Comparing sound of MoFi Vinyl, CD, SACD, DSD & FLAC

Recent MoFi controversy spurred me to compare sound of MoFi Vinyl to CD, SACD to CD, DSD to FLAC. Here are my impressions. Yours may be different.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

I’m a year late but I really enjoyed this vid. I too enjoy my LPs more now that I have the same Sun Valley phono preamp. I have two TTs running through it. I started with a Sony CD/SACD 5-disc player which read single SACDs but had trouble reading the SACD layer on hybrid discs due to a bad laser. I found locally an Oppo BDP-105 CD/SACD Blueray player via Craigslist. Built like a tank. I was able to make it a Roon endpoint too. I’m up to 16 SACDs now and preordered the new Steely Dan SACD. Nice work Raymond👍👍

[@AudioTnT]

Glad u r enjoying vinyl and SACD thru some great gear. Will look out for an Oppo disc player. I hope their transports are well built. I upgraded the DAC on an 1980s Arcam CD player only to have the transport die so leery of spending $$$ on CD players/ transports. Manual turntables seem to last forever. 😅

[@18000rpm]

The DAC in your Blu-ray SACD player is probably very very poor quality...

[@gcahill51]

Thanks Raymond. A thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis

[@archiemacdonald553]

just found your site Peter love the information .you do a wonderful job explaining digital ..I've subscribed 🙂

[@joewhip9303]

You captured my findings of DSD and PCM. Some prefer that softening with DSD. I do not.

[@johnnyz4427]

Thank you for analyzing and comparison. Very informative. Most of time, to my comparative listenings, the SACDs made from past analog recordings are phony, with lots of artificial editings, flavorings and the sound quality is not up to the original recording quality of either CD or LP. I stopped buying them. Many original SACDs of nowadays are not either high quality recording, not even close to audiophile.

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

Those screw on spades, I think, would be a very poor connection, and would degrade any signal! I think the best connection would be XLR cables, if your Preamp has this available.

[@ericstefko4852]

I have a DAC that can play both SACD and PCM. I have digital copies of some music and agree with your assessment. CD sounded more dynamic and the SACD was quite a bit softer. I prefer PCM upsampled.

[@AudioTnT]

When u upsample a CD quality file does the music sound smoother? There is no additional content so can't be more detailed. Does an upsampled 24/96 file sound better than 16/44?

[@ericstefko4852]

@@AudioTnT I use HQPlayer so I can upsample to 1.5Mhz. On some recording that are well produced the separation and depth and bass is better. However, on poor recordings it makes it a hot mess, Check out this review part 1 and 2 I think he talks about the benefits of upsampled music kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZKWpIKJh8Zgi5I

[@silvershield2342]

Excellent analysis and scientific in presentation

[@kingcarmichael]

Hi Raymond. I enjoyed your review (and I love that Madeleine Peyroux album!). After reading a bit about the MoFi scandal and thinking about marketing driven myths Vs actual audible sound quality, I did a test myself to compare different resolution digital files - to see if I could hear a difference. I have a treated room I use to mix music, good studio monitors and I use Sonarworks based on a calibration of my room. And I do a lot of critical listening. I always level-match audio very precisely when doing comparisons. The key thing for me is that I did my comparisons blindly. I have software that allows me to setup the digital files I want to compare, they get shuffled so I don’t know what I’m hearing. Then it reveals the file names after I’ve finished my listening/rating. I mention this because I find it’s MUCH harder to do these comparisons without the intellectual/emotional/visual/financial information. I realize a blind comparison would be impossible to do by yourself with vinyl. But I think the audiophile, record collecting community would do well to somehow test audio blindly and therefore remove their biases. I think they would be surprised.

[@AudioTnT]

Wow. Software driven A-B comparisons would be great. I usually bring friends in to do listening tests but they are impatient. Room treatment and calibration is often overlooked by audiophiles.

