Excellent performance for the price

Inaccurate VTF markings on the counterweight Cheap supplied felt mat

I purchased this turntable yesterday afternoon to replace a P-mount Technics SL-QD33 turntable that could no longer keep up with new audiophile pressings of classic jazz records. When I unpacked it, the supplied Goldring 1012GX cartridge was already installed, and properly aligned after inspecting it. After about 20 minutes of checking the connections and setting up the tracking force (I don't trust the markings on the counterweight, but rather I used a $20 Shure stylus pressure gauge to set a 1.75-gram VTF), this MMF-5 really sings great music! The detail is much improved over my old Technics with any cartridge. I had purchased that Technics back in 1989 because I fell into the trap that fully-automatic, quartz-locked direct-drive turntables with DC motors and P-mount tonearms are "superior" to fully-manual, belt-drive turntables with AC synchronous motors and standard-mount tonearms. But after further research, I've found that most high-end turntables are of that so-called "inferior" fully-manual, belt-drive, AC-motor type. Why? Because direct-drive turntables actually transmit noise and vibrations to the platter, affecting the potential sound quality. Automatic features tend to add even more noise to the sound. And asynchronous DC motors are much more expensive to manufacture than synchronous AC motors of similar quality and performance. Worst of all, P-mount tonearms tend to be really cheaply made, flimsy, record-mulching toy arms with no adjustments for VTF, VTA, azimuth or anti-skating. No wonder why my old Technics SL-QD33 distorted on loud piano notes when it was fitted with a P-mount Grado Prestige Silver cartridge, and switching to the Audio Technica AT925 only reduced that distortion. But the MMF-5 doesn't distort at all on those same loud piano notes, even with the same phono stage that's integrated into my 14-year-old entry-level consumer Pioneer SX-2600 receiver that I had used my SL-QD33 with for years. (A standard-mount DJ-style Panasonic fully-automatic DD turntable with a Grado Prestige Red cartridge also didn't distort on those loud piano notes, but obviously it didn't deliver anywhere near as much musical detail as my new MMF-5.) The MMF-5's full-manual, belt-drive operation means no more extraneous noises coming from the turntable itself intruding into the sound quality. The only noises that I hear from the MMF-5 are the pops, clicks or scratches on worn or abused vinyl. If you buy the MMF-5, there are two things that I would recommend: Buy a separate stylus gauge (the Shure stylus pressure gauge for $20 works well), and replace the felt mat with a mat made of a different material (though I tried a cheaper "upgrade" mat that was so sticky that it left marks on one of my practice pieces of vinyl).

Similar Products Used:

Technics SL-QD33 (junk), Technics SL-BD202 (trashed), Rotel low-end auto-return (trashed)

fantastic "low noise floor".This is a very quiet TT (actually I cannot perceive any noise coming out of this TT at all. very heavy glass platter with record clamp. deeper bass(I actually have to turn down the volume in my bass setup). The goldring 1012GX medium mass MM is a high output (6.5mV)cartridge, very natural sounding. I do not think that I need to upgrade. with my old Technics TT, I needed to have the volume almost to reference level in order to gain volume. Not with this TT & cartridge combo. Now listening levels are just a few notches more than when I am listening CD's

The felt mat (I will replace it with something better)

After a lot of research I decided that the Music Hall MMF-5 was the best turntable for the money. At $495, the features and, sound quality coming out of this turntable right out of the box is just simply amazing I do not longer have to crank-up to almost reference level the volume on my receiver(Denon's AVR-3802 to be able to listem to the music. Larry, at hollywood Sound (in Hollywood,FL) setup my turntable (at no extra cost!!), Thanks, Larry. I decideded to buy the TT locally so, that I could get all the support I might need,since I do not have any experience setting up TT, since my previous TT were semi-automatic cheap plastic Technics TT's. which are plug & play It seems that Music Hall have iron out some of the Quality Control posted here by previous reviewers (last one was in 2002. The cartridge in my TT does not ride low, Azymuth was perfect(probably ,because Larry set up the TT)

The MMF5 is a superb budget TT for getting at the musical goods & is certainly No. 1 in its class. The MMF5 offers fine levels of quietness & details; a slightly bright high frequency/treble (might appeal to many out there), which is not fatiguing atleast to my ears; rich & honest midranges & a superb warm & deep bass.

