Verde

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has been perfecting the art of remastering audio since 1977. It currently offers a broad catalog of music, from Frank Sinatra and the Pixies to Yes and Little Richard on LP, SACD, and CD.

I recently chatted with Rob LoVerde, one of MoFi's mastering engineers,  about how the company's remasters differ from the original label's product.

First and foremost, he said that every MoFi LP--which was originally recorded to analog--is cut from an analog master tape. That's interesting  because ever since digital came onto the scene, most, probably about 99 percent, of LPs for sale now are cut from digital masters. So unless you're already buying MoFi LPs, you still haven't heard what a pure analog recording sounds like--older LPs, pressed before the 1980s are all-analog.

Second, LoVerde said that  MoFi never uses dynamic range compression.  Virtually every new recording is compressed during recording, mixing and mastering. But MoFi eliminates the last compression stage. He also said that equalization is either avoided completely or used sparingly.

LoVerde came to MoFi from Sony, so I was curious about how the two companies approached mastering. At Sony, LoVerde worked within a team, at MoFi each mastering project he takes on is controlled entirely by him. And at Sony, LoVerde had to work fast and complete one or two projects a day. At MoFi he can take his time and track down the best possible master tape. I was surprised to learn that LoVerde doesn't go out of his way to listen to previous remasters.  Instead, he's trying to transfer as much of the original master's sound to the final product as possible.

The analog master is also used for MoFi's SACDs and CDs. That means MoFi's analog sourced SACDs are totally PCM-free, which is extremely rare.  Most SACDs on the market have at least some PCM digital in them, which means they're not really delivering the format's true potential. MoFi SACDs are the real deal, pure SACD--using Direct Stream Digital DSD coding.

LoVerde said he knows that MoFi customers expect the best possible transfer, so he can't let a "good enough" mastering leave the plant. MoFi has occasionally bailed on a project because the sound wasn't up to its  standards.

I listened to a stack of MoFi vinyl and the sound was awesome. Yes, there's more bass, a near absence of vinyl's old friends--clicks and pops--but it's the clarity improvements that were the most impressive. … Read more

TripVerde, a company that provides online carpooling services in an attempt to reduce U.S. vehicle mileage by 3 percent to 5 percent in three years, announced Monday that it has launched a new site to connect those people who plan on traveling to Washington, D.C., for President-elect Obama's inauguration in January. According to the company, it will pair up like-minded people from the same region to carpool to the event. In order to be considered, visitors need to sign up for TripVerde's service and fill out information about themselves. Once complete, TripVerde will find individuals with … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is throwing its hat into the expanding ring of companies with a thing for green. If you're serious about doing your part to protect the environment or you just want a stylish-looking monitor and desktop, the company has some new options for you.

On Monday, HP announced two new desktops and one new display. According to the company, all three have been designed to have a reduced impact on the environment.

The HP Pavilion Verde Special Edition a6645f and HP Pavilion Phoenix Special Edition a6655f are the two new eco PCs, and the 25.5-inch HP w2558hc is the new eco-friendly display.

According to HP, both PCs are Energy Star qualified and meet the standards for "silver" registration in the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). Each PC features a power management tool that purportedly provides up to 45 percent energy savings compared with PCs without power management enabled. … Read more