[@Ryan-rn3cf]

Everything you said is spot on. Blind tests are very useful in a shuffled playlist with great IEMs. I go about my day with them on doing doing housework or whatever and the most preferred usually stands out in a day or two. ABing sample rates of otherwise identical mix sessions is where it gets interesting. You won’t need a blind test, it will be obvious over that many sources playing at once trust me. When producer Jack Joseph Puig isn’t shilling for some company, he’s usually brutally honest about his 40+ years in the music biz. He recently gave an interview saying something like “44.1 is more musical. We know that now.” I’m not saying he’s right but it did confirm a bizarre AB test of my own (My setup by the way is similar to what u described. With Sonarworks, the whole thing.) In my ABs, I was consistently finding 96k to be better than 44.1 BUT NOT better than 44.1 upscaled to 96k post mix. These are things that also need to be considered. It gets deep, confusing and most of it could be a total waste of time. We don’t know.

[@stevenuttley]

Agree. A blindfold test done fairly recently showed listeners unable to detect the difference between CD and SACD. Of course some audiophiles claimed that that shows blinfold testing is flawed (because it doesn't agree with their perceptions). However, I'm with you on this and it's a pretty similar concept to double blind trials in medicine or the way experiments are conducted in the physical sciences.

[@Eightplex]

Double blind tests are usually flawed for the simple reason of how our brains fill in information. That is why the MP3’s flourished. It makes blind tests increasingly finding no audible differences where there clearly should be and are differences. Much more work needs to be done on figuring out why simple blind A/B tests come up the same with source material. Bernie Grubdman claims that because of the way digital is stored the 44.1 files are superior…

[@audiononsense1611]

Just to be clear on the "Scandal", there was none as most of the issues were with no understanding of what a "master tape" is and that depends. If I were the judge I would have told folks to go back to school and stop being babies...

[@markfischer3626]

I was able to compare a recording of Carol Rosenburger playing on an original vinyl and a CD release. The cartridge was Shure V15 Type V MR and the player was a Toshiba 24 bit 192 kHz DVD player. The vinyl had only been played once before. It was easy to synchronize them. To my ears they sounded identical. I recently connected my Samsung S22 ultra using a 20 dollar Bluetooth to my main system expecting nothing. I listened to KZbin and was astonished that the sound was every bit as good as CDs and it didn't matter if the origin source was analog, digital, DSD. This prompted me to connect my turntable to that system. Again I was amazed at the quality of the sound. Except for occasional pops and clicks the three sources are IMO audibly indistinguishable. Being an engineer I know that RBCD is technically the reference standard. However in actual use the other two are its equal. I've been having a lot of fun assembling play lists on my phone. I have over 3000 vinyls and over 3000 CDs. I have only one SACD recording, I have an SACD player but it never interested me to try the recording in the SACD mode. My main interest is classical music although I have a lot of recordings in other genres. My reference is live acoustic music at concert venues.

[@Expedition18]

Uhh digitized master tape is master? If you continue using master tape the quality will degrade with each playing never mind that magnetic tape will degrade over time unless stored in optimum conditions. Once digitized it should remain the same forever.

[@bigdaddycool1000]

For me personal CD ist the best sounding Media.I love also the Sound of Vinyl,but i most prefer CD.I have also a SACD Player,but the SACDs sounds to me like you mentioned very soft,i dont' like that very much.For me CD's were always good enough,still today.

[@AudioTnT]

I agree. A CD sounds slightly better than lossless over a streaming service too.

[@bigdaddycool1000]

@@AudioTnT i agree,too.I made Comparisons with Tidal,Qobuz etc vs CD,and always for me the CD was slightly better.I have a Marantz CD 5005 CD Player and on this Machine CD's sounds fantastic.No need for High Res,SACD etc.A good mastered CD sounds still today best for me.Thx for your Reply,i wish you a good Evening 🙂

[@Chris_Hruska]

@@AudioTnT if the cd and the lossless streaming is from the same master then it'll be bit for bit identical. folks mistake different mediums being better or worse because its a completely different master.

[@steveaustin7306]

Is it analog or is it MoFi?