Slightly forward trebles, bass might not be the best out there. Not the last word in details.

This review/listening report is for the Music Hall MMF5 turntable. I bought this TT brand new in January 2002 at Hollywood Sound, FL. Right out of the box (as Larry promised me) the TT sounded great. The 1st thing I noticed was that the hum of the AC motor driving the spindle was gone, gone, gone! I immediately realized why people like belt-drive TTs so much. Thus, the spaces between tracks were blacker/quieter than ever before. The high frequencies were immediate but not fatiguing to my ear. This could have been a combination of a new TT, using BL1 Series II interconnects & B&W DM604S2 speakers. Anyway, what I liked about this top-end was that I was involved in the music – it said “drop whatever you are doing & listen to me”. This appeals to me because I feel that it is a live session. Playing the MMF5 thru the CAT SL1 offered me a whole new world of bass – plenty, tight, focused, fast & in full control of my speakers. Vocals came thru with much more precision & fullness than with my previous Dual – it seemed that the artist now removed a veil covering their mouth. The midrange had now transformed itself into something much more articulate, more dynamic and with the correct timbre. I felt that there was a certain “sparkle” in the sound (that I had been missing so badly in my Dual) that once again reminded me just why vinyl is so irresistible. When I changed the power amp section to the RG4 & changed the interconnects to the Groneberg, the sound quality went up a few more notches. The power output & current drive capability has doubled or tripled which has brought much greater transparency to the overall sound. In conclusion, I’m a delighted owner of the MMF5 TT. My experience with it has all been good despite the very low rider 1012GX cartridge being heart-palpitatingly close to the vinyl surface (it has not touched the vinyl even once till today).

Similar Products Used:

Dual CS506 Direct-drive TT Technics Full automatic, linear tracking TT from the early 1980s.

split plinth;glass platter;i put 1 inch rubber mat underneath;totally isolated!!

manual;set-up was a little involved

I never knew that vinyl had this much life! Even records from 30 yrs. ago played on inferior equip. ;handled at raucous gatherings sound superior.I am really just blown away!!!!!!!Excellent piece!!!

Similar Products Used:

old technics piece of crap

Looks, performance, dollar-for-dollar one of the best values out there...

Horrible manual - looks like Barney Rubble wrote it and Bamm-Bamm did the illustrations...

Wonderful value in a moderately-priced turntable. An especially nice design, with the arm and plinth separated from the motor and main mechanism. Comes with a Goldring 1012 cart as well. Compared it with the Pro-ject and the Rega''s. Both of those wanted more for the TT and came w/o an arm or cart! Go with the Music Hall. Great sound, great looks (love the green glass platter - gets lots of comments!)and excellent price!

Similar Products Used:

Rega, Pro-ject - and other awful monstrosities from my past that are too horrible to name - okay - BSR, Dual, Technics.

Everything, enough said.

CD''s

This is a hell of a turntable, The turntable look real good and the Music coming from this baby is awsome. CD''s dont touch records. Music Hall MMF5 is the monster.Thorns are ok but not in this league.

Similar Products Used:

Nad 533 Rega Planar

Value/Performance; Cartridge

Tonearm

No doubt about it: a tremendous value for the money. Purchased at end of October, 2001.

The included Goldring cartridge is truely outstanding in its ability to resolve inner detail and portray a natural, open soundstage presence. The cartridge also features great depth recovery and its high frequency response is beautifully smooth and crystaline - magnifying the true advantage of vinyl over CD! One minor point about the cartridge...the stylus is positioned very closely to the cartridge body, which makes playing a badly warped disc somewhat questionable. (Warps may hit bottom of cartridge body causing stylus to skip.)

