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Mike Mettler: Herb Belkin was one of a kind. A lifetime record executive who was instrumental in taking a onetime field-recording audio company known as Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (a.k.a. MFSL) to the next, audiophile-grade level in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Belkin (1939-2001) also amassed quite the robust collection of vinyl, CDs, LDs, and other music-related memorabilia over the course of his rich life.

Recently, Belkin’s estate finished cataloguing the many physical elements of his legacy for an exciting, upcoming auction offering that’s sure to appeal to the analog-centric obtainment proclivities of our fellow collectors/audiophiles, as a decent amount of the man’s personal archive from the MFSL universe (and beyond!) is coming up for auction at 11 a.m. EDT on June 29, 2025, through Thomaston Place Auction Galleries on Day 3 of their Summer Splendor auction series.

You can read more about the upcoming Belkin auction at the official Thomaston Place Auction Galleries site here. Belkin’s quite impressive collection has already been posted on preview on the site ahead of the impending live auction, so bookmark it, check it out, and start saving your megabucks now if you want to register to bid and potentially score some of these cherished items for your own collection.

For this story, I asked my fellow audiophile-inclined collector and chief AP LP reviewer Mark Smotroff to delve into the details about the Herb Belkin collection auction, so I will now turn the next segment of this feature over to him. Take it away, Mark!

Mark Smotroff: Thanks, Mike! From official press materials provided by the Thomaston Place team, we learn that, quote, “Thomaston Place Auction Galleries will unveil a rare, never-before-seen collection this June from the private archive of Mr. Herb Belkin [seen above], the late President of the renowned Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab and a defining figure in the audiophile movement. This 150-lot collection includes rare Mobile Fidelity recordings and limited-edition contemporary art, offering a singular opportunity for collectors and music lovers alike. With exceptional and highly collectible objects, including high-fidelity audio recordings and numbered prints from iconic artists, the works celebrate Mr. Belkin’s profound impact as a music producer, avid collector, and recording pioneer.

“The collection highlights Mr. Belkin’s visionary leadership at Mobile Fidelity, a record label renowned for its innovative audiophile-quality recordings. Music collectors will discover rare and important recordings from legendary artists such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, and more. A key highlight is a factory-sealed, limited-edition UHQR 200g LP box set of Pink Floyd’s [The] Dark Side of the Moon, a testament to Mr. Belkin’s role in accessing the original master tapes for pioneering reissues. Also featured is an extremely rare #15/5000 The Beatles’ The Collection Original Master Recording Box Set.”

To be blunt: Holy audiophile grails, Batman!

Smotroff: I’ll dive further into some of these auction gems a bit later in this report, but since Mike and I both wanted to learn more about the man himself, we reached out to Belkin’s estate to obtain further firsthand insights — and it turns out that Belkin was indeed quite the passionate audiophile himself (no surprise to us, really).

We also wanted to find out about some of the gear Belkin utilized for his own personal listening sessions, so I asked the estate about that myself. In turn, we received a nice, extended answer from one of Herb’s sons, Matt Belkin, who reflected on his father’s audiophile legacy at home exclusively for AP. Here’s what Matt told us, word for word.

Matt Belkin: Between 1980 and 1999, my dad curated two dedicated listening rooms that reflected both his role at Mobile Fidelity and his personal obsession with sonic purity. The components evolved over time — pieces would come and go — but some core elements stand out in my memory.

In the reference room, he typically used a Technics SP-10 MKII turntable with a Shure V15 Type III cartridge, feeding into an Audio Research SP-6 preamp and Pass Labs Aleph 1.2 monoblocks. His speakers were often the iconic Infinity IRS Beta towers — perfect for critical listening and evaluating MoFi test pressings. Analog playback ran through a Nakamichi Dragon, and digital came via a California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II CD player, chosen for its warm, tube-driven output.

The second room had a more immersive, relaxed vibe. I remember him rotating MartinLogan Monolith IIIx electrostatics in and out, alongside gear like a Mark Levinson No. 23 [amp] and a McIntosh C32 preamp. That room also featured a Sony ES series CD player — and, most meaningfully, components from MoFi’s own brief foray into hardware: the MFSL UltraAmp.

Both rooms were tuned with care, and everything reflected his belief that fidelity wasn’t just technical — it was emotional. Every detail mattered because the music mattered.

Smotroff: As somebody who has two different sound systems in a small apartment, I can greatly appreciate Belkin’s notion of creating different types of listening environments. And ain’t it just cool to know about the reference gear he used to make sure all those classic MFSL titles sounded as good as they possibly could for the times?

While certain DJ-inclined vinyl enthusiasts may wax ecstatic about vintage Technics SL-1200 series turntables, Belkin’s own Technics SP-10 MKII table was notable for being a highly regarded reference deck back then. This mid-’70s model was purported to be something of a gamechanger at the time in relation to its decoupled power supply design, and it was apparently quickly adopted for professional applications. One site I consulted reported that some 1,300 of those tables were in use at broadcast stations in 25 countries, for example.

