Sitting in the Music Hall room at CAF 2023, I had a feeling that something was definitely off. Roy Hall, who is usually rather quick with a remark, was sitting rather quietly in the back of the room in the chair next to me and not all that engaged with the demonstration.
He’s a passionate man and in the best possible way. He loves what he does and his mission of making better quality high-end audio components more accessible to a wider range of listeners has always been a noble pursuit.
Putting aside the absence of affordable turntables at the show for one brief moment — the reality is that turntable sales below $500 constitute a huge percentage of sales overall.
That number has inched upwards over the past 5 years but if you think there is a line around the corner for $2,500 to $100,000 turntables — you are living in a very different reality than 99% of the population.
Music Direct is one of the largest online retailers of high-end turntables in the world and in partnership (same ownership) with MoFi Distribution and MoFi Electronics, the Chicago-based company has enormous influence on the turntable category.
A quick look at the ownership group of the newly formed, Turntable USA, reveals that MoFi Distribution/Music Direct are taking an even larger slice of the pie and this is one acquisition that makes a lot of sense.
Aside from its own turntables that are manufactured under the MoFi Electronics label, the company sells a significant number of tables for VPI, Technics, Rega, Pro-Ject and Music Hall.
MoFi and VPI turntables are not exactly affordable and it always made sense for Music Direct and this new entity to offer quality, affordable options where they controlled the engineering and manufacturing side to earn a larger profit.
Pro-Ject has always been a part of this equation and it will be interesting to see if this newly announced acquisition changes things.
So what just happened?
Music Hall, the well-known audio brand recognized for offering high-quality yet affordable audio components and turntables, announces a change in ownership. Turntable USA, a new venture led by industry veterans James Davis, Norbert Schmied, and Jonathan Derda, has acquired the Music Hall brand. This transition secures Music Hall’s mission started by founder Roy Hall, delivering high-quality audio to music lovers at fair prices.
Roy Hall expressed his approval of the acquisition, stating, “I am pleased that Music Hall has been acquired by people that understand the market and share my passion for music. I’ve known these guys for many years, and I am confident that they will continue to build on the Music Hall legacy. For those cheering my passing of the baton, I’ll still be here working for Music Hall as a consultant to ensure a smooth transition.”
The new owners aim to uphold Music Hall’s reputation for creating high-value products. Jonathan Derda, VP of Sales, noted, “Value for money is top of people’s minds now more than ever, and Music Hall has been a leader in this for over 25 years. We’re excited to work with Roy on creating new products and continue the traditions he started.”
Established in 1998, Music Hall has grown its product line with recent successful models like the best-selling Classic Belt Drive Turntable ($649 at Amazon) and the high-end direct-drive Stealth model ($1,649 at Amazon).
The company has updated its electronics lineup with the new a25.3 integrated amplifier ($649 at Amazon) and the cd25.3 CD player ($649 at Amazon).
For more information: musichallaudio.com
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