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a boomer, and I want every one. My first choice is the 45 RPM version of IRobot. I have to say I would like to hear the entire VH catalog. I know every song, and I would love to hear the differences from what I know.

I have the Pearl one step and I think it sounds fantastic. I compared it with the Sony/Legacy release and it’s noticeably better. I do not have the standard mo-fi version of it but would like to compare it to that as well.

But why do Mofi and other leading Audiophile houses refuse to release audiophile vinyl for music recorded in the last 30 years?.. I can count on one hand the mofi releases from the late 80s or 90s (Pixies, Nirvana for example)

Don't get me wrong... I love a majority of the music that mofi release, but there are only so many copies of Miles Davis or Muddy Waters I need to own.

I think these "industry-pillars" need to take more responsibility for engaging with a 'younger' generation and help foster the vinyl resurgence for the long term.

I can think of hundreds of fantastic albums from the 90s and 2000s that are dying to be released as a 1 step / UHQR - many of which I know to have been recorded analogue.

When Mofi first started out, the albums they released were mostly no older than 10 or 15 years at that stage (Think the original UHQR series - Cat Stevens, Beatles, etc..)... Why wouldn't there be a market for music released from say Radiohead or Smashing Pumpkins or even more recently BADBADNOTGOOD?

Is there a licensing issue here that Im not getting?

There are many audiophiles here who would love some or many of these discs, but all these UD1S and Analogue Productions discs are a total rip off here. $125 retail would seem like a bargain!!

The current going rate for a typical Mofi UD1S is £165, which at current exchange rates is $224! They started out at £125 with the earliest issues, which seemed fair. I recently saw some dealer selling the UHQR Kind of Blue 33rpm at £195, which is a total piss-take for a single disc.

A $125 UD1S should be £92 before tax and shipping, but I presume dealers buy wholesale and get them cheaper than that.

I get that there is shipping, possibly customs and VAT to add, but honestly, somebody must be making a mint out of us somewhere in the food chain, as in the US the manufacturers and dealers are making a decent profit at $125. If someone can start bringing these in to the UK at sensible prices they will do very well and allow ordinary people with a keen interest in great vinyl to afford them.

And I Robot, which appears to be available as both a 33 and a 45, the former "only" $100.

:D

I’m a huge fan (born 1975 so not a boomer), already pre-ordered all six. If you don’t buy that one Michael I can review it for you once it arrives!

…is the Cannonball Adderley “Somethin’ Else” with Miles.

I would bet that three years from now we'll still be waiting for at least one or two of these records, by which time much of the target market will have joined the choir invisible.

God help us when they are finally released; there'll be no escaping the non-stop Eagles demos at audio shows.

My guess is late 2022, given the current material shortage and current backlog.

I am rather glad they are doing it this way instead of their previous efforts.

The early UHQR from MOFI in the 80's and I have most of them was made in 33 1/3 and they where done well .Why the 45's?

I thought a lot of the Original Master Tapes were lost in the 2008 Universal fire? As I remember the Eagles and Van Halen were on that list. How do we really know what tapes Mofi uses?

Particularly the Folk singer release. The old Anadisc release of the same title is extraordinary, if the One Step beats that…
I am also looking forward to EC Unplugged, as the original master is superbly recorded. Anyone know if the rumor is correct, Unplugged is a digital master?

CSN please

There are many very fine 33 releases that demonstrate state-of-the-art sound can be achieved at this speed. 45 rpm records do a disservice to the music by interrupting the flow and mood of the music - and even if the sound is a wee bit better, is it worth it just so we can ooh and aah over the sound quality instead of being immersed in the music? 45rpm is best left for singles, not albums - especially not albums with a concept for a side that should be listened to uninterrupted.

yeah, we know ... 45rpm sounds better ... I'll gladly sacrifice a tiny amount of sound quality (2-3%, maybe?) for a HUGE bump in convenience. Changing the turntable belt position, flipping a side every 10-minutes ... 45's aren't worth the hassle.

I'd buy several of these releases if they were 33's. Since they're not, I won't. Period.

Very curious to know if they were allowed access to the master tapes.

This is the one I'd choose to review.

I too would prefer the speed to be 33 1/3.

I wish they'd give us that option.

If MOFI is listening out there in electron land....Please Please ...If there ever was an aural landscape that begged the "One Step" treatment, this would be the one in my opinion. Its a shame this recording isn't on the radar for may folks.

Thanks
Frank M

There's about $1200 worth I'm after.

maybe the kids of the current people at MOFI, or RTI, or Dow or duPont or whoever actually makes the vinyl will press music from the last 2 decades. If . . .they can find any. ba-boom, rimmmshottt.

I am trying to get Campion Records U.K. to press some vinyl of Inessa Galante. If you are not familiar, from 1990 to around 2010 they issued about 10 CDs. Opera soprano. Ave maria on utoob has 10 million ++ views. Sang lovely Russian, Italian, Latin, French, Yiddish. The Russian Recital at Wigmore Hall is my fav.

I will probably spring for one or 2 of the new One take box sets. John Mayall "Turning Point" would be nice, Poco "Poco", "In-a-Gadda-da-vida", Rafael Mendez "Trumpet Extraordinary", Bach "Jesu der du Meine Seele" BVW 78, anything with Duane Allman, "Delany & Bonnie & Friends on Tour with Eric Clapton". And Beethoven "Hammerklavier", Late quartets, Missa Solemnis. OK, enough wish list.

