MoFi Hit With Lawsuit Over Analog Vinyl Controversy

Legal

Billboard:

“MoFi never disclosed this fact, nor did it change its representations to reflect the fact that its records were using DSD,” lawyers for the accuser wrote in a complaint filed Thursday in Chicago federal court. “Instead, MoFi intentionally hid this fact from consumers.”

The lawsuit claims buyers paid extra for the supposedly all-analog vinyl, labeled as either “Original Master Recording” or “Ultradisc One Step” – not only for better sound but also because they’re intrinsically more scarce than recordings that incorporate digital processes.

How a Phoenix Record Store Owner Set the Audiophile World on Fire

Washington Post:

“It’s the biggest debacle I’ve ever seen in the vinyl realm,” says Kevin Gray, a mastering engineer who has not worked with MoFi but has produced reissues of musicians such as John Coltrane and Marvin Gaye.

“They were completely deceitful,” says Richard Drutman, 50, a New York City filmmaker who has purchased more than 50 of MoFi’s albums over the years. “I never would have ordered a single Mobile Fidelity product if I had known it was sourced from a digital master.”