[@mikewinburn]

Well, no one got it wrong about memorex…. So…. There’s that fact :)

[@booom4849]

Generally agree with most observations. I think that the SACD is characterized as analog sounding is mostly due to the harsh nature of a CD on common playback systems. So it reminded back to what was lost in the transition from vinyl to CD. Essentially both systems PCM and DSD gravitate towards analog the higher the sample rate, PCM coming from the harsh but sharp direction and DSD coming from the "too soft" direction.

[@AudioTnT]

I agree w your theory. A digital copy of an analog record is always lossy. Higher sampling rates are a closer approximation. Early CDs from 1980s sound very harsh. Maybe today's DACs are the reason CDs sound very good. I will try using latest external DACs for my CD and DVD players to see if sound improves.

[@booom4849]

@@AudioTnT It's also about content choices, people and mastering engineers have learned what sounds good on CD. I feel it pushed a lot of classical instruments out of the rock genre.

[@BenDover-st6gb]

The "harshness" is actually the antialiasing filter. The "warmth" is literally white noise and distortion.

[@booom4849]

@@BenDover-st6gb I think the "warmth" comes from low and mid frequencies, which get modified by the anti-aliasing filter. It may be because variations (increasing and decreasing magnitude) of low-mid frequencies get false interpreted as high frequencies by the filter.

[@alexxbaudwhyn7572]

Fyi, there are many models of DVD players at thrift that play SACD and,or Dvd Audio discs, usually with 5.1 ch analog outputs, a rarity on Blu-ray players Sony, Panasonic, Oppo, Harmon Kardon and Pioneer are some of the DVD players I've scored at thrift that play SACD, Dvd Audio or both, in addition to DVD video and CDs of course Most have optical and coax digital outs, but some late models include HDMI with 2ch and 5.1 ch analog outputs

[@tekis0]

As a professional audio engineer, I find that having a good "switching system" for "A/B'ing" sources is a must when comparing them side by side. As was mentioned, making sure that the playback levels of each source is the same is very, very important, because the human ear will perceive small differences of loudness as "better." We use sine wave test tones and VU meters to set levels for recording and playback. Personally, I hate background noise, such as "tape hiss" and "surface noise" from vinyl playback. Digital audio has become very good IMHO, especially in the last 20 years. If I had my "druthers," I would record live music to open-reel analog tape (certain makes of machines0, then once we had a "take" immediately transfer it to digital through a good D to A, to preserve "the sound." Then, I'd mix it through an analog recording console. That was the norm in the late 90's to the early 2000's. Nowadays, it's considered pricey as recording budgets are a small fraction of what they used to be. Most records are made entirely "in the box," now. That is, they're recorded top to bottom in digital audio workstations, or "DAW's." Thanks.

[@AudioTnT]

There was a time when DDD CDs were cherished. Now AAA vinyl is cherished. What's old is new again. Blind A-B testing also a good idea. For vinyl to sound as good as digital requires $$$.

[@ehlersjim12]

1 year later MoFi web site has no mention of the definitions mentioned above.

[@AudioTnT]

Their descriptions now mention creation a DSD master from the original analog tapes..."Sourced from the Original Master Tapes and Limited to 4,000 Numbered Copies: Mobile Fidelity’s 180s SuperVinyl 33RPM LP Plays with Staggering Detail, Clarity, and Definition 1/4" / 15 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe..."

[@thomasward00]

24/192 is more than anyone could ever hear, no matter the system cost, heck one could make the argument that 16/44 is good enough.

[@AudioTnT]

I agree. Most streaming services only go to 16/44. How much new music is recorded at 24/192 or higher? Spotify 320 kbps MP3 sounds almost as good as Tidal lossless (CD quality).

[@lindawrazen3257]

You need more SA-CDs in your collection. 💿

[@colloidalsilverwater15ppm88]

Nice lecture. For me, extremely helpful is table with comparisons/explanations of bits for flac, wav and dsf. But, when you compared regular cd material vs sacd the same material, i should say that initialy on recording of material probably did not used enough dynamics, to push format to the limits.

