MoFi Turntables Owners & Discussion Thread

[needlerunner]

Has any like minded souls out there had the privilege of owning one of the MoFi turntables.

 

I recently purchased the Ultradeck with the Ultra tracker cart, and could not be happier.

Best turntable l have heard in the price range.

 

On reflection l wish l had had it paired with the Master tracker cart. But then I'm more than happy with the Ultratracker cart. So maybe next time, when it's due for replacement.

 

Would really like to start a thread with other owners. And have you made any mods? I, myself have just ordered some Blue Jean interconnects for it.

 

Cheers in advance.

 

[omara31]

As you know mate, I have the Ultra deck and Master Cart and I’m wrapped.  Only downside is I’m buying so many records because they sound so good!  I use the Mofi weight too.  

[needlerunner]

As you know mate, I have the Ultra deck and Master Cart and I’m wrapped.  Only downside is I’m buying so many records because they sound so good!  I use the Mofi weight too.  

Mark.
Good to hear from you again buddy.
Might be just you and me then.
We will have to spread the good word.
But must be others out there surely, or it's the world's best kept secret.

The PMCs have done around 80hrs now and breaking in nicely. The tt around 30hrs.
Think it needs a few more for the stylus to break in.

Be interesting to see if the interconnects make a difference. I think they are only perceived weak link in it. Ordered from USA 2 weeks ago. Can't be far away now. Should be quicker, the amount they charge for shipping.

Does the weight make a difference, and how much?

Picked up a couple of LPs locally. And have 3 others coming from the UK. Try and pickup 1 a month. But will be aiming for quality not quantity.

This tt is certainly going to keep me poor, but I'm loving it. Sounding better every day.
Money well spent.

Cheers.

[needlerunner]

Can't believe the lack of response.
What are you all Rega fan boys. Or if it's not Linn or Luxman, everything else is inferior [emoji3]
Comon, we can't all afford 10k turntables.

[evil c]

13 minutes ago, needlerunner said:

Can't believe the lack of response.
What are you all Rega fan boys. Or if it's not Linn or Luxman, everything else is inferior
Comon, we can't all afford 10k turntables.

I heard a MOFI deck and looks and sounds wise was first class.

Remarkable value for money!

And yes afraid I'm a Linnie kinda guy, but you never know what might happen in the future!

[rantan]

I have been interested on the Ultradeck since it was released here. There is just something about them that appeals, but buying one would necessitate selling one of my other two and listing anything for sale here is akin to masochism on a grand scale.

Maybe one day.

[SkipEsquire]

Looks amazing, surely sounds amazing compared to my current TT.. Buy me one and I'll join your club? lol

Surely this is a pretty exclusive item in Australia. The reviews definitely are very positive but "Australia tax" makes it a bit far out of reach for myself personally. Aswell as all the other highly regarded turntables that aren't used Japanese classics listed on Gumtree because the seller doesn't know what they have..

Edited August 20, 2019 by SkipEsquire
:)

[Hydrology]

@cafe67

[cafe67]

Ooops thanks @Hydrology must have missed this one. 

 

Have the ultradeck and mastertracker and mofi weight.

 

Very happy, been meaning to do a review , must pull my finger out 

 

Imho the weight does make a difference,  easy enough to try with and w/o - to me the  sound seems be more clearer or more "in focuse" if you like

 

 

Edited August 21, 2019 by cafe67

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I A/B tested the Ultradeck and Planar 6 before purchasing.

 

I went with the planar 6... but I certainly couldn’t say one was better than the other.

 

The Ultradeck is very impressive and should steal a lot of planar 6 customers if they compare the two.

Edited August 21, 2019 by furtherpale

[cafe67]

https://www.signals.uk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Mofi-UD-HFN-719-1.pdf

[El Tel]

On 22/09/2021 at 8:09 PM, cafe67 said:

Funky looking 

 

https://mofi.com/products/mofi-electronics-fender-x-mofi-precisiondeck-limited-edition-turntable?utm_source=Email_marketing&utm_campaign=21_0921_fender_old_list&cmp=1&utm_medium=HTMLEmail

 

 

 

I, erm... like it. Pretty funky.

 

OK - I only just found this thread too - probably due to @cafe67 finding the Fender ltd edition and posting it.

 

I have had the Ultradeck and Mastertracker cart since January this year. It's the best MM combo I've heard to date. I'm starting to struggle a little with the setup I have. I don't think there is necessarily anything severely wrong, I just think I may have uncovered some compatibility issues in my vinyl stack and looking for ideas.

