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By TONE Scott
For almost 50 years, the world’s very first ‘audiophile’ record label has been commissioning master recording tapes of some of the most desirable album releases in history, and putting their premium sound spin on them to the satisfaction of hundreds of thousands of happy ears. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is most notable for creating premium-level reissues mostly of music stemming from the legacy eras (’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s) and from virtually every genre of music. Nevertheless, they have recently began to move further along the dispensation of recorded music history, incorporating album releases from the ’90s (of which are now considered ‘legacy music’ as well) and the early 2000’s; as well as opening up their scope of genres to include Hip Hop — having released the first ever audiophile reissue of a hip hop record in history, with Run-DMC’s Raising Hell — Grunge/Alternative (ex. Stone Temple Pilots, Alanis Morrisette), and even more tight knit subsets such as dance/house music with their upcoming release of Deee-Lite’s legendary dance club album World Clique.
While this is a natural and necessary progression for the label (and very welcomed at that), it can be stated pretty much with absolute verity that nothing gets an audiophile-minded music collector more juiced up than when MoFi puts all their skills and talents into reimagining Classic Rock, Soul, and Jazz. Even more, when they put their foot into albums which are defining sonic iconographies of the classic era of music, it seems to be that die-hard MoFi-ologists virtually camp out at the label’s doorstep in anticipation of such a release. In January of 2026, there was a lot of online camping going on in anticipation of one of those very revered and defining classic era albums being reissued and released by the label. Why would there be so much hype around an album that Mobile Fidelity had already cast their potent magic spell over, 47 years ago? There was very good reason.
Fleetwood Mac’s seminal self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac, was originally released on July 11, 1975, on the Warner music imprint, Reprise Records. It was/is referred to as the band’s “seminal” album because it officially inaugurated what is considered the group’s classic and most notable band member line-up. It obviously included Mick Fleetwood and the McVies, but would become the first album in the band’s most illustrious career to now include the duo of Buckingham Nicks (Lindsey and Stevie). Four years subsequent to the release and two years after the formation of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as an independent reissue label, in 1979, MoFi would throw the original master tapes of this monumental record into their cauldron and pull out the world’s first half-speed remastered audiophile reissue of Fleetwood Mac (#MFSL-1012). Coincidentally (and somewhat ironically), when the compact disc became a vital format and MoFi inaugurated their Ultradisc and Ultradisc II 24kt Gold remastered CD series, the album would never be included as a part of.
So then what were MoFi-dites so ramped up about this past January? Well, on January 23, 2026, the savvy sound sultan’s at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab revisited their long-ago relationship with the Fleetwood Mac album in the most prestigious way possible when, after relicensing the master tapes, they released it into the world of both their famed Ultradisc One-Step vinyl pressing and UHR super audio compact disc series. Goldmine (who happens to proudly call ourselves ‘MoFi-ologists’) were equally as ramped up about the release. Thus, we’ve taken a deep dive as always in order to provide a discerning, critical, and honest, concise yet thorough review of the album on both formats.
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MoFi’s Fleetwood Mac Original Master Recording Ultradisc One-Step LP and Hybrid SACD
Ultradisc One-Step 45rpm 2xLP
The One-Step (regardless of who uses the process) is the epitome of high-end and/or technologically advanced record manufacturing, and we have described that process to readers many times over the past years here at Goldmine. When considering the ultimate in the process of sonically reimagining a body of recorded music, this process is the zenith in protocol to making anything clearly audiophile worthy; however, it is not an inexpensive process to implement. Nevertheless, with great foresight, the powers that be at Mobile Fidelity knew that if they were going to bring this album back into their stables once again, it would have to be all the way or the highway. The foundation of a remastered album that stands above any competition begins in the studio, where a mastering engineer attempts to create a perfect balance of staying true to the legacy of an original recording while applying enhancements that elevate each and every sonic property to its highest level. Not only has MoFi accomplished this feat time and time again for decades, but since senior mastering engineer Krieg Wunderlich has led the team in the studio, there has virtually been no comparison with regard to what comes out of MoFi on vinyl, and this is what we have here with the Fleetwood Mac Ultradisc One-Step. Moreover, the label and Wunderlich found it plausible that this particular album warranted the ultimate in One-Step releases; a remaster at a 45rpm playback speed over double discs, which opens up the album to much broader sonic benefits, were some MoFi One-Steps are assigned to a standard length 33rpm LP for various reasons.
