Mobile Fidelity UltraDeck Turntable $1500
Looking at the headline above, you might think you’ve caught Dave with yet another typo. Well this time… I assure you it is NOT a typo.
Mo-Fi’s outstanding UltraDeck runs $2500. We’ve sold many dozen at that price point and our customers luv em. They’re running an insane promo price of $1500 right now. It’s time to get off the dime.
For openers, UltraDeck is built in Ann Arbor, not China. It is a substantial BEAST with significant heft to its construction. Stout composition pays enormous dividends when playing records. You have to isolate the LP from the outside world AND the device spinning it. UltraDeck is a serious machine at a very fair price point when it’s $2500. At $1500…UltraDeck is ultra under priced.
UltraDeck starts with four HRS designed leveling, vibration absorbing feet. Note, these are not just rubber tabs or cute looking plastic saucers. These feet are important in helping UD sound quiet and smooth.
UltraDeck has three steel plates on its plinth to add mass and minimize vibration. The platter is made of thick Delrin which is non resonant. The inverted dome bearing is machined to spin at an accurate speed with low friction. The tonearm is 9” and uses Cardas wire. The belt is very large with strong control.
UltraDeck’s speed accuracy is outstanding. Not all tables run at an accurate speed which changes the pitch of a piano most noticeably.
All of the mechanicals spelled out above allow UltraDeck to provide a uniquely quiet, non ringy sound quality. Acoustic instruments, the piano in particular, sounds more unfettered than when listening to a more resonant alternative.
Let’s move on to the cartridge. There are a million cartridges out there. Most are made by Asian vendors with many brand names and design claims. Yup, the same “house” makes many brand names, which are basically similar designs, badged differently for marketing purposes. Two of the most well known are Audio Technica and Excel Sound. They both make cartridges from crayons to perfume. You can buy one of a dozen or more brands made by either one, marketed as X, Y or Z. I’m not saying they’re not good. But I want… ORTOFON.
Please consider Ortofon- which is my favorite cartridge manufacturer on the planet. Ortofons are made in Denmark with a TLC that is unsurpassed. Please note, these carts are designed and manufactured to high standards in Denmark. They are not designed in Denmark and made in the far east or farmed out to a party we’ve never heard of. Even the entry level Ortofon carts are made in Denmark.
With Ortofon, you get what you pay for every time. This isn’t the case with many carts. Ortofons always work well right out of the box. There’s no such thing as a defective. We can’t say that about ANY other brand! As you might infer, a cartridge is a very exacting, mechanical device. Ortofon has real, repeatable manufacturing expertise. They don’t buy carts from a production house. They don’t pretend there’s an old master in a grass hut who can build them better than a real, modern manufacturing facility.
The best Orto bang for the buck cartridge is the iconic 2M Blue, $189. For only $189 you get a stellar cartridge with a nude elliptical stylus. If you want to move up to a more specific line contact design, you buy the 2M Bronze, $429. The 2M Black, $695, uses a Shibata stylus which contacts more groove wall and is ideal if you’re running new vinyl in pristine condition.
I’m a big low output moving coil fan. Orto MCs provide micro detail and dynamics that moving magnets simply CAN’T. If you have a quiet head amp to shake hands with a great MC cart, please consider one of two Ortos. The Quintet Blue, $569, employs a nude elliptical stylus. Even better is the iconic Quintet Black S, $1100, with sapphire cantilever and Shibata stylus. The Quintet Black S competes with the most expensive carts on the market- really! You don’t have to spend more.
So here’s my recommendation. Buy the marvelous UltraDeck while it’s on sale and mate it with a fabulous Orto cartridge- $189-$1100. Even if you get UD with the Orto Quintet Black S moving coil, you’re all in at $2600, which is only $100 more than UltraDeck usually sells for by itself!