As a constant buyer of Mobile Fidelity pressings, including (all) of the One Steps...do they really need to release SIX of the first Eagles albums and SIX of Van Halen?? I mean, I do like these groups and enjoy them, but with all the OTHER great albums out there could they not just pick ONE "eponymous" album from each group and move on? Maybe release another from the catalog down the road a bit? MoFi had a good thing going...now it's becoming a bit tedious.

We can go back and forth with this. Mike ,I am aware Universal Music lost a lot of tapes due to a fire. So are we getting an Original master to platter or Digital Master to platter . It is a simple question? GO to work DET . Mike lol
If it is a digital master to vinyl then why the 45 rpm ?
Also have you listened to any of the SACD from MOFI can you compare them to the Ultra One step they usually release them at the same time ?
Also MOFI should do Bridge of Sigh Robin Trower and a better Led Zeppelin 2 . The MOFI LZ II form the 80's was not that great.

.... long time listener here (at least 25 years)...

Irving Azoff manages both The Eagles and VH. I have read that Mofi dealt with him to license only a few titles from those bands, but he would only agree to a deal if ALL the titles were done. Of course, I read this on Hoffmann's forums (if I recall), so it's just "word on the street". Michael, maybe you would know more about this..

Also.... my vote is the ELVIS one step! I own the first MFSL 80's pressing, and it would be interesting to read any comparisons (of that or any other pressing!)

Another also... If this was Sgt Pepper, there would be no question!

I thought that the Van Halen studio recordings were not really that great because the band didn’t give a shit about making records. They just wanted to tour, party and play live music. So I guess I’m very curious to know if 1984 sounds that much better than the original pressing. I’m sure it must, but by what degree? I am not a boomer, but my parents are and I’m still holding out for an audiophile reissue of Tracy Chapman’s debut.

After being in the audiophile world for 30 yrs (and especially apparent in the last 20 years) its quite evident why there are certain repeats of titles. Easier to license and tried and true. And as the years have went by the former is getting more and more difficult as the majors tighten grips on master tapes. Master tapes transfered to digital and then pressed to vinyl? Perfect in their opinions.

So as the years have went by we simply see the same titles whether it be from Mofi, AP, ORG or whomever. The days of the 1980s will never come back where Zeppelin, Stones or Beatles are done from the master tapes by Kevin, Bernie, Chris, Ryan etc. Aint gonna happen.

And as far as modern recordings from the 90s thar havent been "audiophiled" its probably the same story. Ultra fancy boxsets that are mastered so so and have tons of crap buyers may listen to a couple of times are the carrot now. Why should they care about sound? Its selling.

But even if say The Smashing Pumpkins were one stepped how much benefit would there be? The production of so many 90s and 00 albums are so dense and layered.

What exactly are fans thinking they will hear that is an improvement?

So many bands from the 90s and 00s do not lend themselves to "audiophile sound" Only so much can be done in remastering these densely recorded albums. And the list is long. Sure, there are many recordings from the last 25 yrs that arent so layered sounding but then one is back to the question:

Which to do that would sell well as $60.00-125.00 product of a single album?

For these reasons we will see mostly the same ol jazz and pop titles done over and over. Plus the new influx of newbies to the hobby encourages the audiophile lables to simply reissue the same ol same ol. After all its new to them and they will eat it up.

I will stop when I looked at the 2022 offerings in the new Music Direct catalog. There’s about 20 new titles announced in this catalog. It’s been kind of nice to have a compete set but there’s too many new titles announced that I’m not interested in owning. Based on prior output from MoFi, no way all of these new titles will be released this year. As an example of MoFi’s output, my copy of Tapestry ordered last January is due to arrive tomorrow. I think about 8 were released in 2021. These are great pressings but I will pick and choose what I order going forward. Regardless, if you want any of these you should preorder as soon as you are able. They often sell out before or within days of being released.

Yes, it's well known that younger listeners are (thankfully) less concerned with era than previous generations and will happily listen to Fleetwood Mac alongside H.E.R., which is a wonderful thing. What's wrong with these releases is the lack of imagination in choosing which albums would have appeal and benefit from this process, not to mention the cynicism involved in selling the same records to the same people over and over and over again, at higher and higher prices. I admit I've bought into this myself as a consumer but as someone who has been involved in this professionally as well, I've always tried to add things to reissues to justify their existence to fans and not make them feel like the word "remastered" itself justifies a brand new purchase. MoFi could be more adventurous with their album picks based on the highly limited runs as evidenced by Blue Note's success mining their deeper catalog and VMP's more esoteric choices consistently selling out. MoFi could also step up their game by adding supplementary tracks, leveling up their packaging, and maybe some notes and photography. The few of these I've bought sound great (What's Going On with its janky side-splits notwithstanding) but I always felt like the total package didn't justify the cost and I don't see myself going back to the well until they start getting creative.

Chad really digs himself a hole, listing all these one steps as coming soon. Clearly they are not coming soon. Coming soon would tell us they are about 90 days from release. I'll be amazed if we see 4 or 5 this year. Now people are hounding record stores, websites and i bet him when can they pre-order? Bad marketing from a smart guy.