MoFi UltraDeck / StudioDeck Owners and those interested

Funny thing. Last night I set mine to 4 which should easily be correct and maybe lacking some given the screws I'm using. It wouldn't track the inner groove because anti-skate was too much. I put it on 3 and it's fine now.
I've never considered anti-skate an exact science by any means ;)
 
So, somehow when adjusting skate I shifted the entire pivot to the outside. I was running a 45 and it started repeating on the inner groove. I noticed the string was at the end of the line and kept pulling the arm back.

Once the pivot was spun back to the right spot the skate needed to be set at the recommended spot....

It obviously doesn’t repeat anymore either.
 
As many of you know, I’ve used a MoFi Geodisc for decades. And it works. But I’m also pretty OCD about proper setup and vinyl cleanliness. Thinking about that stuff can literally keep me awake at night. I’m not kidding.

As good as the GeoDisc is, an arc protractor is better still. It ensures that the stylus is in perfect alignment across the entire playing surface. Just because you are good at one spot doesn’t necessarily mean you are good everywhere- see Michael Fremer’s setup video on YouTube. No one makes an arc protractor for the MoFi...yet.

I’ve tracked down all of the measurements that are needed to manufacture an arc protractor specifically for the MoFi tables- down to 1/10th of a millimeter. Mint LP makes the Best Tractor for many arms, and I’ve sent the measurements to them to see if they will make one. I believe they will.

I think it’s pretty reasonably priced at $130. But it’d be a shame for it to sit idle once I’ve used it. I’m thinking of letting it travel on tour for members if anyone is interested in borrowing it. Just pay for postage to the next location.

What do y’all think?
 
As many of you know, I’ve used a MoFi Geodisc for decades. And it works. But I’m also pretty OCD about proper setup and vinyl cleanliness. Thinking about that stuff can literally keep me awake at night. I’m not kidding.

As good as the GeoDisc is, an arc protractor is better still. It ensures that the stylus is in perfect alignment across the entire playing surface. Just because you are good at one spot doesn’t necessarily mean you are good everywhere- see Michael Fremer’s setup video on YouTube. No one makes an arc protractor for the MoFi...yet.

I’ve tracked down all of the measurements that are needed to manufacture an arc protractor specifically for the MoFi tables- down to 1/10th of a millimeter. Mint LP makes the Best Tractor for many arms, and I’ve sent the measurements to them to see if they will make one. I believe they will.

I think it’s pretty reasonably priced at $130. But it’d be a shame for it to sit idle once I’ve used it. I’m thinking of letting it travel on tour for members if anyone is interested in borrowing it. Just pay for postage to the next location.

What do y’all think?
Sign me up, is this a prototype making the rounds?
 
As many of you know, I’ve used a MoFi Geodisc for decades. And it works. But I’m also pretty OCD about proper setup and vinyl cleanliness. Thinking about that stuff can literally keep me awake at night. I’m not kidding.

As good as the GeoDisc is, an arc protractor is better still. It ensures that the stylus is in perfect alignment across the entire playing surface. Just because you are good at one spot doesn’t necessarily mean you are good everywhere- see Michael Fremer’s setup video on YouTube. No one makes an arc protractor for the MoFi...yet.

I’ve tracked down all of the measurements that are needed to manufacture an arc protractor specifically for the MoFi tables- down to 1/10th of a millimeter. Mint LP makes the Best Tractor for many arms, and I’ve sent the measurements to them to see if they will make one. I believe they will.

I think it’s pretty reasonably priced at $130. But it’d be a shame for it to sit idle once I’ve used it. I’m thinking of letting it travel on tour for members if anyone is interested in borrowing it. Just pay for postage to the next location.

What do y’all think?


Dear fellow members if you are looking for a universal arc protractor there is one from my dear friend Wally Malewicz who passed away some years ago... his assistant and his son have finalised what he started while ago... it is not a cheap one but it is a perfect one... This will serve not only for MoFi but for any tonearm available on the planet... I have one and it is very easy to use and also there are videos on their website and on youtube to explain how it works... here is the link to wallytractor
 
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Dear fellow members if you are looking for a universal arc protractor there is one from my dear friend Wally Malewicz who passed away some years ago... his assistant and his son have finalised what he started while ago... it is not a cheap one but it is a perfect one... This will serve not only for MoFi but for any tonearm available on the planet... I have one and it is very easy to use and also there are videos on their website and on youtube to explain how it works... here is the link to wallytractor
I’m familiar with the Wallytractor. The Mint LP is custom to each arm/table. It’s not universal.
 
