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MoFi controversy

I see this hasn't been mentioned here yet, so I thought I'd put this out here.  Let me just say that I haven't yet joined the analog world, so I don't have a dog in this fight.

It was recently revealed that Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs one step LPs are being cut from digital masters (DSD) rather than being straight analog throughout the chain.

Here is one of the many Youtube videos that discusses it

 

To me, it seems that if MOFI is guilty of anything, it's "deception by omission."  That is, they were never open about the process and the use of digital in the chain. 

One thing to mention is that hardly anyone is criticizing the sound quality of these LPs, even after this revelation.  Me personally, I wouldn't spend over one hundred dollars for any recording regardless of the format.

 

ftran999
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zavato's avatar
zavato
1,390 posts
 

FWIW, AP's 2 disc 45 RPM Folk Singer is clearly superior, in my system, to the One Step Folk Singer.  Live and learn- 

johnss
564 posts
 

agree with @daveyf , digital is easy to edit, but does not have the SQ that all analogue does. DSD must go through several D to D conversions if any editing is done. Don't forget you cannot edit a file in the DSD domain. File has to be converted to PCM first. Even if the DSD file is converted to PCM 24/192 its still a conversion. Once editing is done, then file has to be converted back to DSD.  

tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,532 posts
 

Let’s slow down a little. MoFi says they convert the DSD file back to analog for mastering. They say they do not convert it to PCM for mastering. I don’t have any direct knowledge of what they do, so I can’t say for sure what they do, but that is what they are saying now.

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