MFSL - Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs They release licensed audiophile quality reissues. I didn't know and looked it up.

ITOHTLUI

(I'm Tired Of Having To Look Up Initials)

Rotflmao! NjPaul!

Har har. MFSL has been around for almost half a century. Anyone who has been hunting for good sounding records knows what it is by now.

Anyway, for anyone interested, probably only Deadheads and sound fanatics, this is the best Workingman's Dead you will find ! On CD anyway.... (oh,FYI that stands for Compact Disc, BTW)

this is really interesting in the light of Pono from Neil Young. if this already exists, is pono needed? i just read a review of pono and it looks like it is not what it was supposed to be.

cs

interesting...

a few years ago Warner released a vinyl box with the 1st 5 studio albums, 180 gr vinyl.
Sounds beautiful and a worthwhile purchase if you're a vinyl freak

MFSL reissues are amazing...originals highly-sought after as-well. And, oh can they be pricey...those audiophiles will shell out some serious scratch for clean copies. MFSL recently pressed ABB self-titled, Idlewild...and more recently, EAP and B&S. I own the first two and I think they sound amazing...no contest in my opinion, particularly Idlewild. The dynamics in Revival are breathtaking and very pronounced. The MFSL AB and Workingman's are very tempting but I do own the WB box set on vinyl and its awesome...can anyone compare the two?

How are MFSL's different than master discs on vinyl?

I owned such a master disc of Abbey Road in the early 80's. The sound was so excellent I recall being able to hear fingers rubbing along the acoustic fretboards,being able to distinguish each instument with perfect clarity.I was even able to copy the album to a tape and the sound was still sensational.Nothing I've listened to has ever matched this sound.And,recall this was heard on huge speakers on your basic 80's version of stereo with turntable and receiver.I'm not sure sound ever has really returned to the quality we heard back then.The warmth was replaced with sonic boom.

But,back to point,how are MFSL's different?

Aside from the ineffable spiritual dimensions of acoustic mania, the first thing you find with MFSL is that they somehow mix it so that you can actually drive your amp without blowing your eardrums. So lots of juice better signal for one.

For in depth info gotta go to wiki there is a good article there.

Most commercial releases are designed for the most popular systems now, iPods and car stereos. The monster stereo of yore is almost obsolete. When you listen to standard CDs on a big old school Stereo-Henge like mine, the sound is super bright with hollow mids usually, sometimes the bass is either blown way up or down. Depends. Then you try to turn it up to fill the sails, and you get blasted out of the room with a harsh bright assault. With MFSL you can turn the thing up and it is full and clear and beautiful. Phil Lesh just rattled a bass speaker loose, gotta fix that!

Basically the MFSL trick is they give you room to move.

Re PONO, of course I'm interested, but there are limits to price, and MFSL is already high. Cheaper if you buy them at the time of release, usually 30$ or so, because out of print they jump way up past 100$.

MFSL vs vinyl ? I don't know if there is any way to compare, they are different universes. There is something about the smooth curve of analog that may verge on the mystical. Like digital is really just an illusion while analog is reality. But then it is just a groove in a piece of plastic, so...

[Edited on 2/24/2015 by BrerRabbit]

Aside from the ineffable spiritual dimensions of acoustic mania, the first thing you find with MFSL is that they somehow mix it so that you can actually drive your amp without blowing your eardrums. So lots of juice better signal for one.

For in depth info gotta go to wiki there is a good article there.

Most commercial releases are designed for the most popular systems now, iPods and car stereos. The monster stereo of yore is almost obsolete. When you listen to standard CDs on a big old school Stereo-Henge like mine, the sound is super bright with hollow mids usually, sometimes the bass is either blown way up or down. Depends. Then you try to turn it up to fill the sails, and you get blasted out of the room with a harsh bright assault. With MFSL you can turn the thing up and it is full and clear and beautiful. Phil Lesh just rattled a bass speaker loose, gotta fix that!

Basically the MFSL trick is they give you room to move.

Re PONO, of course I'm interested, but there are limits to price, and MFSL is already high. Cheaper if you buy them at the time of release, usually 30$ or so, because out of print they jump way up past 100$.

Very helpful response,although I'm not clear regarding the difference from vinyl master discs I heard back then?

Is MFSL for vinyl? If for cd,any particular system needed?

