Sell MoFis and replace them with high-res discs? (1 Viewer)

[Ron Reda]

Much to my dismay, I've been seeing more and more high-res versions of out-of-print Mobile Fidelity releases that I've acquired throughout the years. This brings me to my question...do I get start getting rid of the coveted MoFi discs that I've searched long and hard and paid a good bit of money for? I've built up quite a collection and am concerned that if I wait too long, the value will drop and they'll be worth only a fraction of what I paid for them. I could sell off those that have been recently re-issued (for example, "Dark Side of the Moon") and reinvest that money into the high-res versions if they are worth picking up. Or, do I hold onto them and hope that these things are worth something in the future, perhaps on Antique CD Road Show?

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I wouldn't do it automatically...the mastering is more important than the format.

If you do it, do it selectively.

 

[Phil A]

Ron, I still have my gold MoFi DSOTM. The preferred the 2-channel SACD version hands down. I have some MoFi CDs (I had aboutg 40 MoFi record albums before I got rid of LPs many moons ago, incl. DSOTM UQQR) but not that many to get worked up about it. I probably will keep the several I have. Don't have any idea if they will ever be worth anything. You could look into further and decide what you will sell if it has value and then decide what is important enough to you to get another version. There must be some market for them since if you go to acousticsounds.com they still have some of the old ones for small premiums in some cases.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I only have a few of those, including Eat a Peach which will be released as a hybrid SACD. I think I'm going to wait until I get the SACD and do some critical listening to decide if I want to keep the MoFi. I'm not worried about them going down in value, there will always be collectors looking for this stuff.

 

[Brian Perry]

I tend to agree. According to MoFi, one of their specialties was configuring their mastering machine to mimick any azimuth errors created by the original recording deck.

 

[Michael_T]

The funny thing is I buy a lot of SACD software, and yet I have found myself buying more and more used DCC and MOFI CDs because they tend to come closest to SACD (in most cases) than regular redbook CD.

But - I either won't buy a MOFI or DCC if I have the SACD and the SACD of that title sounds good. And if I know an SACD is coming out for a certain title that is already on MOFI or DCC, I might still buy the MOFI or DCC if the price is right.

 

[Ron Reda]

I guess I need to start looking out on eBay to see what some of these discs are stil going for if they're even selling well at all.

For some reason, I remember reading something about some alt.user groups hosting a slew of these titles available for download which caused the market for the CDs to shrink. However, I do understand that collectors want all the original packaging and stuff (not just a burned copy), so there may be some hope. Heck, who knows, I may just keep 'em...while I do have quite a bit (about 60 total), they're not costing me anything just sitting on the shelf and they may eventually go up in price years down the road.



Music Direct is the same way. Funny thing is that I have a mint copy of Duke Ellington's "Blues In Orbit" which is the only hybrid SACD that MoFi ever put out and it's going for $175 brand new (I bought it for MUCH less). Heck, if I could get $100 for it now, I just might be swayed to sell it off. It does sound damn good though...

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Actually IMHO, this is one of two reasons to get the new MoFi. The new company has an even better mastering chain and a better team overall at the helm. Some of the Patricia Barber discs are incredibly realistic and "in the room". The new chain is even an improvement over the Gain 2 system. The new Quad discs like the Ravel are superb.

The second reason is the extra detail off the master tape from faster sampling rates in DSD.

I would see what you can get for selling them, but my advice would be to hold on to them until you hear the Super Audio. I gotta believe the MoFi DSOTM is not worth much these days frankly. There are even better redbooks although the SACD is by far the best.

There may also be a situation that some of the MoFis will not come out on SACD...

 

[Michael St. Clair]

The SACD is great, but the redbook layer must have been mastered by some Britney Spears engineer. The dynamics have been cut, and not just on 'Money' (though it is the worst track).

 

[Ron Reda]

Good call. Want a good laugh? Look up "MFSL Dark Side" and take a look at the prices.

As for the MoFis that don't get released on SACD, I will most certainly hold onto those.

 

[Brian Perry]

I wonder how much of the drop in prices can be attributed to sellers flooding the market with the gold CD after burning a copy for their archives (an illegal act if the original is sold).

I'm surprised the prices for MFSL version of The Wall are still holding up.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Hopefully they will collapse when The Wall comes out on Super Audio.

Guthrie has been dropping hints...

 

[Ron Reda]

"Another Brick...Part 2" in SACD =

 

[Paul.S]

Ron:

"I feel your pain"/dilemma and have been debating this issue hotly in my mind (and heart), particularly given that so many labels that were amenable to licensing their albums to MFSL are all now part of UMG (e.g., Mercury, Verve, A&M, Geffen), which is of course "supporting" both DVD-A and SACD.

I pulled all my MoFis off the shelf a few months ago (over 40 titles) and did searches on ebay and Amazon for each of them. I was not happy with what I found in terms of the prices the titles were getting (mainly pop/rock titles). In some cases, DCCs or MoFis of very popular albums were getting no bids at all.

I've tentatively decided to keep a keen eye on the hi rez release slate and take it on a case-by-case basis. I'm trying to keep my viscera and sentiment in check: it was painful to let that DCC Empire go (at a Wherehouse that has now closed its doors), but I am trying to not let my memories of the terrific, serendipitous buzz I got from finding many of these at a pre-owned store during undergrad or ordering them direct from MoFi during close-out sales outweigh the market reality that could be me getting "stuck" with releases that have been superseded for one of the main reasons I bought them in the first place (sound quality). I am VERY happy I sold off 95% of my laserdiscs when the selling was good.

I think the iron will be hottest right after an announcement of a hi rez title as far as selling the DCC or MoFi in an online auction is concerned. Be that as it may, I've also tentatively decided to let the chips fall where they may in terms of perhaps missing a "best" window of time to sell by waiting until I can get the hi rez in hand for comparison purposes. This also avoids selling off a MoFi prematurely because of the vexing issue we're all familiar with of hi rez releases being announced . . . then not streeting.

Another wild card issue is liner notes reproduction. This is an area in which MoFi excelled. Will some major label hi rez releases in some ways mimic major labels' first CD releases (I'm thinking of Rush's Moving Pictures . . . Mercury deleted the terrif pic of Alex from the LP . . . MoFi's release includes it . . . it was not until the Mercury remaster that they restored it)? I for one am completely annoyed with the way Warner cropped the infamous hotel lobby photo in the Hotel California DVD-A liner notes. As anal as it may sound, it prevents me from being able to consider the DVD-A the definitive release of the album. DCC's efforts in this regard are more attractive and have me hanging onto the DCC. Again, it's a case-by-case (and very subjective, personal) calculus.


Gotta be careful on this issue IMO. Just because some retailer is asking low three figures for a probably shrink-wrapped new copy does not mean that one would get anywhere near that price for a pre-owned copy. I think the "market" for these is a dicey and transient one: it's a quintessential niche that's shrinking. It is sobering, instructive and eye-opening for me to see Music Direct hyping some MoFi as "one of the last available!" and asking $500 for the exact same title that's getting scant bids on ebay.

-p