We’re not quite sure what kind of tonearm Belkin was using with that SP-10 MKII table, but from what I’ve been reading online, it reportedly often was sold with Technics’ EPA-100 arm included. However, given Belkin was using a Shure V15-III cartridge — one of the premier phono carts of the times, with J. Gordon Holt of our sister pub Stereophile even going so far to call it “the best-tracking pickup that money can buy” back in the day — I remember those carts often being paired with a classic SME tonearm. In fact, some interweb sources confirmed my recollections that the SME 3009 series arm was a common partner for this cartridge.

Anyhow, it’s pretty cool imagining what Belkin’s listening rooms were like — and he certainly had no shortage of music on hand for listening, that’s for sure. To that end, let’s get back to exploring some of the highlights of the impending Thomaston Place auction, as there are some real gems to be found within, without a doubt.

Smotroff: For one thing, it will certainly be fascinating to see just how much the sealed UHQR edition of Pink Floyd’s March 1973 masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon sells for, ultimately. The Thomaston Place team estimates the UHQR Dark Side (MFQR 1-017) will sell for between $4,000 and $5,000 — something that may very well be a fair number, given that Belkin’s copy is both sealed and unplayed. For further comparison, we can look at Discogs to find the four Mint copies listed there at the time of this posting are going for between $2,200 and $2,800 — and that price range doesn’t include shipping from Europe, where most of those copies seem to reside.

Smotroff: And what about The Fab Four? While there are some who may argue that some of the modern-era remasters of The Beatles catalog might be better than the comparable MoFi’s — at least those in the 2014 Beatles in Mono LP box set (Apple 5099963379716), which is admittedly a very different listening experience than the stereo mixes in the MFSL set — there is no doubt that those vintage MFSL Beatles releases sounded really, really, really good.

Thomaston Place estimates the Belkin MFSL Beatles 14LP The Collection (BC-1) sets will sell for between $2,000 and $3,000. While there is a sealed copy of it selling on Discogs for about $2,200 at the time of this posting, we suspect Belkin’s copies might well go for even higher than that, given the low numbers of the two sets of his being auctioned — #15 and #17 — thus increasing the appeal of this edition to hardcore Beatle collectors, not just our fellow audiophiles.

Smotroff: Likewise, the Belkin MFSL The Rolling Stones 11LP set (RC-1) — #8 in the series — is expected to pull in $2,500 to $3,000, which is in keeping with what they sell for on Discogs in Mint condition. No doubt that low number will also appeal to Stones fans and collectors alike.

Smotroff: I will also be very curious to see how Belkin’s Frank Sinatra 16LP sets (SC-1) will do in the auction, as there are several copies currently available, all of them very low numbers in the limited edition. (Mint copies on Discogs currently sell between $800 and $1,500.)

Besides vinyl, Belkin had a huge collection of MFSL CDs in addition to a score of laserdiscs (a.k.a. LDs) that are also part of this auction as well as other related ephemera, since Belkin had been an executive with other record labels during his pre-MoFi heyday such as ABC, Atlantic, and Capitol. Notable auction entries related to that era include many of his Gold and Platinum disc awards, including one for Steely Dan’s eternal September 1977 masterpiece Aja with an estimated selling price of $2,000 to $3,000.

Smotroff: Finally, I must note that one item I personally would love to get for myself if I had the money and space for it is Belkin’s customized Rock-Ola “bubbler” CD jukebox. This juke boasts a classic design, along with eight bubble tubes and a walnut-stained wood cabinet. It also reportedly has five internal speakers and a 100-capacity disc magazine, and is expected to sell for between $3,000 and $5,000! (Hey, I can dream, can’t I?)

Now, these items are just a smattering of the 150-lot of what the Belkin estate are putting up for auction. As a deep record collector, I would personally love to know what kinds of “other” vintage records Belkin might have had in his “regular” record collection. For example, was he also a deep jazz fan with all manner of vintage Blue Note, Prestige, and Impulse! titles retained from his youth? Was he more of a rocker who had cherished original Buddy Holly and Beatles pressings on his shelves? Did he get a Beatles Yesterday and Today “butcher cover” when it first came out? Was he one of the reputed 15,000 people who actually bought The Velvet Underground & Nico album when it came out on Verve in March 1967? So many questions! Alas, we may never know those details — but it sure is fun to take a few moments to wonder about them, wouldn’t you say?

Mettler: It sure is fun to speculate about all that, Mark, I agree! From my POV, it’s also fun to ponder whether I’d be able (and/or even allowed!) to scrounge enough capital to bid on that Dark Side box seeing how I only have a well-worn copy of the 1979 version (MFSL 1-017), and/or either/both of those Beatles and Stones boxes. (I too can dream. . .)

That said, if any of the lucky AP faithful reading this do happen to score any of these prestige Belkin auction items next month, please let us know, as we may want to feature it/them in a followup story. In the meantime — happy perusing, and happy bidding!

Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for AudiophileReview.com, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.