MoFi StudioDeck - Vinyl Turntable

A HIGH-END CORE OF ANY ANALOG CHAIN: INCLUDES MOFI STUDIOTRACKER CARTRIDGE, 10-INCH TONEARM, 300RPM MOTOR

Accuracy has been a Mobile Fidelity hallmark since its inception and is exactly what guides the StudioDeck Foundation belt-drive turntable, developed to serve as the core for any analog chain and deliver precisely just what the artist captured in the recording studio. Hand-crafted at an in-house factory in the U.S.A., complete with a MoFi StudioTracker MM phono cartridge, designed in collaboration between Mobile Fidelity engineers and turntable expert/Spiral Groove founder Allen Perkins, and made to accurately present the vast sonic pictures present on vinyl LPs, StudioDeck Foundation permanently changes the expectations of high-end performance previously attainable at its sub-$1k price point.

Ready to go minutes after unboxing, the ultra-sturdy 19.1-pound 'table comes loaded with advanced technology, user-friendly features, and unflappable design elements to ensure phenomenal analog playback – ultimately bringing the sound of the Mobile Fidelity Sebastopol, California studio into your home. With StudioDeck Foundation, faithful-to-the-source detail, immersive soundstaging, organic warmth, and clarity become part of each listening experience.

Like all Mobile Fidelity products, every piece on StudioDeck Foundation derives from tireless experimentation, meticulous evaluation, and listening tests. All parts and materials are chosen and developed strictly on the basis of their sonic benefits. Mobile Fidelity's meticulous oversight of every detail begins with a 3.88-pound, 0.75-inch platter comprised of Delrin, a high-strength, low-friction polymer selected because its highly crystalline structure makes for a great impedance match with vinyl and grounds unwanted noise. Similarly, and acting in concert with cutting-edge dampening matter, the Delrin pulley – which comes with positions for 33 1/3 and 45RPM speeds – keeps motor vibrations away from the platter and stylus. Speaking of the motor: StudioDeck Foundation's 300RPM isolated AC synchronous type delivers excellent speed stability for stellar pitch accuracy and rhythmic drive.

The sound-first fundamentals extend to the custom-developed Studio tonearm, a 10-inch straight aluminum gimbaled bearing design whose rigidity and tracking prowess translate into accurate information retrieval. Its adjustable tracking force, VTA, azimuth, and enhanced anti-skate grant you profound options for tweaks and adjustments. And there's more. A steel and Teflon inverted bearing system provides StudioDeck Foundation smooth, quiet playback stability. Everything about StudioDeck Foundation, down to its use of ester-based bearing grease for quiet operation, relates to preserving and playing back the actual sound on your LPs. It's why Mobile Fidelity equips StudioDeck with high-quality gold-plated connectors shielded by a copper foil box to prevent airborne RF noise.

MoFi StudioTracker Cartridge

True to the source, the Japanese-made StudioTracker reproduces what's in records' grooves: nothing more, nothing less. Distinguished with an extremely well-balanced frequency response and accurate dynamic swings, StudioTracker delivers a wondrous level of precision. Developed in collaboration between Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab engineers and Spiral Groove founder Allen Perkins, StudioTracker features two powerful low-mass magnets aligned in a "V" formation that parallel the way a record's grooves are cut by the studio engineers. StudioTracker's elliptical stylus allows it to dig deep into record grooves to extract the hidden cues located within, all without adding coloration. A proprietary material is applied inside the specially designed polymer headshell to maximize performance. The exciting result: An entry-level high-end cartridge on par with much more expensive models – and an instrument that achieves wondrous channel separation, detail retrieval, and dynamic responsiveness. Indeed, StudioTracker's rich sonic character and smooth, highly accurate top end owe to the countless hours invested removing unwanted resonance and employing next-generation dampening elements to improve the sound. The overall design increases the control of the stylus/cantilever and generator, leading to heightened information retrieval and an extremely solidified bottom end.

