[daffa]

I have just browsed the EBAY and found out some Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab CDs are being auctioned at multiple prices above original CD price. To me their prices are overvalued. Other CDs with better sounds like SACDs/HDCDs/XRCDs are sold with far less price tags.
Is it because the collectible thing of this CDs so it becomes rare now? Any comment?

 

[Tuberoller]

You got it right buddy. The prices are so high based singly on the fact that they have now become collectable. MusicDirect is mostly responsible for this because the prices were not as high until they purchased all remaining Mobile Fidelity Stock and immediately tripled the prices. This drove all the other prices through the roof and they have since went skyward from there. The market is also occupied by many speculators and they will keep the prices high to buy and sell among themselves. Unfortunately the climate does not exist for another company to come along and get the rights to remaster the same quality of music that MoFi did. It's just too difficult to do nowadays. Can you imagine anyone handing over master tapes again for any reasonable amount of money. I heard the masters for the John Lennon Mofi reissue were loaned at $10,000 per day and most of the backend profits. A small label could never make money on a deal like that and therefore we'll never see the likes of MoFi again. Buy the stuff whenever you see it cheap.

 

[daycart1]

The vinyls really are excellent and deserve a big premium. But not as big as the current market value. As Tuberoller says, people are not paying these prices for the music, they are paying to collect.

 

[Music Fanatic]

The funny thing is that one would think that since one can simply rip the CD, store the FLAC, and then resell it, the market for "collectable" CDs would have collapsed. But this has clearly not happened yet.

 

[Masonjar]

I have exactly ONE MOFI cd.

Steely Dan's AJA.

It still has the $5 sticker on it.. one of my favorite Used Bin finds.

Clearly, they did not know what they had.

Though I have to admit, I've tried to compare it several times to the Remastered version from the Citizen Box Set.. and the only difference I can hear is that the MOFI is softer. *Maybe* and I say.. *Maybe* a tad warmer, more soft around the edges.. but.. who knows.. maybe it's just the volume.

-jar

 

[KR...]

Well, they do sound great, but more than that, they are suppose to be collectibles! It's not like that's the only version of the album you can buy, no one is forcing you to get the high end version.


edit: LOL, I didn't read the other posts in this thread, so I guess everyone already covered it

 

[Mr.PD]

Why would Mobile Fidelity be collectible?
I just bought one of their CDs. An SACD multichannel recording of Ravel Bolero. I got it at Amazon brand new because it is a fairly new release from Mobile Fidelity. Yes it was expensive, but not much more than some of the other SACDs I've seen.

 

[davei]

MOFI CDs are collectible because they went belly-up around 1999/2000, and only recently came back with new releases. The old, out of print CD releases are now collectors items, with prices to match.

These days they're easily bested by SACDs (if you can find the equivalent).

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally posted by davei MOFI CDs are collectible because they went belly-up around 1999/2000, and only recently came back with new releases. The old, out of print CD releases are now collectors items, with prices to match. These days they're easily bested by SACDs (if you can find the equivalent).

OH, ....... thanks.

The CD I spoke of earlier is rather well recorded. It's in quadraphonic sound.

 

[jefemeister]

davei,

MoFi's are collectable because they were only released in limited quantity for any one album, even when the company was still in full operation. Perhaps them closing their doors added to the mystique even further.

Music Fanatic,

Yes, but the the MoFi CDs are gold on the bottom

 

[davei]

Quote:

Originally posted by jefemeister davei, MoFi's are collectable because they were only released in limited quantity for any one album, even when the company was still in full operation. Perhaps them closing their doors added to the mystique even further.

True, though I remember before they went belly-up, the prices were higher but reasonable (CDs around $35CDN, $20-25US at the time) and you could find dozens of them in any large record store. I don't know what their distribution is like today, I've only seen a few dozen titles total in my local big box stores, and all grossly overpriced.

 

[soundboy]

DCC gold CDs are better deals....even on ebay.

 

[duff138]

Quote:

Originally posted by soundboy DCC gold CDs are better deals....even on ebay.

DCC gold cd's are great. Anything re-mastered by Steve Hoffman is guaranteed to be the best version out there.

 

[robert]

there's MoFi, then there's MoFi. to wit: for the last year or two they used a custom ADC (by Meissner IIRC) they called the GAIN II processer. the Muddy Waters disc is one of them. it's downright hair standing up on your neck real.

 

[daffa]

I have also some DCCs. But why their prices are also at some multiples from original CDs while they are still producing the CDs now....if I am not mistaken. So DCCs are not collectibles aren't they?