The tonearm appears to be the weakest link. The azimuth on mine was way off - canted about 10 to 15-degrees clockwise (top of cartridge body not parallel to record surface). Roy Hall suggests that the azimuth can be adjusted by very carefully twisting the tonearm tube from the cartridge headshell (watch out for that fragile stylus!)

Also, as noted by many other owners, a tracking force gauge is highly recommended, although my inital try at balancing the tonearm and then setting the force was fairly close to the desired 1.7 grams.

FYI...my model came with gold-plated, metal RCA plugs.

Despite the very minor issues noted above - the product performs magnificently. 5 stars indeed!

See below

See below

Although I haven't heard many different turntables in my time, I've read around a lot about turntables and I know a damn good value when I see one. The MMF-5 is a damn good value. It's a damn good turntable is its own right as well. I broke the stylus on the supplied Goldring and have been using a Grado Black. Even so, the sound truly outclasses my digital setup. I use a good transport (NAD 502) with a very good DAC (upgraded Monarchy 18B). As it is, I don't really feel the urge to get a new stylus (you can get 'em cheap via mail order from the UK, BTW) even though the Goldring sounds way better (maybe this has something to do with the fact that installing a new cartridge is a serious pain in the ass).
Speaking of installing cartridges, I, as other reviewers have, strongly recommend getting some sort of stylus forge gauge. The plastic dial on the weight is just not accurate. I found it to be off by around 20%. Not good enough for government work.
There does exist a way to adjust the azimuth. Right behind the pivots on the top of the armtube there is a small screw. This can be exposed to be loosened by cocking up the armtube. I also recommend adjusting the outermost pivot (via loosening the collar screw) so that it's oriented perpendicular to the stylus. This way you won't have to keep adjusting the azimuth everytime you adjust the VTA.
This brings up another good feature about the tonearm. The VTA is easily adjustable on this tonearm by simply loosening, again, a couple of screws. BTW, the overhang is adjustable despite what the reviewer below me said. You can't see it unless you remove the armtube lifter(?) off the headshell.
The tonearm on this unit is probably the weakest element. I think if you could successfully install a high-end tonearm on this rig it would really sing. If anyone knows of a seamless way to swap in a good tonearm, please let me know.
I've performed a few tweaks on the 'table which have produced some very good results. The most effective was wrapping the armtube with teflon tape. This tweak tightened up the sound, lowered the noise floor and generally increased clarity, bringing out a lot a detail. It seemed to color the sound, but I think the benefits in the sound clarity carry the day in this case.
Next, I got rid of the felt mat and put in a rubber one (from the old Harmon/Kardon, no less). Lastly, I put small sandbags under each foot to dampen external vibration. Both tweaks reduced vibrations into the system and into the cartridge. Again, each provided modest but distinct improvements in clarity and detail.
One final note on tweaking concerns the platter. I imagine that the spindle should be oriented as close to dead-balls center as possible. I found that the spindle is fairly pliant and therefore adjustable (and prone to getting knocked out of alignment). A good way to check and see how well it is aligned is to look underneath the platter while it is spinning. Check the height between the motor spindle and the bottom of the platter as it spins around. The height should stay fairly even. If not, you can adjust it by stopping the motor and rotating the platter until the gap is lowest. Then push down slightly on the opposite end to level it. I find that it is impossible to get it perfect, possibly due to imperfections in the glass platter casting itself.
Well, I've said my peace on the MMF 5. The bottom line is that I greatly enjoy listening to records with this rig, even more than my CDs. Records can be absurdly cheap. I paid 50 cents for a mint copy of the Talking Heads' 'Remain in light' at a thrift store (felt guilty for a week) and 5 pounds for some near mint Zappa at Reckless Records last week. (If you're ever in London and shopping for vinyl, don't miss this place.)