[@AudioTnT]

Someone commented that my Bluray SACD player probably had poor quality DAC. The quality of audio components affects what we can/can't hear.

[@colloidalsilverwater15ppm88]

@@AudioTnT sure. But, recorded material have to be dynamic wide, to exploite full potential of player. Try to find some sacd with wider dynamic.

[@AudioTnT]

@@colloidalsilverwater15ppm88 You r right. This was a live recording at a club with lots of technical compromises. Enjoythemusic.com wrote a piece about studios upsampling CD 16/44 files into 24/96 (or 192) and calling them 'hi- res' music. More deceptive practices. Maybe some SACDs were derived from CDs. Converting PCM to DSD and upsampling to xx/yy is just data processing like on a computer.

[@colloidalsilverwater15ppm88]

@@AudioTnT Bravo. You've naked the subject to the bone. For the first time I can finally read something trully honest and right. Respect, my dear.

[@totalplonker824]

Very interesting and informative video. Cheers Because of their superior algorithms, personally, I prefer to build up my playlists via Spotify and then transport (tune my music app) over to the slightly better sounding Tidal. Best of Both Worlds

[@AudioTnT]

Thanks for tip.

[@rizer5795]

A very interesting idea for a video, but disappointed there was no actual a/b comparison recorded on the video so we can all hear the difference (or not)...NB you can play sacd and cd on your Sony blu-ray player. If you go to 'audio settings' in the menu if you turn 'dsd output mode' to on, it will output dsd over hdmi. If you turn the 'dsd output mode' to off then a cd (or cd layer of sacd hybrid disc) can play and output will be in PCM via rca audio jacks on the reverse of the player/line level rca cable. It will not output PCM from CD over hdmi. You might even be able to output PCM via the coaxial digital on the reserve (with relevant cable) which would only mean you'd need a DAC too. See page 22 of the manual instructions. Perhaps you can now revisit the testing...?

[@AudioTnT]

Good suggestions. I can't play A-B tracks without YT's copyright bot shutting down my video. I get a "strike" and as with baseball, 3 strikes and your out.

[@rizer5795]

@@AudioTnT thank you for responding 😀 well at least you can now do an A/B test off camera on the same player 😉

[@rizer5795]

@@AudioTnT...get yourself a mofi hybrid sacd, such as Layla or Cheap Thrills 🤔

[@AudioTnT]

@@rizer5795 yeah. Cannonball Adderley was a bit laid back in terms of dynamics.

[@rizer5795]

@@AudioTnT I've not listened to that but as with vinyl generally in my opinion, some sacds are better than others, my favourites are Cheap Thrills, Jeff Beck's Truth (track 2 and 10 specifically) Arthea Gold, Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon 2011 release, the latter two are multichannel.

[@audiononsense1611]

It would help to understand what gear was used as there is a sub and two sets of speakers. 2nd There are some rookie setup issues with placement. 3rd did you gain match the output?

[@AudioTnT]

Only the Klipsch Heresy 4 were used. Yes for gain matching. Welcome your setup suggestions. Just my impressions. What are yours?

[@richardriley4415]

I love the Peyroux album. I have the regular press and later I picked up the mofi in the after market and had to pay a premium for it. I'm very happy with it. I have all of her albums and they all sound great. I also have all the Diana Krall albums. New subscriber.

[@AudioTnT]

Me too! We must have similar taste in female vocalists 😄. I also enjoy American- French singers...Melody Gardot, Cyrille Aimee, Cecile McLorin-Salvant.

[@richardriley4415]

@@AudioTnT I also have Melody and Cecile, a big fan of both. Female vocals is my favorite category of music.

[@AudioTnT]

Forgot to ask if MoFi version sounded better than original version?