Thanks

MFSL makes some vinyl. Big fat 180g. When they started that was their selling point was that vinyl had gone thin in the 70's

They are certainly worth a browse : http://www.mofi.com/

Their cd's play on any player, I use an ancient sony I found at goodwill

[Edited on 2/24/2015 by BrerRabbit]

MFSL vs vinyl ? I don't know if there is any way to compare, they are different universes. There is something about the smooth curve of analog that may verge on the mystical. Like digital is really just an illusion while analog is reality. But then it is just a groove in a piece of plastic, so...

OK just thought of this, what I find with MFSL is that it lets you use your amp to drive your speakers, and actually move air and feel the sound. Really no point in listening to MFSL on small computer systems or in the car, I think what has happened is that mixing is done for clarity and definition, for accurate reproduction in small systems. Which is great for what it is, and may mean MFSL is inferior in those machines. But if you want to actually feel the thrills and chills of say Garcia on Candyman on real speakers.... MFSL

They are certainly worth a browse : http://www.mofi.com/
[Edited on 2/24/2015 by BrerRabbit]

So I looked.

A bit confusing.Are they ll MFSL?

Some say sacd(huh?) some say gain,analog,ultra disc,hybrid,etc. etc.?

If I'm interested in MFSL. CD's where do I look?

I appreciate your patience..anything technological I'm not the sharpest bulb!

Ummmm....

well.....

Yep, I had to sort thru that crap too.

SACD... is for 5.1, meaning FIVE WAY surround sound systems. Won't sound bad on regular 2 channels but it costs more, so if you don't need that weaponry don't buy it. Actually, I'm not sure if they even have SACD-only any more, it's mostly hybrid SACD/CD, which is what you want, read on...

Gain, whatever, just a cool word that makes it sound badass.

Ultradisc, means a CD that is printed on gold foil. direct from the original master tape.

Analog, gain2 analog, all analog is their vinyl.

The one that actual humans buy is usually:

Hybrid SACD.... combo SACD and CD, does multi channel OR two channel. That's their usual CD offering, and that's what I was talking about in the first post

here is a line from wiki that nails it :

"As with the company's record pressings, no dynamic range compression was used in the production of the CDs. For the most part, little or no equalization is applied. Thus, releases are close copies of the original master tape."

As Woody Guthrie would have said..."The real article!"

where to look. that link above takes you to the page where Workingmans Dead and American Beauty live, 30 bucks. The analog one is the vinyl, the other two are SACD Hybrids they are the happy CDs !

where to look. that link above takes you to the page where Workingmans Dead and American Beauty live, 30 bucks. The analog one is the vinyl, the other two are SACD Hybrids they are the happy CDs !

And they work on any CD player...cool!

Thanks.

Great thread. Have a couple lp's from there myself. Enjoy the sound a lot!
I was wondering about the ABB first release... I always felt the production quality was supar on that album, especially compared to Idewild.
Do the tracks sound superior on the MSFL release over the original?
Thanks!

Geez Brer...you should be a sales-rep for MOFI...lol! Ribbing aside, beautiful explanation. You have inspired me to spin my MFSL Mars Hotel and let 'er rip...thinking, Unbroken Chain! Love your notion re: MFSL being engineered to compliment throwback systems. For the last few years I have been "frankensteining" a vintage setup together. I'm the VERY proud owner of a '73 Sansui Solid State 2000A in phenomenal condition (unbelievably warm sound)...and just acquired a pair of early '80s Polk Monitor 10s in great shape for a real bargain. Just built my stands to Polk-specs and my-goodness...what a pairing for jazz! Been spinning some Ornette lately...insane. Now...off to mofi.com to go bankrupt, lol!

Fanfrom71...I was knocked out the 1st time I listened to my MFSL ABB self-titled. Knew folks thought the original lacked punch or cohesiveness. Since I own both...I will report back tomorrow after comparing/contrasting both lps. I mean...what better way to pre-game TTB here in Charleston, right?!

ABB debut self titled is KILLER on MFSL ! Re toweringfools post, yep you're only as strong as your weakest link, gotta have decent gear. My amp isn't so good, but don't want to spend beaucoup on a new box, it'll show up at some point, just gotta keep the vision! Found a couple of Odyssey monster speakers at Goodwill. Like Townshend said about how he bought guitars to fit his amps, not the other way around. Its the air, man, soundwaves travel on air! Unbroken Chain, fantastic, now if MFSL could just give Phil a singing voice...