Roy Hall is the driving force of Music Hall Audio, and he is a rare individual – blunt, honest to a fault, a discerning listener, and a canny businessman. They say voters choose a candidate with whom they would feel comfortable having a beer. Substitute Scotch and you have Roy Hall. Whether you have an interest in his turntable MMF 9.1 I think you should read the interview he did with StreroMojo.com. His personality shines through.
Link: Stereo Mojo.com Music Hall MMF 9.1 Turntable Review
Roy Hall the flatterer
As imitation is the sincerest form of flattery Roy Hall is an admitted flatterer of many turntable designers. In the interview he admits to copying the best features of many turntables. He mentioned the rubber cones he places between layers of MDF as the suspension copied from the Revolver table. I think he was copying a copier. As a previous owner of an original Austin Mini automobile I recall that it used a rubber cone as its suspension. It rode not on springs, torsion bars or other damping – it was rubber cones. The advantage is that for slight deflections the cones acts like a soft cushion, but as more force is applied the cone becomes progressively harder. Works on turntables, too. That’s the suspension on all Music Hall tables.
The Music Hall Mooo Mat
But Roy Hall can be original. I know of no other turntable may made with cowhide. Actually cowhide bonded to cork. If you look at the photo. Yes, that is the color of the cow, hide, hair and all. As each cowhide has different patterns each mat looks different. With reduced vibration it promises a warmer sound and lower noise. The retail price of the Mooo Mat is $75.
The Music Hall lineup
MMf 9.1 turntable
- Marimba. Our favorite small reasonably price monitor speaker. The Marimba is a small black monitor that sounds great and is only $350.00 for the pair.
- C DAC-15.3 Replacement CD player for the 15.2. Now w/ better sonics & 3 input DAC for only $50.00 more $549
- A-70 125wpc integrated amp w/ HT bypass & MM phono stage $1499
- DAC-15.2 24bit/192k D/A converter with hi-rez 24/96 USB input $299
- A-15.3 50wpc integrated amp with nice phono stage. Far superior to the discontinued A15.2 that got excellent reviews $549
- DAC-25.3 24/192 upsampling DAC with 24/96 hi-rez USB input $599
- PH-25.2 Hybrid headphone amp with tube preamplifier $399
- MMF-2.2 Turntable with Music Hall $100.00 Tracker cartridge $449
- MMF-2.2LE as above in Ferrari Red hi gloss finish $499
- MMF-5.1 [$875] – Dual plinth turntable with $350 Music Hall Magic 3 cartridge
- MMF-5.1SE [$1099] – upgraded version of the MMF-5.1 with $500 Music Hall Mojo cartridge
- MMF-7.1 w/o cartridge but carbon fiber arm [$1295] – turntable
- MMF-7.1 with cartridge [$1495] – as above but with $500 Music Hall Mojo moving magnet hi-output MC cartridge (call for special pricing on this excellent turntable)
- MMF-9.1 with cartridge [$2195] – Triple plinth turntable with carbon fiber arm and $750 MC cartridge
- MMF-11.1 [$4495] New top-line table with 4-plinth design, Evolution 9CC tonearm with dual motors & 3 flywheels design. Adjustable azimuth and VTA. 21.3 x 13.8 x 7.8″, 39.5 lbs.
Music Hall versus Rega and Pro-Ject
Is Music Hall better? Let me be honest – Rega and Pro-Ject have a big advantage – they get more reviews, and reviews are the lifeblood of the audio business. Of course Music Hall gets reviews, but not nearly so many. Why doesn’t Music hall get as many reviews? My guess is that Roy Hall is maybe better at being
blunt and honest to a fault than he is at schmoozing reviewers. (What, you ask, does personality come into audio reviewing? Of course not; what am I saying?)
I compete with Rega and Pro-Ject by price. Most people are looking to spend at a particular price point, so I get an advantage by making my tables drop down to a lower price. And by good setup.