Platine Mofi MasterDeck

The MoFi MasterDeck is the most ambitious product from the American brand. MoFi commissioned Allen Perkins, renowned for his work with the famous brand Spiral Groove, to design this exceptional product.

MoFi MasterDeck: Chassis

Each MasterDeck is carefully assembled in small batches at the Ann Arbor factory in Michigan, USA. This reflects the build quality and commitment to unmatched quality control. The chassis is very rigid and of high mass. The resemblance to the StudioDeck and UltraDeck is striking, but upon closer inspection, the MasterDeck adopts a very different approach. This impression is confirmed when lifting it: at 17 kg, the turntable is surprisingly robust despite its appearance. The 508 mm wide plinth is made of solid wood, custom-machined to house the internal components.

The plinth rests on feet specifically designed for this turntable to optimize its performance. These isolation feet (HRS – Harmonic Resolution Systems) suspend the turntable and fully isolate it from the support surface.

These feet are also adjustable, allowing precise leveling of the turntable.

MoFi MasterDeck: Tonearm

Allen Perkins favors unipivot designs while acknowledging the inherent challenges in ensuring stability and balance. According to him, “the goal of this design was to address the issues of unipivot arms while retaining their musical qualities and performance.”

To achieve this, he designed a hybrid tonearm using ruby bearings for the horizontal unipivot and high-end ABEC7 bearings in a gimbal system for vertical pivot control. These two techniques are perfectly optimized to minimize friction and movement resistance.

This new tonearm features a 10-inch effective length. The arm tube is made entirely of high-quality carbon fiber. It is paired with a removable but non-standard headshell. The tonearm offers all necessary adjustments for mounting most MM and MC cartridges on the market.

These adjustments include azimuth, vertical tracking angle (VTA), overhang, anti-skating, and tracking force. The internal wiring uses high-end conductors from Cardas Audio.

The tonearm, wired with Cardas Litz cable, terminates in a 5-pin DIN connector located under the plinth. Note the additional ground connection near the power input.

MoFi MasterDeck: Speeds

The MoFi MasterDeck features a speed selector with fine adjustment.

Designed for versatility and precision, it offers three speeds: 33, 45, and 78 rpm. This functionality is paired with fine speed adjustment displayed on a small LED screen. This precise control allows subtle speed correction, ensuring optimal playback for every record, including 78 rpm discs.

The MasterDeck’s motor uses a three-phase brushless drive system, ensuring unmatched rotational stability and accuracy. The motor is isolated to prevent interference. For perfect rotational precision, it is regulated by an optical sensor. The selected speed is digitally displayed to the left of the platter. A small-diameter motor pulley drives the heavy platter via an orange belt around its perimeter.

MoFi MasterDeck: Platter

The MasterDeck platter is 4.4 cm thick and made from a unique hybrid material combining aluminum and Delrin® in a sandwich construction. It perfectly illustrates the fusion of innovative design and acoustic performance. The lower part is machined from solid black aluminum alloy, while the upper part is made of Delrin. This carefully optimized combination significantly reduces resonance and vibration.

This platter provides a stable and inert platform for vinyl playback. The MasterDeck is equipped with an inverted bearing with a spiral groove, designed for unmatched rotational precision and stability. This sophisticated bearing is meticulously engineered to minimize friction and reduce wear, ensuring perfectly smooth platter rotation.

MoFi MasterDeck: Sound Performance

From the very first tracks, the clarity is striking and the realism remarkable. The MoFi MasterDeck is very neutral and delivers music without any artificial coloration.

The bass is superb in precision and articulation. The upper frequencies and midrange are reproduced in a very analog manner, with body and presence, without harshness, and with a very organic rendering of voices and brass instruments. This greatly enhances emotional impact.

Instruments and sections are perfectly positioned between the speakers, or even beyond them.

The MoFi MasterDeck is an excellent turntable, very well-designed and incorporating original and effective technical solutions.

Highly recommended