[@Andersljungberg]

Sony's UHD Blu-ray player also has SACD and also DVD Audio. if you want more premium, there are pioneer and Reavon plus MAGNETAR AUDIO

[@Zeus-the-mighty]

Digitizing master tapes should be the goal, in my opinion. Master tapes degrade with each play. I want Led Zeppelin 1 to be around for another 50 years. Tech today is good enough to create exact copies, to the human ear. I get that mofi should’ve been more forth coming with their process instead of allowing magical thinkers believe in magical things, I mean, come on people. While I agree that records have a different sound (maybe, subjectively better to my ears and my 1980’s mind) than digital I have to concede that digital is more faithful to an original recording. I don’t get why that’s such a controversy besides the fact that people thought they were an getting analog to analog product. But that’s just a matter of someone making uneducated assumptions about where they spend their money.

[@Eightplex]

Just curious- when did you compare the sound of the master tape with a digital copy? If you haven’t had master tapes to compare then are you taking the word of the deceivers or liars or the truth tellers? Bernie Grundman disagrees with your assertion of perfect copies.

[@Zeus-the-mighty]

@@Eightplex I understand your anger but the preservation of these pieces of history must be the goal. I was clear in saying “exact copies, to the human ear”. Our ears have limitations. “Most everyone” was unaware that select mofi cuts had a digital step, thus the shock and scandal. I think that’s evidence that the process can have a digital step and still preserve the music faithfully.

[@alexxbaudwhyn7572]

Nice regular -guy style review. Sony Blu-ray players that play SACD like your bdp580 can be set to recognize the Cd layer in the Settings menu, as well as 5.1ch vs 2ch and optional dsd>pcm conversion

[@AudioTnT]

Cool. Will give it a try. Was going to try an external DAC w it to play 24/48 music DVDs as well as 16/44 CDs. I wonder if SACD is decoded to digital out via Spdif & optical?

[@alexxbaudwhyn7572]

@@AudioTnT This model cannot send Dsd out over coax or optical, only out the HDMI port if settings are correct on the player. It can be set to output Dsd or convert Dsd to pcm over HDMI It may output over optical or coax from SACD when set to convert Dsd to pcm, but I have not verified. Of course you can listen to 16/44 Cd, 24/48 Dvd or 2.8mhz Dsd on SACD, or Blu-ray audio up to 24/192 from the player's analog outputs, as the DAC on the player is at least 24/96 if not 24/192. But you'll be hearing the DAC and analog circuits of the player which may not sound as good as an outboard more expensive DAC or quality receiver

[@alexxbaudwhyn7572]

... Sony should have put a simple Cd/SACD layer switch button on the remote, so you don't have to stop, go-to Settings and change the layer option there Some other Dvd SACD players have such a button on the remote

[@carljung9230]

it's shocking to me how many vinyl collectors are happy to have the vinyl version of a digital file. where you get the worst of both formats without any of the advantages. why not just get the digital version and skip the vinyl pretense?

[@AudioTnT]

Maybe..nostalgia, novelty, support the artist (aka Taylor Swift), impress friends. Recently played new LP by Dominique Fils-Aime and then the Tidal version. Sounded like totally different mixes but both were from a digital master. Tidal version was way better sonically...dynamics, detail, clarity, soundstage, etc.

[@Frip36]

reh-CORD?

[@carlsitler9071]

Like tubes, vinyl adds distortion.

[@tomwebb7091]

Distortion comes in various forms. The 2nd and 3rd harmonics distortions of a single ended triode amp is FAR more pleasant than that of a squalid state amp that measures a tiny percentile better.

[@marvinmaldonado2322]

Thanks for this video, i learned a lot

[@9thstreetbrandt]

I thought DSD cannot be transported via hdmi and usually is therefore converted to pcm if sent that way to a dac.

[@AudioTnT]

You could be right. For my audio system I used DVD player's RCA left & right outputs to my amp so SACD signal went thru internal DAC. With HDMI to AV receiver not sure if DSD signal is transmitted.

[@yogi9631]

Good discussion 👍👍

[@TheRollingStoness]

My ears prefer FLAC rips from Vinyl, played through stand alone DAC, ....same warmth and no digital harshness or brightness...( To my ears only)

[@TheRollingStoness]

My ears found out that, once the tracks hit the wax, it loses its digital Brightness and harshness lost forever, so when being ripped back from vinyl, the warmth still stays.

