Feelings on the Music Hall MMF 7.1

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

Hi,
Yes, I never meant to imply that the MMF and VPI were the same price. I was suggesting that the price gap had closed to the point that I would consider the extra few hundred bucks for a VPI to be a no-brainer. However, I did forget that the MMF price included a pretty good cartridge.
Cheers.

@Tketcham, does the 7.1 have the Pro-ject 9cc tonearm or a specific music hall one similar to the Pro-ject arms.

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

Can anyone tell me the diameter of the 7.1 motor and its height to where the belt hits the platter? Can you use a thread belt with it? Is the belt round? I'm looking for a Well Tempered Record Player round motor but may have to settle for something like this.