MOFI or MFSL?

Is one better than the other or anything to keep an eye out for? I notice they both say “original master recording”, should they all be from the masters?

Same thing, same company

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Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (70’s 80’s 90’s) went bankrupt in 1999. In 2001, the company was purchased by Music Direct and re- launched. Along with the revival came the ‘new’ abbreviation MoFi

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The relaunched company seems to have a better reputation for consistently good remasters. The original MFSL vinyl is often derided for a ‘smiley face eq’. Some titles are highly sought after but given the quality of the artist reissues (Beatles, Rolling Stones etc) many are not.

Just how many titles have ever been produced by both labels?

There have been records issued under the MFSL label in 2013 for instance, which are still for sale so the label doesn’t reflect which company issued the record.

e.g.

Not as straightforward as it seems

No, it’s quite a quagmire in terms of quality and names. For instance MFSL Japan and varying vinyl qualities like UHQR - Some of this may be due to ltd ed runs where licensing agreements can be extended by varying the format (45 RPM, UHQR, Box sets etc) allowing for greater dangling of the audiophile carrot.