Not the Mobile Fidelity Rant but still a Rant

[manicm]

The current Mobile Fidelity controversy has vindicated my view on having no desire for vinyl for reasons of sound quality. Not because I don't believe vinyl doesn't sound good, it just doesn't warrant the myth or cost.

To those who are disappointed by Mobile Fidelity, just remember some records like Donald Fagen's The Nightfly way back in 1982 was recorded digitally and cut straight to vinyl. So don't be too surprised.

Now, somewhat contradicting myself but not really, I do believe vinyl can sound superior to digital playback because....

I stand under correction but I believe 'premium' but mass market DACs such as ESS, Wolfson, TI et al may actually be inferior to DACs 20 to 30 years ago in terms of imaging and stereo seperation. I will exclude Linn and Chord equipment from this accusation because they are effectively engineering their own DACs, and I haven't had the privilege of hearing their latest stuff.

So coming back to Mobile Fidelity, I've seen two videos by reputable experts or high grade amateurs giving opposing counterpoints. One is veteran Steve Guttenberg and the other Ana(Digi)Log, and both validate my view of vinyl.

I also wonder why Linn has not produced direct drive prototypes, being a self-confessed research company. Maybe they have in secret.

Some Linn owners were like current Porsche owners. They won't hear any criticism about the 'razor' gearshift, saying the gearbox itself necessitates it - which is of course bs because the shift itself is electronic, and they can replace the razor with something phallic or resembling a small silicon balloon if they want.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

The silence is deafening on the turntable thread.
I love my vinyl, but it's not a sound quality thing for me, I like playing my records, I like the large liner notes and artwork and it's what I was brought up listening to as a child of the late 70's and 80's. It's just a shame I was blinded by streaming a few years ago and I sold all my vinyl along with my turntable /pre-amp etc, Trying to get some of my favourite albums back on vinyl is proving out of my reach financially unfortunately, Take the" the's" "Dusk" for eg, not a top release even remotely, anything from £120-£200 and upwards, REALLY! ....and lots of the indie music I had from the early nineties is just so rare that it's really hard to find.
I find streaming such a passive and un-involving way to listen to my music.
As for the mo-fi debacle, I wonder how the people feel that actually spent their hard earned on a product that wasn't quite what they thought it was. I'd be very disappointed and probably feel cheated.

 

[Al ears]

Not at all sure why there is such an uproar about MOFI.
The term Original Master Recording does not necessarily imply an analogue tape, at least to me it doesn't. I don't think they claim an all analog recording line for all of their albums.
The sound quality from the end product is all that really matters.
Sounds like certain YouTubeers trying to create a problem where there isn't one.

 

[daytona600]

99.9% of all music owned by Sony , Warner & Universal
Sony stopped sending mastertapes and Mofi had to travel ,2000miles with a studer tape deck to copy the master

premium' DACs such as ESS, Wolfson,. I will exclude Linn and Chord equipment from this accusation because they are effectively engineering their own DACs,

Linn / Chord use off the shelf components
Premium Dacs like DCS , Wadax , MSB , Lampizator are complete ground up designs

I also wonder why Linn has not produced direct drive prototypes, being a self-confessed research company. .
Panasonic / Technics are one the the biggest motor suppliers in the world & a massive multi billion dollar global company
Linn do not have the R&D budget to design a direct drive motor

 

[manicm]

99.9% of all music owned by Sony , Warner & Universal
Sony stopped sending mastertapes and Mofi had to travel ,2000miles with a studer tape deck to copy the master

premium' DACs such as ESS, Wolfson,. I will exclude Linn and Chord equipment from this accusation because they are effectively engineering their own DACs,

Linn / Chord use off the shelf components
Premium Dacs like DCS , Wadax , MSB , Lampizator are complete ground up designs

I also wonder why Linn has not produced direct drive prototypes, being a self-confessed research company. .
Panasonic / Technics are one the the biggest motor suppliers in the world & a massive multi billion dollar global company
Linn do not have the R&D budget to design a direct drive motor

On their website Linn explicitly state they do not use off the shelf DACS anymore. Their latest ones have been designed ground up. And Chord at the very least completely program/code the FPGA DACS themselves, right down to the Mojo.

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