[@AudioTnT]

Do u use click & pop filter before recording? What bit and sample rates?

[@TheRollingStoness]

@@AudioTnT sometimes but Min 24 bit... sometimes 32 bit...no diff to my ears tho...I feel the difference is very negligible , once the music kicks in, I just forget everything and enjoy the warmth... basically I am into Vinyl sound, not into the vinyl inconvenience, of course I do have the physical vinyl to look at for liner notes

[@eaustin2006]

Nice try, but did you take mastering into account? Were all these sources mastered by the same person on the same day? It's terrible mastering or remastering that gives digital a bad name. The format itself (vinyl, cd, sacd, flac) is almost irrelevant, except of course for vinyl which is lo fi. I really like Tidal, sounds killer. Most old people want to hear the thing as they did in '69, when they were listening to a crapy record on a crapy system. I, old though I might be, appear to be the exception to that rule.

[@AudioTnT]

Bernie Grundman would agree w you. Doesn't he do mastering for multiple formats. My boomer friends gave me all their vinyl and r happy w CD & Spotify. I enjoy Tidal. Maybe we r in another music audio golden age.

[@eaustin2006]

​@@AudioTnT I think you're right. And the vinyl community has improved records and the devices used to play them dramatically over the years so it's all good now.

[@Andersljungberg]

it was perhaps not a fair comparison, you can count on the fact that the image circuits in your Blu-ray player or DVD player in the player cost money too. like if it is to be comparable, maybe the Blu-ray player should cost $100 more than the CD player? least . If we are talking a new product

[@AudioTnT]

Good point. A standalone SACD player would be preferable but hard to find and rather $$. These comparisons are not definitive, just my impressions using a single sample.

[@beslemeto]

FLAC has more resolution! If you really want to listen to DSD make sure it is 512! Otherwise FLAC will be always better!

[@AudioTnT]

Thanks for the tip.

[@alexxbaudwhyn7572]

Gear list? Table, cart, amp, preamp, DAC, speakers, etc?

[@AudioTnT]

VPI Classic 3 turntable, Denon 103 cart, Sunvalley SV 1616 phono stage, Elekit 300B tube amp, Schiit Saga preamp, NAD 516bee CD player, Bluesound Node 2i DAC/streamer, Klipsch Hersey 4 spkrs,

[@gcahill51]

Any advice on a great phono stage under $1000?

[@AudioTnT]

Musical Surroundings Phenomena 2+ would be one suggestion.

[@AudioTnT]

@@gcahill51 Musical Surroundings II+.

[@anonamouse5917]

I've never heard DSD. According to Paul at PS Audio (and it's insane bit rate), it's the holy grail of sound quality. Perhaps it's not.

[@AudioTnT]

PS Audio make great audio equipment so he must know something. He has gone to great effort to use DSD for his recording studio but still needs to convert to PCM (e.g. 32/384) to do editing, equalization, etc. and reconvert to DSD. If he could do everything in DSD, his recordings would sound even better. For most people CD quality is good enough so mainstream record companies continue to record in PCM.

[@anonamouse5917]

@@AudioTnT Thank you for the reply. You provide a plausible explanation for why DSD could sound better. I'm a person that gives more weight to blind tests than theory. I agree with you that PS Audio makes fantastic equipment but Paul has made some dubious claims, my favorite being that he can hear a difference if you reverse the direction of speaker cables (amp to speaker). I'd really like to see a double blind test back up that claim.

[@sampahtetapsam21]

Left out R2R and cassette

[@AudioTnT]

I wish I had an R2R n a good cassette player. A good R2R probably best sound if no tape hiss.

[@danielj.glowny4108]

Only one SACD ?

[@AudioTnT]

This was not a scientific or statistical study. Just my impressions based on my limited collection. Results could be different with a dedicated SACD player instead of a cheap Sony DVD player. Would be interested in your sonic impressions of SACD/DSD.

[@louissilvani1389]

I wish my experience with digital could be positive I haven’t given up I’ll keep trying

[@AudioTnT]

Nothing wrong w analog these days. With my modern tube amp n phono stage, even vintage turntables sound

[@AudioTnT]

Great!

