Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab

Recording engineer Brad Miller (1939–1998) released the first recordings on the Mobile Fidelity label in March 1958, a recording of a Southern Pacific steam locomotive.{{cite web |url=https://www.mofi.com/Articles.asp?ID=255 |title=Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Inc.{{!}} Audiophile Vinyl, CD, SACD |website=www.mofi.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630132827/http://www.mofi.com/Articles.asp?ID=255 |archive-date=2012-06-30}} Later LPs included other steam trains, environmental sounds and orchestral music, and a few pop and orchestral recordings. In 1977 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs was founded and began releasing Original Master Recording LPs, using a half-speed mastering process.{{cite web|title=History|publisher=Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs|url=https://mofi.com/pages/history}}

From 1985-1992, MoFi sourced recordings from the Soviet Union’s Melodiya Records archives.{{cite web|title=The Return of Mobile Fidelity|publisher=SoundStage|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203484272-530/mobile-fidelity-sound-labs-label|accessdate=July 7, 2024}} In November 1999, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab shut down after the bankruptcy of M. S. Distributing.{{cite web|title=Industry News November 1999|url=http://www.enjoythemusic.com/news/1199/|date=November 25, 1999|website=www.enjoythemusic.com|access-date=November 12, 2010}} In 2001 MFSL's assets were acquired by Jim Davis of Music Direct.{{cite web|title=The Return of Mobile Fidelity|publisher=SoundStage|url=https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/vinyl/vinyl200409.htm|accessdate=August 28, 2022}}

File:Original Master Recordings wordmark.svg

In 1977, Mobile Fidelity began to produce a line of records known as "Original Master Recording" vinyl LPs.{{cite web|title=The Return of Mobile Fidelity|publisher=SoundStage!|url=https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/vinyl/vinyl200409.htm|accessdate=August 28, 2022}} These albums were previously released by other companies, licensed by Mobile Fidelity, and remastered using half-speed mastering from the original analog master tapes, without compression, and with minimal equalization.{{cite web|last1=Guttenberg|first1=Steve|title=MoFi remasters, perfects LP sound|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/mofi-remasters-perfects-lp-sound/|website=CNET|access-date=June 23, 2016}} The recordings were pressed in Japan using a plastic compound invented by JVC, and marketed as "Supervinyl" by Mobile Fidelity.{{cite web|title=Back In The Groove|publisher=Hi-Fi News|url=https://www.hifinews.com/content/back-groove|accessdate=August 28, 2022}}

In 2016, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab launched a new vinyl series called Ultradisc One-Step, releasing titles including Santana's Abraxas and Bill Evans's Sunday at the Village Vanguard.{{cite web|title=Audiophile Jazz Vinyl Pressings|publisher=eCoustics|url=https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/audiophile-jazz-vinyl-pressings/|accessdate=August 28, 2022}}

During the mid-1980s, Mobile Fidelity began to sell CDs and cassettes. In the 2000s, it began to sell SACDs.{{cite web|title=40th Anniversary Mobile Fidelity One-Step|publisher=Analog Planet|url=https://www.analogplanet.com/content/40th-anniversary-one-step-thriller-bernie-grundman-mastered-original-analog-tape-coming|accessdate=August 28, 2022}}

In 2016 an audio electronics line was introduced under the MoFi banner.{{Cite web|url=https://thevinylfactory.com/news/mo-fi-new-turntable-studiodeck/|title=High-end turntable makers Mo-Fi debut 'entry-level' turntable|date=August 20, 2018}} MoFi Electronics offices and turntable manufacturing are based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mofielectronics.com/|title=Mobile Fidelity Electronics|website=Mobile Fidelity Electronics|language=en-US|access-date=September 30, 2019}}

On July 14, 2022, Michael Esposito, a record store owner and YouTuber, released a video on his YouTube channel "The 'In' Groove" stating that "pretty reliable sources" informed him that, contrary to the company's official statements and marketing, MFSL had been using digital masters instead of analogue for years. John Wood, the label's executive president, saw Esposito's video and then invited him to California for a tour of their business. A second video was produced with Esposito interviewing MFSL staff, where they confirmed that they were using Direct Stream Digital files when creating their vinyl masters for duplication. The staff members stated that at least 60% of all titles used this process by the end of 2011, and that the process was also being used for the label's Ultradisc One-Step releases, which were previously marketed as coming directly from the original master tapes. The revelation generated controversy over not only Mobile Fidelity's integrity, given the company's marketing and the stigmatization of digital audio in audiophile circles, but also the extent of analog audio's perceived merits over digital audio.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/08/05/mofi-records-analog-digital-scandal/ |title=How a Phoenix record store owner set the audiophile world on fire |date=2022-08-05 |author1=Geoff Edgers |newspaper=The Washington Post |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}{{cite web |last1=Sinclair |first1=Paul |title=Saturday Deluxe / 6 August 2022 |url=https://superdeluxeedition.com/feature/saturday-deluxe-6-august-2022/ |website=SuperDeluxeEdition |access-date=9 August 2022 |ref=Sinclair 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809195424/https://superdeluxeedition.com/feature/saturday-deluxe-6-august-2022/ |archive-date=9 August 2022 |date=6 August 2022 |url-status=live}} The scandal became known as "MoFi Gate" (combining an abbreviation of "Mobile Fidelity" with the "-gate" suffix derived from the Watergate scandal) in audiophile communities.{{cite web|title=A different take on the MoFi scandal|publisher=Darko.Audio|url=https://darko.audio/2022/08/podcast-40-a-different-take-on-the-mofi-scandal-future-fi-streaming-volatility/|accessdate=August 12, 2022}}

In August 2022, Adam Stiles, a longtime customer of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, filed a class action fraud lawsuit against the label over the revelations.{{cite web|title=MoFi Faces Fraud Lawsuit for Selling Vinyl Reissues as "Purely Analog" While Using Digital Masters|publisher=Pitchfork|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/mofi-faces-fraud-lawsuit-for-selling-vinyl-reissues-as-purely-analog-while-using-digital-masters/|accessdate=August 26, 2022}}{{cite web|title=MoFi Sued Over Claims Its All-Analog Albums Were Actually Made With Digital Mastering Tech|publisher=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mofi-sued-over-claims-its-analog-albums-were-made-with-digital-mastering-tech-1234580198/|accessdate=August 26, 2022}} The lawsuit resulted in MFSL paying $25 million in damages.{{cite web |last1=Irwin |first1=Corey |title=MoFi to Pay $25 Million Over Fraudulent 'All-Analog' Records |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/mofi-records-settlement/?trackback=fbshare_mobile&mibextid=Zxz2cZ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=16 May 2023 |ref=Corey 2023 |date=11 May 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.mofi.com/}}
• [https://archive.org/details/sim_boston-phoenix_1982-10-05_11_40/page/24/mode/1up Profile of Herb Belkin, then-president of MFSL] The Boston Phoenix 1982

{{Authority control}}

Category:1977 establishments in Illinois

Category:American companies established in 1977

Category:Record labels established in 1977

Category:2022 controversies in the United States

Category:Record labels based in Illinois

Category:Audiophile record labels

Category:Reissue record labels

Category:American jazz record labels