Feelings on the Music Hall MMF 7.1

The Music Hall mmf-7.1 and the VPI Scout are not in the same league because the Scout now lists for $2100 and the mmf-7.1 lists for $1300 (without cartridge). That's over 60% more money to buy a Scout; I would expect it to be in a different league. The question then is: Should I go ahead and spend more money for an even better turntable? If you consider what's available in the range of $2100 then I'd also look at the Music Hall mmf-9.1 (without cartridge), the Pro-Ject RM 9.1 or PerspeX, or even the the Avid Diva II with the Jelco arm for another $400. I have no experience with any of these tables but they're the ones I'd look at if I were upgrading my mmf-7 right now. (I'm not, and I'd probably look at turntables another notch up if I were.)

If you don't want to spend the extra money, the mmf-7.1 with the Pro-Ject 9cc carbon tonearm is a decent turntable for the money in my opinion. My mmf-7 (with the Pro-Ject 9 aluminum arm) is still going strong and sounds great with a DV-20XL cartridge. I eventually would like to upgrade but the mmf-7 has allowed me to experiment with cartridges and phono preamps and learn the finer nuances of cartridge alignment and cartridge loading by being responsive enough for me to hear the differences each time. If you have the extra money, there are certainly better tables, but the mmf-7.1 is still a good buy at $1300.

Tom

Louis, glad to hear that you're enjoying the mmf-7. Your description is right on. It is a great turntable for the money, and a used one in good shape is a true bargain. (Though you have to be careful, I bought a used mmf-7 that wasn't properly packaged and was NOT as advertised.)

You're correct in the VPI Scout at $1800, I was (mistakenly) using the VPI Scout II price. But the relationship is still valid. And as for future upgrades, I think I'd go one step up from the Scout; from all that I've been reading (and hope to hear) the added cost (+/-$2500 USD) puts you into another category of sonic ability and is worth the extra cash.

Tom

I haven't seen the new mmf-7.1 but from the photographs of the turntable (located at the Music Hall web site), the tonearm doesn't look like the Pro-Ject 9cc. The tonearm in the high-res image appears to have a separate headshell from the arm tube, which was how the earlier 9c tonearm was built. The descriptions of the mmf-7.1 don't clearly say which Pro-Ject tonearm is included so it may be that Music Hall is still using the 9c tonearm. What's funny is that the picture of the mmf-7.1 on the Music Hall website isn't even the mmf-7.1, it's an earlier mmf-7 with the Pro-Ject 9 aluminum tonearm.

Before making a conclusion about the tonearm, though, I'd ask a dealer about it. Music Hall may not have updated its web site to show the latest tonearm model being supplied with the mmf-7.1.

Regards,
Tom

Gvoth, the dimensions of the mmf-7 motor are as follows:

motor housing diameter - ~80mm
pulley height above motor housing - ~8.5mm
pulley height above shelf surface - ~87mm
pulley diameter - ~26mm (diameter at groove surface)
pulley groove width - 1.5mm (accomodates a 1.5mm square belt)
pulley shaft diameter - ~2mm (couldn't actually measure the pulley shaft without removing the pulley)

I think you'd have to find a different pulley to use with a string belt. I think a string would just slip around the pulley. The pulley height could be adjusted if the new pulley had a set screw.