MoFi UltraDeck / StudioDeck Owners and those interested
- Thread starter AnthonyI
- Start date
Crabbers
Well-Known Member
Yeah they responded saying it’s nothing …all I had to do is loosen a screw and plop it back in…yea it didn’t work…I can see where the material cracked off
I responded back with more pictures
In the meantime I hit my at 120 up and running with the sae cartridge deal
Slimwhit33
Well-Known Member
I hope it gets straightened out for you quickly..
Crabbers
Well-Known Member
You and me both
Did they ever get you sorted?You and me both
Crabbers
Well-Known Member
Crabbers
Well-Known Member
Thanks for this btw..Gregory is on the case
Static Shock
Member
Just looking at some old emails and wondering if MoFi has been able to deal with your issue as its been some time .
Portland Sheriff
Well-Known Member
Thoughts on whether this is safe to play. I can’t tell whether it’s affecting play. I may have heard a thump or two, but I can’t tell if that’s just the music. (That won’t be evident from this video, so I’m not expecting you to evaluate whether anything’s audible) Cart is SAE 1000LT and tracking force is in spec, approx right in middle of range, although it’s been a bit since I measured it. Here’s an icloud link to the the video:
Edit —link seems to work even though it says to “sign in to icloud” and hopefully that’s not just true for me
share.icloud.com
Edit —link seems to work even though it says to “sign in to icloud” and hopefully that’s not just true for me
iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud
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share.icloud.com
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I think it’s ok.Thoughts on whether this is safe to play. I can’t tell whether it’s affecting play. I may have heard a thump or two, but I can’t tell if that’s just the music. (That won’t be evident from this video, so I’m not expecting you to evaluate whether anything’s audible) Cart is SAE 1000LT and tracking force is in spec, approx right in middle of range, although it’s been a bit since I measured it. Here’s an icloud link to the the video:
Edit —link seems to work even though it says to “sign in to icloud” and hopefully that’s not just true for me
iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud
View, organize, and share photos and videos with iCloud Photos on the web. Changes will sync across your devices with iCloud.
I've had a Audio Technica AT-OC9XSL mounted on my Studiodeck for a little over a year and it has been very enjoyable. As we (audiophiles) often do, I've been thinking about the next step and I'm wondering if the Studiodeck itself warrants a better cartridge.
kvetcha
Well-Known Member
Did you ever get this worked out?
It's a very nice cart! I honestly have no idea where the StudioDeck might 'top out.'
Static Shock
Member
I was wondering the same thing .
Over the last month or so I have been replacing all my power cables, wall outlets , plugs and the stock phono cable that came with the Ultradeck . Also treated all connections with Deoxit products .What an unexpected difference in detail , soundstage and bass---allowed the turntable to show its stuff . Ground hum continues to be an issue My old Conrad Johnson PV-10 tube preamp has a grounding post with a hole in it so rather then clamping down on a spade ,you have to thread the grounding wire through the hole and tighten . Not a great system as it comes loose . The phono cable comes with shield shunts so i have three thin wires to twist and thread through the post . All the power cables and related parts came from a Canadian company Take Five Audio located north of Ottawa . As an option you can have the products cryo treated and burnt in .
The moment when I connected all the tester cables I had been given, AC, phono, RCA and Speaker, and fired up my system was such a "oh god" moment. I was sure I'd hear almost no difference, once the first song started I just sat there agape and thought "oh god it matters, I'm so screwed".
Then I bought all of the cables.
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Crabbers
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately…no and it has nothing to do with mofi.
Taxes hit us hard this year and decided that spending money on the repair isn’t a priority at this point. I have an At 120 I’m using in the meantime with that SAE super deal cartridge on it.
It feeds the appetite for now
kvetcha
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry to hear that. I hope MoFi is able to take care of you once you're in a good place to have the work done.Unfortunately…no and it has nothing to do with mofi.
Taxes hit us hard this year and decided that spending money on the repair isn’t a priority at this point. I have an At 120 I’m using in the meantime with that SAE super deal cartridge on it.
It feeds the appetite for now
Static Shock
Member
That describes the feeling . First happened when I put roller bearings under all the equipment , then again recently with the power cables . Now cleaning up the records and going to take a break to listen to the collection . Its that income tax time of year again so as mentioned by Crabbers ,financial focus heads in that direction .
jerseytiger
New Member
Hi everyone. I joined this forum/site specifically for this thread and all the knowledge shared. I bought my StudioDeck with StudioCart in October of 2020, so I’m going on 2.5 years with the same cartridge, still sounds good, but it’s probably time for a change. I‘ve been overwhelmed to the point of paralysis on the number of options between MM vs MC, nude vs bonded, stylus shapes, cantilevers, weights, frequency response, compliance (OMG this one just had me throw my hands up), price points, value, etc…. I’m hoping people here can point me in a good direction.