Over the life of the original album up until now, there have been extremely limited attempts at an ultra-premium-sounding remaster of this record. The best one from previous years was by far Reprise Records’ commission of a 2xLP 45rpm remaster from 2012, done by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (and who doesn’t think Bellman is a whiz at the console and the lathe). Nevertheless, putting the comparative masterclass skillset of Krieg Wunderlich aside, MoFi engineers have this one major advantage: their studio gear — a setup that has been custom-conceived and built for Mobile Fidelity that is endemic only to the MoFi studios and a massive part of what assists them in achieving that signature sound. Put all of that and the fact that this is a One-Step together and this is what you have: a copy of Fleetwood Mac that will absolutely inspire your jaw to hit the floor. And since most of the owners of this album own originals, let us give you some of the best and most extreme examples of what you can expect from this One-Step up against that.
Take for example some of the tracks which characteristically contain more sonic information, heavier on the orchestration and arrangements. Selections including the album’s intro “Monday Morning, “Sugar Daddy,” “Blue Letter” and the smash single “Say That You Love Me” contain a lot of combined musical activity, including vocals. We must admit, while the original offerings where mixed to ‘almost’ to perfection, in hindsight, knowing what we know now with regard to sound, there was still a bit of room for improvement in the mix (and the mastering for that matter). The only way to accomplish this without remixing is understanding how to manipulate sound frequencies to cause that effect. Wunderlich does this brilliantly. There is so much more in perceived dynamics between all of the elements of these songs that discerning the individuality between instruments and vocals becomes evidently more effortless and real without making it sound ‘processed,’ or taking away from the period-correct sound of the original. Taking into consideration selections over the album which are less complex and more rudimentary in production, songs such as “Warm Ways,” “Crystal,” and the iconic single “Landslide,” these have less to work with yet are easier when it comes to hearing the differences between the original versus the One-Step remaster. “Warm Ways,” with the heavier low end out of the three mentioned, seems to offer the listener more poignant bass clarity and a noticeably sharper high frequency, which greatly assists the acoustic guitar’s presence in the song. “Crystal” on one hand delivers the perception of Lindsey’s lead and the the girls’ back-up vocals having greater space and separation away from the instrumentation, where “Landslide” takes Stevie Nicks’ vocals into a place that better differentiates her warm contralto vocals from the similar tones of the instrumentation, seemingly with a twist of the higher-end frequencies, yet without losing the natural organics of the song.
As we are sure that everyone reading wants to know how “Rhiannon” was affected with regard to the One-Step versus the original, you’ll be pleased to know that this is where we experienced the most improvement. There is a lot going on here in this song, and specifically with the mid-range to lower-end tonalities of the instrumentation. When you hear the One-Step remaster, you will quickly realize that the original sounded noticeably compressed from the mix, though its original sonic character was a byproduct and a ‘sound of the times.’ Without obliterating its period-correct sound, the One-Step offers much less muddled-up mashing of the orchestration, and creates clear-cut spatiality, allowing the listener to much, much better discern between the bass guitar and the drums, and greatly separates the lower register of the main guitar’s note progression from those as well. This was such a pleasure to experience, as if the cherry on top of a fantastic reproduction of this iconic album.
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Ultradisc UHR Hybrid Super Audio Compact Disc
Obviously, not only is the compact disc variant of this album an entirely different sonic experience, it is also supposed to be a varied experience from what one would experience with vinyl… that has always been implied. Mobile Fidelity’s original Ultradisc series 24kt Gold (red book) standard compact disc remasters were untouchable in the late ’80s and ’90s, but since the early 2000s, their hybrid SACD format has taken their digital physical media remasters to an entirely different level. Since the mid-2000s, mastering engineer Rob LoVerde has been at the helm of their SACD series, and there is no question why he’s been in that seat for as long as he has. Mobile Fidelity’s UHR (Ultra High Resolution) Ultradisc hybrid SACD series for almost an entire quarter century now has also been at the helm, driving the market with regard to providing the pinnacle in CD album mastering technology to music collectors who are die-hard for and dedicated to the compact disc format.
MoFi’s Fleetwood Mac on this corresponding format is equally as impressive as its vinyl counterpart, but with amazingly differentiating sonic properties. At its core, the hybrid SACD dramatically sets itself apart from the earliest original compact disc copies of the same album, which we’ve compared it to, such as both the 1987 Reprise Records release and that same label’s standard format remastered Japanese release; so much so that it’s not even worth reviewing the comparison. What we did find, however, is that MoFi’s variant is the only SACD format release (either hybrid stereo or multi-channel) ever created for this album. Therefore, there was also no viable comparison available for the stereo SACD layer of their hybrid disc. But, for all those who have access to playing stereo SACD, let us tell you that it resounds in a way that is literally miles above any standard red book compact disc we’ve ever experienced with regard to this album. The detail and the scope of the dynamics which produce more life-like resolution, and a more emotionally tangible experience, is insane to say the least. There is simply no comparison up against any red book (i.e., standard CD) that would be worth the effort.