 

I started out with a Rega P3/Elys 2 MM cart and a Rega Fono feeding a Musical Fidelity M6si amp through Chord RCAs. It was a perfectly adequate setup. I can't say anything bad about it, but there was nothing exceptional about it either. It was a consummate setup that did everything acceptably. 

 

The evolution then started. The Rega P3 went and the MoFi Ultradeck/Mastertracker came in. Significant life breathed into much of my vinyl catalogue. It's a rock deck through and through.

 

Fast forward 6 months or so and I acquired an AVM P30 pre-amp from @evil c; a gentleman amongst men, for sure. It was certainly a step-up from the Rega Fono. Better separation and soundstage; finer detail too. Then swapped-out the Chord RCAs for some of Bill's Western Electric RCAs which resulted in a tightening up of everything - I'd describe it as more grip - attack, sustain and decay were much crisper and more real.

 

Last of all, a recent issue with my 18 month old M6si resulted in a full-refund (issue was with compatibility rather than an actual fault with the M6si) and I took the opportunity to apply that against a McIntosh MA352 integrated amp. The reason I mention this is that I now have 2 points of comparison: 1. MoFi into AVM P30 to MA352 line-in using Bill's RCAs for both links; 2. MoFi direct into the MM input on the MA352.

 

I wished I hadn't tried the MA352 MM input. MM cartridge capacitance is configurable on the MA352. The MasterTracker is nominally 100pF so I set the MA352 MM to that. The AVM P30 is not configurable, it's static at 220pF.

 

I use a fantastic 1982 original Aus pressing of Michael Jackson's Thriller as a reference. I'm familiar with it and it is great material for testing too. Broad vocal range, plenty of bass and some higher-frequency extension on some tracks too. Listening to the opening track, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', there is a brightness and sibilance at the top-end (hi hats especially) with the AVM pre-amp that is tamed when I go through the MM input direct on the amp. This brightness is repeated on other recordings too, although it only becomes really obvious based upon how reliant the track is on such percussion.

 

Any ideas on things to try to provide further conclusions without steaming out to buy a phono stage with user defined capacitance, or going MC and all the expense that entails (my investigations unearthed some articles explaining why capacitance really only affects MM)?

 

 

Edited September 24, 2021 by El Tel
Punchu.. punktoo.. puntchoowashu. Spelling.

[evil c]

@El Tel firstly congrats on the McIntosh integrated! 

Never owned one but they are certainly lustful looking beasts! Difficult to pinpoint often with these issues, I'd suggest swapping different interconnects and ensuring everything is set up perfectly with the cart and arm.

 

I'm not a big fan of inbuilt phonos, often short cuts are made on the quality but could well be different with the McIntosh- as it looks to be more a cost no object unit!

 

If There's no difference after swapping cables and adjusting the deck, you need to determine whether the AVM is highlighting a weakness or creating it.

And conversely is the McIntosh phono suppressing the problem, due to filtering or not being as sensitive-  or not being a culprit(?).

 

Compatibility can be a fickle thing, you get problems emerging that you never had before or knew you had! 

Welcome to Audio!!

 

I'd try and borrow another phono too, hope you solve it quickly. 

Oh and another deck!

 

 

[El Tel]

7 minutes ago, evil c said:

@El Tel firstly congrats on the McIntosh integrated! 

Never owned one but they are certainly lustful looking beasts! Difficult to pinpoint often with these issues, I'd suggest swapping different interconnects and ensuring everything is set up perfectly with the cart and arm.

 

I'm not a big fan of inbuilt phonos, often short cuts are made on the quality but could well be different with the McIntosh- as it looks to be more a cost no object unit!

 

If There's no difference after swapping cables and adjusting the deck, you need to determine whether the AVM is highlighting a weakness or creating it.

And conversely is the McIntosh phono suppressing the problem, due to filtering or not being as sensitive-  or not being a culprit(?).

 

Compatibility can be a fickle thing, you get problems emerging that you never had before or knew you had! 

Welcome to Audio!!

 

I'd try and borrow another phono too, hope you solve it quickly. 

Oh and another deck!

 

 

Great points, Clive.

 

I'm certainly sceptical on in-built phono stages for the same reason, but the McIntosh is pretty damn good at first taste.

 

I checked the setup of the deck and cartridge and it is spot-on.

 

I felt that cable-jockeying was likely to be the order of the day. I have the cables that came with the MoFi to experiment with. If that provides no conclusions, I'll cadge kit from others to delve further.

 

This was not a particularly welcome conundrum to discover, but let's see where we go with it.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

t

[cafe67]

Don't forget that recording maybe recorded overly bright, 

 

Can you sent the mac phone to 220 and what happens if you do ?