I’ve been back and forth so many times and I finally hit a breaking point last week when I started to read about compliance, which I’d never heard about before, then the headache of no definative answer on the tonearm weight, learning that Japanese compliance is measured differently than anywhere else and not having a conversion, then the difficulty of aligning some of the more exotic stylus types. I’ve never installed a cartridge before. I’ve been in the mindset of getting a reasonably expensive (for me) cart. I’ve been in the mindset of getting something cheaper in case I screw things up doing it the first time. I’ve been in the mindset of getting an exotic stylus, then to getting an elliptical for ease of install. And every review or opinion comes from people that have different equipment than me.
Finding this thread has been a blessing because most of the people here have gone through some of the same difficulties with at least mostly the same or similar base.
I’ve been looking at the Nagaoka MP-200, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Hana EL, Hana SL, Audio Technica VM540ML - ATVM95EN - ATVM95ML, and probably a few others. I was looking to move away from the MoFi carts, just for a change but may be willing to go for them if they are really the best option. I just didn’t like the idea of being locked into the MoFi ecosystem.
Can anyone help with some suggestions for my next move? I know speakers may be a weak point and that would be next after the cart since I’m probably on borrowed time after 2.5 years. I definitely want to stay sub $1000, and probably closer $500 +/- $100 max unless something in that $800 range is truly an unbelievable step-up from my budget.
Current Setup:
TT: MoFi StudioDeck
Cart: MoFi StudioTracker
Phono: MoFi UltraPhono
Amp: Cambridge CXA81
Speakers: Paradigm A2 active bookshelfs
Sub: SVS SB3000
I’ve been back and forth so many times and I finally hit a breaking point last week when I started to read about compliance, which I’d never heard about before, then the headache of no definative answer on the tonearm weight, learning that Japanese compliance is measured differently than anywhere else and not having a conversion, then the difficulty of aligning some of the more exotic stylus types. I’ve never installed a cartridge before. I’ve been in the mindset of getting a reasonably expensive (for me) cart. I’ve been in the mindset of getting something cheaper in case I screw things up doing it the first time. I’ve been in the mindset of getting an exotic stylus, then to getting an elliptical for ease of install. And every review or opinion comes from people that have different equipment than me.
Finding this thread has been a blessing because most of the people here have gone through some of the same difficulties with at least mostly the same or similar base.
I’ve been looking at the Nagaoka MP-200, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Hana EL, Hana SL, Audio Technica VM540ML - ATVM95EN - ATVM95ML, and probably a few others. I was looking to move away from the MoFi carts, just for a change but may be willing to go for them if they are really the best option. I just didn’t like the idea of being locked into the MoFi ecosystem.
Can anyone help with some suggestions for my next move? I know speakers may be a weak point and that would be next after the cart since I’m probably on borrowed time after 2.5 years. I definitely want to stay sub $1000, and probably closer $500 +/- $100 max unless something in that $800 range is truly an unbelievable step-up from my budget.
Current Setup:
TT: MoFi StudioDeck
Cart: MoFi StudioTracker
Phono: MoFi UltraPhono
Amp: Cambridge CXA81
Speakers: Paradigm A2 active bookshelfs
Sub: SVS SB3000
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
Welcome!!
The good news is that a lot of carts sound great on the Studio Deck, of course the "bad" news, there are a lot of choices, lol.
I had an UltraDeck, and the Hana SL was by far my favorite cart on the MoFi and can definitely be an end game cart, I can't imagine it would be lacking on the Studio. That said, all the choices you listed are solid, the unfortunate thing is that it really will boil down to personal preferences and budget
Just one mans opinion.
jerseytiger
New Member
Thank you for the reply. My gut is telling me MP-200 (even though I don’t like the look much). Stylus replacement looks Like is less than 50% the price of the cartridge, unlike Ortofon which is like 75%. My thought process is that I’m coming from a nice bonded elliptica, that I might not fully appreciate what some exotic shapes provide without doing incremental steps, the next being nude elliptical.Welcome!!
The good news is that a lot of carts sound great on the Studio Deck, of course the "bad" news, there are a lot of choices, lol.
I had an UltraDeck, and the Hana SL was by far my favorite cart on the MoFi and can definitely be an end game cart, I can't imagine it would be lacking on the Studio. That said, all the choices you listed are solid, the unfortunate thing is that it really will boil down to personal preferences and budget
Just one mans opinion.
I’d really love the Hana SL, but the Shibata shape has me nervous on setup since I’m a complete noob. The price also gives me a little pause because the stylus can’t be replaced by me and I don’t think I’m too keen on spending $800 every other year on a new one, also spending that much on my first ever cartridge purchase makes me think I’m crazy.
I know the MoFi Ultraphono CAN play MC, but if I was to dive in fully and go with a Hana SL, or even an EL, do you think that phono stage good enough with MC to make the purchase justified? Or would the MC purchase have me itching to spend even more on a “better” phono stage? Some of these questions and thoughts may by stupid, but my only frames of reference to TTs is my 1980 fisher price record player when I was a kid, my parent’s cheap early 80s no name brand that never had its cartridge replaced, and my current setup. I have no experience with listening to different carts or types.