For those who dabble in Mobile Fidelity’s hybrid discs in order to access the ultra-fantastic sounding standard CD layer, you’re in luck as well, because we also had access to the best copy of the album we believed there to be, previously available — a 2018 Reprise Records remastered Japanese SHM-CD. For those who are unfamiliar, Japanese SHM-CD’s use ultra-transparent superior polycarbonate as its disc material, which allows the CD laser to track the embedded sound in greater detail over standard polycarbonate. MoFi’s hybrid SACD uses a super-high-density gold foil reflective layer, which transmits the information stored with even higher detail and quicker laser reading response time. Both the SHM-CD and the SACD perform with detail that sits well above the standard red book technology. And while the SHM-CD is an impressive and extremely enjoyable experience with regard to this particular album, the SACD hybrid layer performs with evidently more sonic depth and breadth (i.e., dynamics) over the SHM.
Equally in part is the remastering job on both. Dan Hersch, who has much experience remastering for use on the various Japanese sub-formats, is absolutely no slouch of an engineer. Nevertheless, the experience that Rob LoVerde has with reimaging master tapes to MoFi standards on the hybrid SACD format outweighs the effort put into the SHM-CD. Now, of course, with regard to “Rhiannon,” there is an entirely fresh approach to anything digitally that you have ever heard, guaranteed. First and foremost, every sonic nuance is so crisp, so sharp and so detailed that even the little hidden cymbal accents via Mick Fleetwood’s drumming, which most people don’t even realize are there, are now there. As well, the low-end frequencies, especially with regard to the bassline is so damn punchy now as opposed to its original muddled and overly rounded feel. And the best part — Nicks’ lead and backup vocals are ultra-poignant and ride just enough above the orchestration that it feels as if she is standing out in front of the band. This song exemplifies one of the most impressive aspects of experiencing this variant of the album. There is so much detail here with Mobile Fidelity’s variant that even the detail has detail.
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As always, both formats of MoFi’s remasters are premium beyond the music. The vinyl One-Step, aside from the benefits of the One-Step process itself, gets its stampers manufactured at the world-class Record Technology, Inc. facility, then gets pressed using super-premium high-definition vinyl compound on double 180-gram heavyweight discs, and packaged into MoFi’s signature heavy gauge slipcase packaging. The SACD matches that quality, housed in a heavy cardstock Japanese-style mini-LP gatefold cover, with MoFi’s signature audiophile-grade protective sleeve to cradle the disc itself. Both come with the original commemorative lyrics content; the vinyl with a full-size gatefold mimicking the original album’s inner sleeve, while the compact disc package includes the same but instead, over a 12-page booklet. If you truly want to reexperience this legendary album as if it were a first listen all over again, MoFi’s depiction is absolutely the way to go. —GM
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Contact TONE Scott at [email protected]. Please put Adventures of a Music Collector (MoFi Fleetwood Mac One-Step) in the subject line.
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Find a selection of our WINTER 2025 print issues with your choice of collectors covers, in the official Goldmine store: (Click below)
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TONE Scott is a career-long American music industry professional. As a Grammy Award nominated, platinum selling songwriter/ composer/ producer/ vocal arranger, he has worked with some of the world’s most renowned recording artists. As a published music journalist, he has been a feature writer for many internationally accredited music publications. Currently on staff at Goldmine magazine, he is Senior Contributing Editor with four reoccurring online columns — The TONE of Soul, Adventures of a Music Collector, Eclectic Discoveries and Jazzology — as well as a prominent feature-article writer for the magazine’s print edition, including the reoccurring article series — Modern Music Must-Haves. He is an acknowledged music historian, having contributed liner notes for many album releases, as well as an expert record collector with over three decades of dedicated music collecting experience. As a content creator he hosts his own YouTube channel – TONE Scott – were he produces vlogs revolving around his music industry career and his life as a music collector. He is also the host of Record Store Spotlight; an online show that highlights independent record stores everywhere. Follow TONE Scott on all social media, including his YouTube channel by visiting his Linktree page, HERE.