The MMF 5 was the best 450 bucks I ever spent. Enough said.

Similar Products Used:

Harmon/Kardon T35C

Platter, design, tonearm, looks

anti-skate, tonearm rest, chintzy photocopied manual

The TT has been a pain, but more of a joy. This is a bit of a saga, so I apologize for length.

After the first TT arrived from Audiowaves in CA (Alan/owner was very helpful BTW), I noted that the plinth transport hold down screws were loose in the box, god knows what they hit when the package was trucked from NY to CA and then to my place in GA. After the initial setup, which went pretty well, I set down a copy of Kind of Blue and waited. Nothing. I checked connections, then finally looked at the stylus and it has been was pushed upwards almost flat against the cartridge. The screws must have hit it in transit, because there was no shipping protection provided for the cartridge/stylus. Not even a plastic cover. The one that was apparently provided was later found loose in the box. MusicHall can't seem to figure out how to get one designed to fit snugly onto cartridge shell, so it simply falls off, as I noticed with the 2nd TT as well. Quality control needs work.

But before I got the 2nd TT, I contacted audiowaves and they called Roy Hall. Roy sent a new stylus to me (no charge) by ground UPS. About 6 days total (overnight would have been a better service, but this was not done 'cause he did not want to make a special trip to US PO I presume). After the new stylus arrived, I inserted it and things were getting good, but I felt that there may have been other damage to the TT as the sound varied from good to fair to superb. Since the first unit already had damage to the dustcover (several scratches), and I suspected possible an internal ground problem from humming, I called Audiowaves again and they agreed to ship a new TT. The unit arrived in about 3-4 weeks (back ordered). Again, the stylus was unprotected but it arrived unbent and undamaged. After a thorough inspection I noticed that the gold RCA connector was just about hanging by a thread, but was assured that it would be OK. So, hooked up everything again and it was great! Sound was smooth, clean and natural, much better than CD's.

The saga still continued, tho. After about a week of superb sound, the dam* tonearm slipped off the rest and hit the plinth (nothing to prevent this is built into design, so beware). The diamond busted clean off. Roy was contacted at Music Hall, as was the Goldring people, but they would not replace it without the full retail charge, which I was not happy about because I felt the diamond should not have busted off so completely, falling at 1.5 grams pressure from the rest. Prior to this small disaster, I felt that the Goldring cartridge was very good indeed, but tracking was not as good as I would have liked with the "questionable" anti-skate setup. So, rather than pay about $175 for the new stylus (prices had just gone up), I bought a Shure V15-V (known for superb tracking) and installed it. The exellent tracking came through big time with the MMF-5 and VTA alignment was almost spot on with the very similar cartridge height to the Goldring. Highs are not as rich and "airy" as the Goldring, but a very good alternative nevertheless.

Overall, the MMF-5 is a very good buy and an excellent way to move back to vinyl at a reasonable price. One caveat tho - cut off a clear piece of plastic and superglue it to the right side of the tonearm rest so the tonearm can't slip off and onto the plinth. This might save you from a big bill for a replacement stylus.

Similar Products Used:

technics sl1900

Good build. Good cartridge

Could have better rca cables. I dont like the weight on a fishing gut idea

I posted a review of my Project 1.2 a few days ago and after that decided that I wanted something a bit more better. I traded it in for the MMF-5 and immediately noticed a vast improvement in sound. It has the same tonearm as the 1.2 but the cartridge is far more superior and the build is just so different - you have 2 layers 1 of which houses the motor and the 2nd 'plinth' or layer sits ontop of the first one with rubber feet. You also get a glass platter with a screw-on-clamp. This all amounts to a better feel and sound for the t'table. I'm quite happy with the purchase but i will probably go for a much better cartridge in the next few weeks.

All in all, you cant go wrong with this model. Its worth the extra $190 over the 1.2

Similar Products Used:

Pro-ject 1.2