[El Tel]

15 minutes ago, cafe67 said:

Don't forget that recording maybe recorded overly bright, 

 

Fair point, but, depending on the track itself, I can now pick the same signature on other records too.

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, cafe67 said:

Can you sent the mac phone to 220 and what happens if you do ?

 

I'm such a dumb arse. Too obvious. Thank you for pointing that out. I would have not thought about that. So much for my logical and methodical approach.

 

Mrs Tel is off out for a few hours this afternoon, so I will have a play.

[El Tel]

OK - some first impressions after dicking-about with cables and user defined cartridge capacitance on the MA352. Using my reference Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' from Thriller once again.

 

Control: MoFi TT connected over Western Electric RCA into AVM P30 pre-amp and onwards over Western Electric RCA into line-in on the McIntosh - brightness and sibilance at higher frequencies (8-10kHz) is there, distracting and very noticeable in the hi-hats. Separation and sound-stage is great.

 

Test 1: Going straight from the MoFi over WE RCAs into the MM stage in the McIntosh and altering capacitance between 100pF, 150pF, 200pF and 250pF: None of the brightness and sibilance noticed in Control on any settings during this test. Subtle differences in slightly different parts of the frequency curves with each change to capacitance, but near-imperceptible unless really concentrating. No brightness or sibilance at any capacitance setting on the McIntosh MM input at the levels that were very prevalent in the Control. Sound-stage slightly down and separation a bit less than through the AVM - again, being super picky - the lower performance is not enormous, but it's there if you listen hard enough.

 

Test 2: Repeat Control setup but use the MoFi supplied RCA pair that came with the UltraDeck between the TT and the AVM pre-amp. AVM to McIntosh is still Western Electric. Separation and sound-stage back to same levels as in the Control, but all traces of brightness and sibilance at the 8-10kHz range from Control gone and are obvious by their absence as in Test 1. No perceptible loss of the grip I previously described when I I originally introduced Western Electric RCAs on both sides of the pre-amp.

 

Thinking back now, I am fairly certain I recall similar brightness with my old Musical Fidelity amp as per the Control setup above where it was in place of the MA352.

 

Be interesting to see if anyone has theories as to why the MoFi RCAs are better between the TT and the pre-amp, yet the Western Electric RCAs were completely acceptable as the interconnect when excluding the AVM as per Test 1 (reduced separation and sound-stage excepted - I'll put that down to the justified scepticism I share with @evil c on in-built phono stages despite the fact that the MA352 in-built is pretty good compared to many I've heard).

 

t

 

[El Tel]

So no theories, observations or comparisons from anyone on the RCAs as per my last post... Shame. Was hoping someone might have an idea or two to save me blindly forging forward on a trial-and-error basis. Still, it's been an adventure...

 

And today, the adventure continues:

 

I've acquired a pre-loved Electrocompaniet ECP1 from @Bush thug which I have spent the day playing with. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the AVM P30 I bought from @evil c, my trial-and-error with the RCAs and associated tinkering has led me to a point where I think either the MoFi deck is holding-out on me a little, or it's time for me to look further into changing direction and going for an MC cartridge and/or trading the MoFi deck in its entirety. I figured trying another pre-amp or six would help me.

 

Here's what I've noticed already with the Electrocompaniet by using familiar reference pressings I have:

• Lower on gain, so for a given sound-level I had with the AVM or my on-board phonostage in the McIntosh, I'm having to increase the amp volume by 5-10% - as a consequence, during quieter passages of play and between tracks, I'm hearing more background noise
• Slightly finer detail than the AVM - more accuracy with percussion and especially with the decay
• Seems to be digging lower into the bass (either the RIAA curve implementation is providing greater gain in the lower frequencies, or it's representing slightly lower frequencies than I've heard before - really hard to tell which)
• Soundstage is about the same width as the AVM, but the ECP1 doesn't quite have the same depth

I'm not sure whether I'm having fun and experimenting, or whether I have passion-fingered everything by tinkering too much and got myself into a place where I'm never going to be satisfied.

 

Urgh.

[evil c]

@El Tel it is often difficult to make a comment on the why's and therefores in audio!

Certain items can be a perfect match one minute, then you change one small thing and the whole deck of cards comes tumbling down!

Synergy can be elusive, rule of thumb on relative values of say a cart, Phono and Turntable- relative to each other are really just a guide.

Currently my cart is 1/3 cost of my deck and arm, and my phono around the same.

But it has been different in the past, and probably will be in the future. 

 

Sometimes you hear a new component as being better, but it could just be "different" and later on you might realise it has shortcomings in some respects.

