Not long ago I played the MoFi pressing of Trick of the Tail and could not believe how ridiculously COMPRESSED it was.
On top of that, the midrange is badly sucked out (as is the case with most Mobile Fidelity pressings) making the sound as dead, dull and distant as can be.
You think Modern Heavy Vinyl pressings are lifeless? Play this piece of crap and see just how bad an audiophile record can sound.
And to think I used to like this version! I hope I had a better copy back in the ’80s than the one I played a few years ago. I’ll never know of course. If you have one in your collection give it a spin. See if it sounds as bad as we say. If you haven’t played it in a while (can’t imagine why, maybe because it’s just plain awful), you may be in for quite a shock.
Some Relevant Commentaries
A Technological Fix for a Non-Existent Problem
How to Make All Your Records Sound Like Mobile Fidelity Pressings – For Free!
A Half-Speed that Actually Beats Most Originals
Adding 10k Was a Dumb Idea, But They Did It Anyway
Half-Speed Stamper Variations Are Real
Where Did All the Musical Information Go?
This Beatles’ Albums Are Consistently Spittier on Mobile Fidelity – Why Is That?
Head to Head It’s No Contest
Visit our Hall of Shame (300+ strong) to see what, in our opinion, are some of the worst sounding records ever made.
Note that most of the entries are audiophile remasterings of one kind or another.
The reason for this is simple: we’ve gone through the all-too-often unpleasant experience of comparing them head to head with our best Hot Stamper pressings.
When you can hear them that way, up against an exceptionally good record, their flaws become that much more obvious and, frankly, that much more intolerable.
Further Reading
Half-Speed Mastered Disasters
Half-Speed Mastered Mediocrities
Half-Speed Mastered Winners
Half-Speed Masters – The Complete List
To learn more about records that sound dramatically better than any Half-Speed ever made (with one rare exception, John Klemmer’s Touch), please consult our FAQs, found here: