MoFi UltraDeck / StudioDeck Owners and those interested

Thank you guys for all these precious opinions shared with me to enlighten my old engineering mind...
Today I asked the same question to the Benelux Mofi distributor who kindly sent me this reply:

"The Ultratracker comes with an eliptical stylus and the Mastertracker
with a Micro-line stylus.
A Micro-line stylus is a variance on Shibata.
The Eliptical stylus is more forgiving and is less analitical with less HF detail.
In short more music then detail.
A microline takes more information from the groove when properly installed.
It will read all what's on the record. More audiophile. Extremely detailed
but slightly nervous.
Given the nature of your collection I would go for an Ultratracker.
On a scale from 1 to 100 it will do 89 where a Mastertracker will do 91.
The Utratracker however will be slightly more quiet with less and pops and clicks.
"

So I think to start with I will follow his recommendation... Then may be in a year or so I will certainly consider Grado Gold3...
 
I have another question concerning the wow & flutter figures of the MOFI TT's...
They mention :
Wow & Flutter : 0.017% – 0.025%
These seem to me a bit pretentious !

On the other hand there is no mention about the RPM fluctuation...

Has anybody in this thread measured those specs... I know this is not the ideal but for instance with RPM and W/F apps of iPhone which can give an idea of the magnitude ?
 
Thank you guys for all these precious opinions shared with me to enlighten my old engineering mind...
Today I asked the same question to the Benelux Mofi distributor who kindly sent me this reply:

"The Ultratracker comes with an eliptical stylus and the Mastertracker
with a Micro-line stylus.
A Micro-line stylus is a variance on Shibata.
The Eliptical stylus is more forgiving and is less analitical with less HF detail.
In short more music then detail.
A microline takes more information from the groove when properly installed.
It will read all what's on the record. More audiophile. Extremely detailed
but slightly nervous.
Given the nature of your collection I would go for an Ultratracker.
On a scale from 1 to 100 it will do 89 where a Mastertracker will do 91.
The Utratracker however will be slightly more quiet with less and pops and clicks.
"

So I think to start with I will follow his recommendation... Then may be in a year or so I will certainly consider Grado Gold3...

Either choice is good.

One thing about a Microline stylus: you may actually get less surface noise because the stylus may trace the grooves in a previously untouched area. Or not. It’s hit or miss, but most have experienced this with Microline styli.
 
I have another question concerning the wow & flutter figures of the MOFI TT's...
They mention :
Wow & Flutter : 0.017% – 0.025%
These seem to me a bit pretentious !

On the other hand there is no mention about the RPM fluctuation...

Has anybody in this thread measured those specs... I know this is not the ideal but for instance with RPM and W/F apps of iPhone which can give an idea of the magnitude ?

I’ve not measured mine but have no issues with speed stability. The spec is quite good- equivalent to the Technics direct drive models.
 
I think with a very clean record, you'll have a fabulous time with the micro-line. But it will pick up every bit of grit and grime in that groove.
 
Either choice is good.

One thing about a Microline stylus: you may actually get less surface noise because the stylus may trace the grooves in a previously untouched area. Or not. It’s hit or miss, but most have experienced this with Microline styli.

I'm afraid not for my vinyls as previously they have been already played with micro HD (Maestro V2) and nude Shibata (2M Black).
 
I think with a very clean record, you'll have a fabulous time with the micro-line. But it will pick up every bit of grit and grime in that groove.

I agree and on top of that if the cartridge is not properly installed (not only the geometry but VTA, SRA, AS and azimuth) welcome distortions... I don't think the guys in the factory are spending hours to do these alignments at perfection...
 
In the past I spent sleepless nights to obtain the perfection with the Clearaudio turntables... I have all the necessary tools... but this time I would prefer a most simple and easy way to listen to my jazz records ( more than a half are second hand "near mint" from Discogs but all deeply cleaned with Okki-Nokki) during these Corona days... So I feel that an Ultra Deck with an Ultra Tracker which will forgive the pops and cracks of my vinyls will please me...
 
I'll weigh in here as well. I haven't spent time with the UltraTracker, but I do have the MasterTracker, and I demoed it against the Hana SL. Granted, not a prefect test because the Hana was on a Technics GR while the MasterTracker was on the UltraDeck.

But in that demo, the Hana was slightly more stale and analytical. In my experience the MasterTracker is quite smooth. Plenty of detail without ever being harsh. But @AnthonyI input is likely more valuable than mine given that he has owned both. I just wanted to say don't get hung up on the Microline part. It's voiced quite nicely, and I wouldn't describe it as overly picky or analytical in anyway.
 
