and that’s just been reinforced as I looked at it more. Combined that with the the way they made early adopters feel with the price drops on SD and UD… I just think even if I was compelled to the MasterDeck I’ll also wait to see if they do drop it to $5k, or even $4500.

Pure Fidelity, VPI, Feickert, and others all have interesting models in $5 range. And one thing I’ve noticed is most of those also have the option to make substantial arm upgrades if you want to move up without upgrading the whole deck. I think the lack of potential arm changes in the MasterDeck is a miss in the price category honestly. I know they market the new arm well with the MD, but it just seems like upgradable and 3rd party options are an almost expected feature at the price point.
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The Masterdeck has very tough competition and it does not have the same provenance as others. I've seen several engineering design related issues with the MoFi decks and spending $6K on one would not give me confidence. The Luxman is right there as a plug-and-play and the Volare and the 1300G are under it by good measure. I would not recommend a Masterdeck in the current market.
 
Angsty said:
The Masterdeck has very tough competition and it does not have the same provenance as others. I've seen several engineering design related issues with the MoFi decks and spending $6K on one would not give me confidence. The Luxman is right there as a plug-and-play and the Volare and the 1300G are under it by good measure. I would not recommend a Masterdeck in the current market.
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Even the 1200g comes in $1700 less.
Fieckert Volare with tonearm is $1500 less.
VPI Prime 21 is $1300 less.
The dual motor 25th ed Volare is $1200 less.

With any of those choices you have enough remaining budget for a Hana ML, and in most cases money in your pocket.
And like you said, at $6k there are loads of options right there in striking distance. Luxman, P10, Clear Audio, VPI Forever 1, etc etc.

So that MD needs to be pretty jaw dropping to justify not only the price, but also the lack up upgrade path.
Don’t get me wrong, my UD has treated me well and will likely remain in my system for a few more years. But I just can’t see moving on the MD without a pretty insane in person demo.
 
renpar61 said:
I feel like I've had my UltraDeck forever, but it's only been a year... :cool:
Before I found the pre-owned UD (thanks kvetcha!) I was trying to buy a new StudioDeck but couldn't find it in stock, Audio Advice told me that MoFi was introducing updated models in September. I wonder what happened to that plan...
Click to expand...
I got the same message from multiple vendors when I was shopping for my UltraDeck. I wonder if they were talking about the MasterDeck.

I got what I thought at the time was a good deal in an open box UltraDeck w/ MasterTracker. 2 month later a brand new setup was $500 less than what I paid. Joys of HiFi.
 
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