Change for changes sake, is the curse of many of us in Audio !

 

My suggestion is hold a small GTG, and get a few guys to have a listen - they can give you their opinions and maybe bring along something different to compare!

 

Now I have a new digital cable just delivered,  to try out!

 

[El Tel]

Thanks for your response and observations. Insightful and on-point as ever, @evil c.

 

I think pairing/synergy is the key to nirvana. I can absolutely see the merits in the Electrocompaniet ECP1, but I don't think it gels holistically with my system in the same way as the AVM.

 

To prove this point, I used an old Pro-Ject deck that a mate has leant me that has a Denon MC cart on it. That sounded a lot better than my MasterTracker cartridge on the MoFi deck. I think the synergy is just not there for the MoFi cartridge and the Electrocompaniet. It's a shame as I liked the detail and the warmth of the Electrocompaniet.

 

I think I'll sit on it and give it another whirl over the next week, but I will not be putting it away in a cupboard. The ECP1 deserves to be heard, so if I don't think it sits in my system, I'll move it on to someone who will appreciate it.

 

Tel

[Tax]

@El Tel Do you still have the ECP1 phono?

 

I recently made a new 36V power supply for it using a toroidal. Well worth it. Toroidal was about $60 and the box to house was around $45.

 

That wall wart it comes with does not do the ECP1 justice.

 

I am using two carts with it on my Garrard in a second system. FR1mk3f output 0.14mV and FR7f custom with an output of 0.20mV

 

If you still have it then consider the PS upgrade and you will be pleasantly surprised.

[El Tel]

1 hour ago, Tax said:

@El Tel Do you still have the ECP1 phono?

 

I recently made a new 36V power supply for it using a toroidal. Well worth it. Toroidal was about $60 and the box to house was around $45.

 

That wall wart it comes with does not do the ECP1 justice.

 

I am using two carts with it on my Garrard in a second system. FR1mk3f output 0.14mV and FR7f custom with an output of 0.20mV

 

If you still have it then consider the PS upgrade and you will be pleasantly surprised.

No. It didn't really gel with my setup, so I moved it on pretty quickly then went back to my avm P30, before changing cartridge to a Hana ML and then swapping the P30 for a Graham Slee Accession MC.

Edited February 9, 2022 by El Tel

[s1nner77]

I just recently picked up the MoFi Ultradeck after my local HiFi dealer recommended it in my price range and I am loving it.  I have paired it up with a Hana SL and love the sound, looks and build quality of this turntable.  

 

I have always started my turntable by giving it a slight spin to the platter before engaging the power especially on heavier platters to prevent motor issues or premature belt failure.  On this turntable I get a very audible rapid clicking coming from the motor when powering on.  Is this normal? 

[El Tel]

22 minutes ago, s1nner77 said:

I just recently picked up the MoFi Ultradeck after my local HiFi dealer recommended it in my price range and I am loving it.  I have paired it up with a Hana SL and love the sound, looks and build quality of this turntable.  

Welcome to the club. MoFi and Hana seem to go well together. I'm very happy with my combo and have pushed any further changes to my vinyl rig out for an indefinite period. It's that good at this price point.

 

23 minutes ago, s1nner77 said:

I have always started my turntable by giving it a slight spin to the platter before engaging the power especially on heavier platters to prevent motor issues or premature belt failure. 

Yup, I do the same. Just a gentle push to get a little momentum ahead of hitting the power switch. Mechanical sympathy always pays off.

 

25 minutes ago, s1nner77 said:

On this turntable I get a very audible rapid clicking coming from the motor when powering on.  Is this normal? 

I do hear what could be described as clicking, although it is not very loud. It is irregularly spaced noise with the gaps between audible clicks getting closer and closer as they fade in volume and the platter is running at operating rpm. I think this is just the slack being taken-up as the motor winds-up (belt, any initial slippage, motor etc). It stops after barely a second or so which is pretty much the same time as the platter is spinning at operating speed.

[s1nner77]

38 minutes ago, El Tel said:

I do hear what could be described as clicking, although it is not very loud. It is irregularly spaced noise with the gaps between audible clicks getting closer and closer as they fade in volume and the platter is running at operating rpm. I think this is just the slack being taken-up as the motor winds-up (belt, any initial slippage, motor etc). It stops after barely a second or so which is pretty much the same time as the platter is spinning at operating speed.

 

That's what I thought as well.  I guess I just wanted reassurance since I've never owned a MoFi turntable before.  I just wanted to make sure I didn't get a dud that would have motor issues later.  

 

Thank you for your insight.