I'll weigh in here as well. I haven't spent time with the UltraTracker, but I do have the MasterTracker, and I demoed it against the Hana SL. Granted, not a prefect test because the Hana was on a Technics GR while the MasterTracker was on the UltraDeck.

But in that demo, the Hana was slightly more stale and analytical. In my experience the MasterTracker is quite smooth. Plenty of detail without ever being harsh. But @AnthonyI input is likely more valuable than mine given that he has owned both. I just wanted to say don't get hung up on the Microline part. It's voiced quite nicely, and I wouldn't describe it as overly picky or analytical in anyway.

Agreed. I enjoyed mine very much.
 
@AnthonyI , @displayname and @kvetcha thanks again for sharing your positive experiences with Master Tracker...
My last question to you will be about the vinyls you listen with Master Tracker...
1) What kind of music?
2) New vinyls or Old (second hand or not) vinyls?
3) Cleaned with an RCM ones or not ?
 
@AnthonyI , @displayname and @kvetcha thanks again for sharing your positive experiences with Master Tracker...
My last question to you will be about the vinyls you listen with Master Tracker...
1) What kind of music?
2) New vinyls or Old (second hand or not) vinyls?
3) Cleaned with an RCM ones or not ?
Like most people, I have a mix. I certainly slant more towards classic rock and modern indy music. I'm particularly big on female singer/song writer in most genres.
But I have my share of jazz, country, and most other styles of music. One thing I don't keep much of is classical or symphony music. I do technically have some, but it's mostly via soundtracks.
My mix is probably 60/40 new vs old. So more new albums, but plenty of old ones too. I clean everything before it hits the table using a vacuum RCM.
 
@AnthonyI , @displayname and @kvetcha thanks again for sharing your positive experiences with Master Tracker...
My last question to you will be about the vinyls you listen with Master Tracker...
1) What kind of music?
2) New vinyls or Old (second hand or not) vinyls?
3) Cleaned with an RCM ones or not ?

All genres, but primarily rock/pop/singer-songwriter, both modern and classic, with a smattering of film soundtracks and standards. You can check the Discogs link in my profile if you like!

More new than old pressings, but quite a few used records nevertheless.

All cleaned with a vacuum RCM.
 
@AnthonyI , @displayname and @kvetcha thanks again for sharing your positive experiences with Master Tracker...
My last question to you will be about the vinyls you listen with Master Tracker...
1) What kind of music?
2) New vinyls or Old (second hand or not) vinyls?
3) Cleaned with an RCM ones or not ?
I'm all over the place, lol. You can use the link in my sig to see my Discogs Collection. As for cleaning, always, started with a home brew, then a Spin Clean now an RCM..........a clean record is a happy record ;)
 
OK Thank you for your time to reply my questions... We are more or less similar except that I am 100% in the jazz but the complexity of big band jazz music can be compared to the complexity of big classical symphonic orchestra music or to the complexity of big rock groups from the cartridge details digging point of view...
If you are so happy with Master Tracker, I should be too and from the budgetary point of view between Ultra Deck+U and Ultra Deck+M there is only 150€ difference here with the offered bundles...
I will then consider the Master Tracker...
 
OK Thank you for your time to reply my questions... We are more or less similar except that I am 100% in the jazz but the complexity of big band jazz music can be compared to the complexity of big classical symphonic orchestra music or to the complexity of big rock groups from the cartridge details digging point of view...
If you are so happy with Master Tracker, I should be too and from the budgetary point of view between Ultra Deck+U and Ultra Deck+M there is only 150€ difference here with the offered bundles...
I will then consider the Master Tracker...
I’m reading all of these in your accent In my head. It’s great! :-)
 
Good day to All...
Following your recommendations I ordered an UltraDeck+M via the Belgian dealer... After checking with the Benelux Mofi distributor he informed me that the UltraDeck+M is unfortunately not in stock and should come from US... Taking into account current shipment delays due to Covid-19 pandemic I accepted to start with UltraDeck+U which is in stock and will be delivered quickly...
Will keep you informed when received...
 
Good day to All...
Following your recommendations I ordered an UltraDeck+M via the Belgian dealer... After checking with the Benelux Mofi distributor he informed me that the UltraDeck+M is unfortunately not in stock and should come from US... Taking into account current shipment delays due to Covid-19 pandemic I accepted to start with UltraDeck+U which is in stock and will be delivered quickly...
Will keep you informed when received...

I'm sure you'll enjoy the table either way! Looking forward to your impressions.
 
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