Control That Extends from the Mastering Studio to the Factory to Your Home

Prestige doesn't come easy – or cheap. To meet all its specific needs and demands, Mobile Fidelity established a new, dedicated facility in Michigan to build the majority of its products in the USA. While an uncommon and expensive endeavor in today's audio industry, in-house manufacturing is the only way to maintain total quality control and create products that live up to the exacting standards Mobile Fidelity established over the past four decades with music releases. The approach cuts both ways, giving you the security and confidence that the Mobile Fidelity product(s) you own is built to – and built to perform at – the highest specifications.

Mobile Fidelity: Decades of Bringing Master-Tape Quality to Your Listening Experience

Mobile Fidelity has been the undisputed leader in audiophile recordings since its development of Original Master Recording vinyl reissues in 1977. At Mobile Fidelity's Sebastopol, California, mastering studio, all Original Master Recordings are cut using only the original master tapes as source material. The company's faithfully reproduced albums bring you – the listener – closer to the absolute truth and emotion of the original performances of the finest records made by the likes of Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, The Band, Grateful Dead, Santana, Bill Evans, Nirvana, and many other Hall of Fame artists. Experienced on vinyl LP, SACD, or 24k gold CD, Mobile Fidelity software brings you nearer to what is heard in the studio. Drawing on four decades of engineering and studio experience, we have taken the next logical step: Applying our expertise, talent, passion to audio components. Every Mobile Fidelity product is made to meet the strict standards long synonymous with Mobile Fidelity's music reissues.

Features:

• Studio Tonearm
  Custom developed and manufactured in the USA, this 10-inch straight aluminum gimbaled bearing tonearm delivers the ideal balanced of rigidity and low tracking error, so all you hear is what is in the grooves. Tweak to your heart's delight with provisions for adjustable tracking force, VTA, azimuth, and anti-skate.

• Isolated Ac Synchronous Motor
  Our 300 RPM stepped-pulley AC motor provides excellent speed stability for pitch accuracy and rhythmic drive. The Delrin® pulley has two positions for 33 1/3 and 45 RPM speed selection. Motor vibrations are kept away from the platter and stylus by using advanced dampening materials that decouple the motor from the rest of the turntable.

• Constrained Layer Dampening
  StudioDeck features an aluminum plate carefully bonded to an MDF body to add mass and eliminate tonal coloration, maintaining the true sound found on the record.

• Meticulous Design And Evaluation
  Advanced technology, user-friendly features, and unflappable design elements ensure phenomenal playback—ultimately bringing the sound of Mobile Fidelity’s famous studio into your home.

• Anti-Vibration Feet By Hrs
  Any vibration of the stylus that is not created by the grooves in the record is a distortion that will mask musical detail. Developed in conjunction with the engineering team at Harmonic Resolution Systems, the world leader in vibration isolation for audio equipment, the included MoFi anti-vibration feet isolate your turntable from bad vibrations.

• 3/4-Inch Delrin® Platter
  Delrin® is a next-generation polymer developed by Dupont. In the world of audio, Delrin's® highly crystalline structure presents a wonderful impedance match to vinyl records, effectively grounding unwanted noise and keeping it away from the stylus.

• Steel And Teflon Inverted Bearing
  Our steel inverted bearing system is designed for smooth, quiet rotational stability. The extremely low tolerance combination of steel, bronze, and teflon—found in much more expensive turntables—will provide you many years of high-performance playback.

Specifications

• Motor: 300 RPM AC Synchronous
• Speeds: 33 1/3 RPM, 45.0 RPM
• Platter: 3.88 lb Delrin®
• Wow & Flutter: 0.017% – 0.025%
• Signal-To-Noise Ratio: 72dB
• Power Supply Requirements: 120V 60Hz, 220-230V 50Hz, 100V 50Hz
• Power Consumption: < 5W
• Tonearm Type: 10" straight aluminum, gimbaled bearing
• Overhang: 0.71" (18mm)
• Offset Angle: 22.8? (+/- 2? adjustable)
• Cartridge Weight Range: 5g – 10g
• Approximate Dimensions: Height: 5.40", Width: 19.69", Depth: 14.25"
• Approximate Weight: 19.1 lbs