Jump to content

Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs pressings thoughts?


Recommended Posts

quietest vinyl ive ever heard, as close to zero surface noise as you'll find, imo.

 

 

are you classifying every mofi release this way?

 

 

in my experience, yes.  The MFSL records I have all rank as some of the quietest pressings i've heard.  Now that doesnt make them necessarily the best pressings, just a nice sign that they take care in the quality of their product.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

an example perhaps of an MFSL pressing that doesnt live up to the hype.. Nirvanas Nevermind.. it has whatever raw, punky, balls to the walls characteristics stripped out of it, too clean and glossy. to be honest the current pallas pressed 'bg' master is my fav copy of NEVERMIND and easy to find for under $30.

In all fairness, the MFSL version of Nevermind blew away my original USA pressing. My OG was also pressed "off center," a bit.

Once I bought the MOFI, I ended up selling my OG ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In all fairness, the MFSL version of Nevermind blew away my original USA pressing. My OG was also pressed "off center," a bit.

Once I bought the MOFI, I ended up selling my OG ;)

 

I wouldnt ever say it sounds bad, just that it doesnt sound right.. sucks the life out of the record, for me.  Try and find the 'bernie grundman'(sp?) mastered copy thats floating around.  its the same plates that pressed the ORG music pressing which is considered by most to be the definitive press, only you can snag it for $30 instead of $100+

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldnt ever say it sounds bad, just that it doesnt sound right.. sucks the life out of the record, for me. Try and find the 'bernie grundman'(sp?) mastered copy thats floating around. its the same plates that pressed the ORG music pressing which is considered by most to be the definitive press, only you can snag it for $30 instead of $100+

Thanks so much for the tip.

I had so many opportunities to snag that blue ORG press of "Nevermind" for $30, but I passed on it because I was actually happy with the MOFI.

Now I wish I did :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the "Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair" and it sounds incredible. Packaging is thick as hell. love it

Thanks for your review. You know I read a "bad review" from a member here, so every time I had it in my hand, I passed on it.

I heard the MOFI CD sounds incredible for this title, and even contains an "earlier" mix of Head Over Heels that is a tad longer that the final version. Guess that proves they used the "real" master tape for that one. ;)

Would love to find that for less than $50-$75

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your review. You know I read a "bad review" from a member here, so every time I had it in my hand, I passed on it.

I heard the MOFI CD sounds incredible for this title, and even contains an "earlier" mix of Head Over Heels that is a tad longer that the final version. Guess that proves they used the "real" master tape for that one. ;)

Would love to find that for less than $50-$75

 

I'll second the positive review of Songs from the Big Chair. Granted, my bargain bin OG had tons of surface noise and tiny scratches so any new copy would beat it I'm sure.

 

The recent Dylan MoFi presses I have sound excellent but, yes, very quiet. I assume by design and there's no surface noise to speak of.

 

Can't believe I passed on Sea Change a million times when it was new because I had an original... sells for a ton now so I guess it's well-respected.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got a sea change that SSD was selling on eBay a year or two ago (was it known that they have an ebay account for selling OOP records?). It sounds fantastic. Blue and LiH are great too.

I bought one of those too and bitched them out for being shady and selling oop records for triple the retail and got like $50 knocked off
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for the tip.

I had so many opportunities to snag that blue ORG press of "Nevermind" for $30, but I passed on it because I was actually happy with the MOFI.

Now I wish I did :P

 

I sold my ORG, kept my mofi and picked up the current press (identical in all important ways to ORG).. the MFSL is soooo much easier on the ears, as close to zero fatigue as you're gonna find on a record like that.. so i'll keep it, for when I am old and lame and still want to listen to nevermind but cant make it through a more raw and full energy mastering of it :)

 

Now i'm just trying to build up the steam to open my red ORG unplugged.. have the canadian 320 that is pretty darn good but I hear the red ORG is tops.. would absolutely love it if MFSL took on unplugged.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got a handful of MoFis. The Dylan ones are awesome. Especially Highway 61.

Elvis Costellos are ok. Wouldn't say they are a must have except for Get Happy which sounds much better spread out over 2 LPs. I will get Trust when that comes out though.

Sea Change is of course great.

Pixies stuff is good not great except for Trompe Le Monde which is excellent.

R.E.M. Is my favorite band ever but I wouldn't say the MoFis are a huge improvement.

Really want to get Brothers in Arms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Elvis Costellos are ok. Wouldn't say they are a must have except for Get Happy which sounds much better spread out over 2 LPs. I will get Trust when that comes out though.

 

Interesting you say this. These were the MoFis I've been eying for the longest time. I have copies of all of these (mostly Canadian presses) that I've owned since I was a teenager, and some are played right out. I know these would sound better than my worn out copies, but I guess I'm a little disappointed to hear that they won't really blow me away (though I'm curious to hear Get Happy over 2LPs, as that one stretched some serious side time limits). My Aim Is True is all time top 5 for me, so I may still get the MoFi at some point...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I should clarify a bit. I have This Years Model, Armed Forces, Get Happy!!, and Imperial Bedroom. So I cant compare My Aim is True or anything after Imperial Bedroom (I lose some interest in EC at that point.) The albums themselves are of course awesome. They all sound good but just not major upgrades over my 4 dollar used bin copies. Except for Get Happy!!. Bass really stands out on that one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

New MoFi > old MoFi. I can't really think of any of their older releases which are worth owning aside from a collectibility.

Story goes that the owner had major hearing damage and so, they took time to source good tapes and had top notch engineers with top notch equipment... Only to jack up the EQ in very unsubtle and unnatural ways.

Physically, they were some of the best pressings ever made - that JVC vinyl they used in Japan can't be used any longer due to environmental concerns. Very quiet surfaces.

New era MoFi under new ownership, the LPs have been consistently excellent since. You can't really go wrong with any of the main label titles they've put out within the past 5 years or so. I would avoid the silver label stuff.

The newly released Brothers In Arms should be the definitive vinyl release of that album, but you guys do know the master is a 16/44.1 DAT, right? I'm personally sticking with FLAC for that one. I'm sure their release will be as good as it could be though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

  The old one mofi's sound better, way better. Take for instance the Floyd stuff, wow is that stuff incredible.  I purchased a new mofi, KICK, and couldn't tell a difference between the original pressing, actually the OG sounded better.

 

The MFSL Dark Side sounds good, but the EQ is not what the artist intended.  The New MFSL pressings are far more respectful of the source material.  You really can't go wrong with them.  You really do need a high fidelity stereo to hear their advantages though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The MFSL Dark Side sounds good, but the EQ is not what the artist intended.  The New MFSL pressings are far more respectful of the source material.  You really can't go wrong with them.  You really do need a high fidelity stereo to hear their advantages though.

 

to be honest, the yellow label is darkside is golden.. I dont much care if the artists intended it to eq'd differently, its the best i've heard it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So it sounds like shit, in other words? How can that be?

Matt Wallace explains much of it in the vid I've linked below but my take on it it quite simple. They separated the sound so the thing lacks the denseness which made the heavy tracks work, they turned the guitars down and the vocals up, they increased the pitch. Some people love it. The quality of the vinyl, sleeves etc is exceptional. I don't like it much at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×

AdBlock Detected

spacer.png

We noticed that you're using an adBlocker

Yes, I'll whitelist