[@glock269mil2]

First of all, not all SACDs possess identical sound quality. Secondly, making a hypotheses from a single source (one SACD) could be misleading. I own approximately one hundred SACDs and am able to make a logical conclusion. Compared to Red-book or vinyl SACD sounds by far better in every way. Lastly, your issue is that your using in comparison a NAD and a cheap Sony SACD player to make your point.

[@AudioTnT]

So even with the very best SACD, CD, record players

[@AudioTnT]

We can't say an SACD is better than a CD is better than an LP? Pretty hard to generalize and draw conclusions. To each their own then.

[@glock269mil2]

@@AudioTnT But we could. I’ve listened to systems that are well over or close to one million dollars. Speakers alone were $250,000.00. Each! And they had a very up to date record player. Professionally installed with a prepared room for sonics and noise dampening too! Though it sounded amazing it didn’t come close to when they played an SACD. It sounded live and natural while the LP sounded narrow and unnatural. Simply can’t compare DSD to anything else. I recently purchased an Esoteric SACD player and it’s an amazing experience. The rest of my system is KRELL with B&W speakers. Try a few and see. You won’t regret it.

[@davidmorgen4558]

I cant confirm my harman kardon single disc dvd player # 27 will play Sacd discs But it has played Practicley every thing else ive played in it...If you see em used at good will for under $ 30.00 get it ,they show up a lot there .Are very good sounding & very Reliable..For those so inclined its worth it to remove the top hood from the unit & thioughly clean the cd heads with a cotton & isopropyl cd cleaner swob the Player well really sing.Guaranteed just protect youe eyes! & yes its safe ..

[@AudioTnT]

Thanks for the tip 👍.

[@heavenlyglory5502]

At last, an american who knows how to say the word record 👍👍👍

[@AudioTnT]

I'm a Canadian, heh 😀.

[@johnholmes912]

MOFI DON'T COME CLOSE TO AN ORIGINAL PRESSING

[@AudioTnT]

I prefer the original if I have one. Some LPs from the 60s lack bass and have prominent treble, perhaps to accommodate the hifi gear of the day.

[@thexfile.]

CDs only make about 20 kHz per left and right channel. The 44.1 kHz is from adding both channels.

[@AudioTnT]

The Nyquist theorem says the sample rate has to be at least twice the frequency. So for 20 kHz, sampling rate has to be at least 40 kHz. Both channels reach 20 kHz but I cant hear past 8500 Hz 😥.

[@michaelrovner4165]

Wrong...cd has full 44100 per channel, sacd is 2 channels at 2.8mhz or 1.4Mhz per channel

[@pliedtka]

The 44.1 kHz sampling comes from using PAL and NTSC video tape for transferring material. No magic behind the 44.1k other than clever engineering. Denon/Nippon Columbia used 14/44k digital tapes for their vinyl production sometime in the 1970s. Soundstream did their own 16bit/50kHz if I recall correctly.

[@xcvbxcvb2179]

A lot of players and DAC transforms DSD to PCM. Will the Boomers ever learn about digital anything?

[@AudioTnT]

There is DoP - DSD over PCM. My Bluesound Node 2i does that. My old Mytek DAC did native DSD. I'm not into DSD much.

[@glazzarus]

No one mislead you. You chose that what you think and believe is real. Well it is not. It is just your choice and all consequences of hurt ego. Sorry you make choice based on your ignorance. As you all in US do not know in EU any consumer (meaning you) audio media MUST have a tag indicating recording , mastering and delivery process. So all vinyl have third tag character "A" like AAA, DAA, DDA, ADA. and guess what, from 1986 all recordings are , DDA or DDD. ADA & AAA from1986 do not exist. But in US you do not have media tag so you are left to your beliefs

[@AudioTnT]

We'll see how class action law suit goes. I have several European remastered LPs from various labels, all with DMM Cutting (e.g. Chet Baker "Sings & Strings" 2010). No provenance info anywhere (AAA, etc.).