I’m familiar with the Wallytractor. The Mint LP is custom to each arm/table. It’s not universal.

That's why I sent this message... The cost of the Universal Wallytractor for many (nearly all) tonearms is three times the cost of a Mint which is only for one tonearm... So if you are planning to buy for a group of person living not far from each other and would like to share it the universal one could be much more efficient not only for MoFi but also for many other tonearms now or in the future... Don't count me in as I am very far from you guys ;)
 
That's why I sent this message... The cost of the Universal Wallytractor for many (nearly all) tonearms is three times the cost of a Mint which is only for one tonearm... So if you are planning to buy for a group of person living not far from each other and would like to share it the universal one could be much more efficient not only for MoFi but also for many other tonearms now or in the future... Don't count me in as I am very far from you guys ;)
It costs the same to make a universal vs. a custom protractor. The Wallytractor is horribly overpriced.
 
It costs the same to make a universal vs. a custom protractor.
How you can say that ? I'm afraid you are not aware of the new Wallytractor which is throughly universal...

The first picture attached is Wally universal protractor with 56 arcs on it and with the choice of Loefgren or Berwald geometries which makes 112 arcs... the second is Mint protractor with only one arc on it ...???? and the Wally one is not 112 times expensive but only 3 times compared to Mint one... Wally = 395$... Mint= 130$...
Anyway this is your choice 🤗

WallyTractor Univ 1 with accessories_JPE.jpeg
best.JPG
 
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How you can say that ? I'm afraid you are not aware of the new Wallytractor which is throughly universal...

The first picture attached is Wally universal protractor with 56 arcs on it and with the choice of Loefgren or Berwald geometries which makes 112 arcs... the second is Mint protractor with only one arc on it ...???? and the Wally one is not 112 times expensive but only 3 times compared to Mint one... Wally = 395$... Mint= 130$...
Anyway this is your choice 🤗

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View attachment 88454
I see your point. All I’m saying is there is no reason for any protractor to cost $400. Many members here didn’t spend that on a turntable. And I wouldn’t spend 20% of the cost of my turntable on a protractor. But that’s just me. 😎

Should I ever decide to sell the MoFi (doubtful) I can also get most of my money back on the Mint by including it in the (slightly higher) price as an extra perk.
 
My only problem with paper protractors is punching the hole slightly off center, which in turn will throw everything off ;)
Let's just say I have more than 1 of these paper versions. Each has a custom made hole slightly not in the same spot. The previous owner of my table gave me one with the table, he claims it was the only one he found that worked. I made copies but it was a royal pain getting the hole correct. I'm in the ballpark, but I know there's a bit of room to improve the consistency across the whole side of a record.

As for the offer above to send the new protractor on tour, I'd be interested.
 
Well then, look what my long suffering DPD courier dropped off yesterday;

IMG20210226160112.jpg

It's a Studiodeck and it's mainly here to be tested as part of a system but it's getting a solo look for AVForums first. It's an interesting bit of kit.

I'll start with the bits I like;
IMG20210226160151.jpg

This is an impressive bit of hardware at the asking price. It's nice to see something that can take a wide spread of cartridges without any struggle. It's all easy to setup and use too.

IMG20210226160204.jpg

At the moment, Pro-Ject is the king of affordable turntable feet... but these aren't bad at all. The simple expedient of there being four feet does point to a certain confidence that everything is twist free.

It's well made, went together well and it is satisfactorily pitch stable too.

There are some not so good bits too;
IMG20210226160143.jpg

This is strobing faintly. This test sample is far from new but it does suggest that the LED inside is unwell.

IMG20210226160125.jpg

This... isn't very good. At all. This is the second of Mo-Fi's carts to pass through. I had wondered if they benefit from a home advantage. They don't.
IMG20210226160137.jpg

This has rather improved matters and is far from unreasonably priced in the context of the deck.

Presentation wise, I'm dialling into what it does. It's possibly a little relaxed for me and my flat earth (this is an audio rather than conspiracy theory position) tendencies but I can see what it does being rather appealing depending on how you partner it up. It's a big, good looking, well made and quite characterful bit of kit. In the UK, it's £150 more than a Rega Planar 6 (also less cart) and, for my tastes, I'd go with that (unless I was looking to mount a truly oddball cart where I suspect this would work better) but I can imagine with US pricing (ie home pricing advantage to the Studiodeck) would probably have me re-evaluating that.
 
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