By: Emma Lu
To an audiophile, the production process of a record is extremely important. To achieve the lowest possible rate of distortion or change to a track, digital files are absolutely forbidden. This high-quality reproduction was what drew audiophiles in to a particular company—until they were exposed by an amateur interviewer. Mike Esposito, 38, is a record enthusiast and the owner of a relatively small YouTube channel. He isn’t a professional reporter and never received formal training to interview either. How did such a person reveal a well-trusted record maker’s scandalous secret? Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, or MoFi, had a positive reputation towards audiophiles. However, after Esposito’s video exposing MoFi, it was clear that the company had lost its stellar reputation. What happened with MoFi?
Digital files are an absolute no-no to audiophiles. The quality of digital files has always been a topic of debate, as a large amount of data had to be removed to make the files fit on mobile devices. However, with evolving technologies, digital files are beginning to become indistinguishable from analog albums. How does this relate to MoFi’s scandal? MoFi has always claimed to use original master tapes, but what Esposito found was that digital files were used in production. Anybody would be mad if they were being lied to, but in this case, the community was seething. Digital files were something that any audiophile would consider atrocious. The scandal was exacerbated considering MoFi was created to cater to audiophiles. With most of the world already using digital files, it seems MoFi just lost their most loyal customers.
How did Esposito stumble into this nest of lies? He won’t reveal who gave him the tip. However, his public statement, made in the form of a video triggered a response. John Wood, the executive vice president of product development had practically sent Esposito an invite for a tour. Wood was wholly aware of the fact that MiFi had been using digital files. A second video was uploaded by Esposito that where MoFi engineers that basically confirmed Esposito’s video. For years, MoFi employees have done interviews and conferences without ever touching on the use of digital files, so this revelation was shocking to the audiophile world.
Maybe this only proves how easily the authenticity of analog music production can be faked. Even those who consider themselves “golden ears” are being deceived. This announcement has left the audiophile world in a state of disarray and shock, as MoFi had largely catered to them. On the other side of the problem, it’s unclear if MoFi will be able to continue their business. As a record company, it had few full-time workers and no crisis management plan.
When questioned, Wood said he regretted inviting Esposito, as it only accelerated the failure of the record label. If MoFi had just came out with the truth earlier, it could’ve been a crisis averted. When they decided to lie, however, that was the real start of the downfall.