M+ Turntable

The +M derivative indicates the presence of MoFi’s top cartridge. The Mastertracker is a moving magnet type (as are all MoFi cartridges) with an aluminium body. It has a micro-line tip on a tapered aluminium cantilever connected to what MoFi calls a V-twin dual magnet generator and Japanese OCC coils.

The UltraDeck is equipped with a 10 inch Ultra tonearm comprising an aluminium armtube and headshell; ball bearings allow for both planes of movement and it’s wired with Cardas internal cable that terminates in RCA connectors on the back of the plinth. It’s adjustable for VTA and azimuth, but the UltraDeck+M, complete with cartridge, is supplied with these two settings in the correct position. There is a marking on the back of the arm to show where to position the counterweight. However this is quite a wide indicator and merely moving the weight to the back of the mark does not place downforce within the 1.8 to 2.2 gram recommended range. Rather, it takes it over, so you need a downforce gauge to get close to the desired 2g. That apart it’s an easy arm to set up until you get to the thread and weight bias system, which involves a tiny grommet and a post that’s very close to the counterweight. The trick here is to fit the anti-skate device to the arm prior to fitting the counterweight, then it’s all pretty straightforward.

The main bearing is inverted and is larger in diameter than usual. It’s designed, says MoFi, using a combination of hardened steel, bronze, and sapphire, aided presumably by a little lube (there was none in the box), because the platter appears to spin perfectly. Unusually this turntable has the power supply onboard and an IEC mains inlet, making it a little tidier round the back. gs