Mobile Fidelity Announces Rush Audiophile Vinyl and SACD Reissue Series Covering 1974 to 1985

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is giving Rush’s classic 1974 to 1985 studio run the audiophile treatment with a multi-year reissue campaign on UltraDisc One-Step vinyl, 45RPM 2LP sets, and Hybrid SACD, beginning this summer with Fly By Night and A Farewell to Kings. I have not stopped grinning since seeing Grace Under Pressure, Moving Pictures, and Power Windows on the schedule. Take my money, MoFi. Take it now.

Rush fans have spent decades arguing over pressing variations, bass pedals, drum fills, Ayn Rand references, and whether Signals still gets treated unfairly because the keyboards started ordering bottle service. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has now handed them fresh material to debate for the next 30 years.

By the time the arguments over these new editions are finally settled, Geddy and Lerxst may well be reunited with the Professor somewhere beyond the drum riser — or, more appropriately, in some old-school basement in Willowdale, Ontario, where the amps are too loud, the time signatures are suspicious, and nobody has any interest in playing it safe.

This is not the entire Rush catalog, and it does not include the band’s later Atlantic-era albums. The series focuses on the first decade-plus of Rush’s recorded evolution, from the bluesy hard rock of Rush and Fly By Night to the widescreen progressive architecture of 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, Grace Under Pressure, and Power Windows.

According to the announcement, most titles in the series will be released as UltraDisc One-Step vinyl sets, while every title in the campaign will receive a numbered Hybrid SACD edition. The first wave begins in summer 2026 with Fly By Night and A Farewell to Kings, followed by Rush in fall 2026. The remaining titles are scheduled to roll out through 2028.

The timing is not exactly subtle, and that is the obvious part. Rush are back in the public conversation in a way many fans probably never expected after the final R40 show at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 1, 2015, and Neil Peart’s death in January 2020. The Fifty Something tour is not Rush trying to pretend nothing changed. It is Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson stepping back onto the stage together after 11 years, carrying the music forward while honoring the friend, lyricist, drummer, and impossible standard who made the whole thing feel larger than rock music.

The tour is presently on a short interruption after Geddy Lee was diagnosed with laryngitis and bronchitis, forcing the postponement of two Fort Worth shows originally scheduled for June 30 and July 2. Those concerts have been rescheduled for July 11 and July 13, with the tour currently listed to continue in Chicago on July 16.

That makes the MoFi announcement feel less like a random catalog exercise and more like a very calculated moment. Rush are selling tickets, reintroducing their music to arena audiences, honoring Neil Peart’s legacy, and bringing Anika Nilles into one of the most intimidating drum chairs in rock history. At the same time, MoFi is preparing premium physical editions for the exact period of the catalog most likely to send Rush collectors into pre-order behavior normally associated with emergency storm preparation.

Pricing and Formats

MoFi’s current product listings confirm the pricing for the initial releases.

Fly By Night is listed as a numbered 180g 45RPM 2LP set priced at $59.99, with the numbered Hybrid SACD priced at $34.99.

A Farewell to Kings is getting the deluxe treatment first, with MoFi listing it as a limited UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box set priced at $125. The Hybrid SACD edition is listed at $34.99.

The 1974 debut Rush, scheduled for fall 2026, is listed as a numbered 180g 45RPM 2LP set at $59.99, with the Hybrid SACD priced at $34.99.

That gives buyers a fairly clear pricing structure for the first wave: standard 45RPM 2LP editions at $59.99, Hybrid SACDs at $34.99, and UltraDisc One-Step titles at $125 when the album receives that treatment. Future title pricing has not yet been fully confirmed by MoFi, so assuming every later One-Step title will remain at the same price would be a little too enthusiastic, even for Rush fans who can count in 7/8 before coffee.

The Mastering Chain Matters

There is another important detail here: MoFi is being specific about the mastering chain on the listed vinyl titles. The Fly By Night 45RPM vinyl page lists the source chain as “1/4” / 15 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.” The Rush debut vinyl listing specifies “1/4” / 15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.”

That means these are not AAA vinyl reissues. They are sourced from analog master tapes with a DSD 256 step in the chain before the analog console and lacquer cutting. For some collectors, that will be a deal-breaker. For others, it will be less important than the quality of the tapes, mastering choices, pressing quality, and whether Geddy Lee’s bass finally gets the scale and articulation it deserves without turning the upper midrange into a dental procedure.

MoFi also says A Farewell to Kings was mastered at its California studio from tape boxes marked with both “master” and “safety copy,” pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and limited to 5,000 numbered copies in the UltraDisc One-Step 45RPM 2LP box set configuration.

Why These Albums Matter

The 1974 to 1985 window is the logical Rush era for this kind of treatment. It captures the band’s most dramatic transformation: the raw bar-band thunder of Rush, the arrival of Neil Peart on Fly By Night, the growing ambition of Caress of Steel, the breakthrough scale of 2112, the fantasy and architecture of A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres, the leaner precision of Permanent Waves, and the commercial and sonic peak of Moving Pictures.

Then things get more complicated, which is usually where Rush became more interesting. Signals, Grace Under Pressure, and Power Windows pushed the band deeper into synthesizers, sequencers, colder textures, and more layered production. Some listeners still want to pretend that was some kind of betrayal. They are wrong, but at least they are persistent.

For MoFi, those albums present different challenges. The earlier titles need weight, separation, and better organization without sanding off the urgency. The later albums need clarity and space without making the production sound sterile. Rush records are not supposed to sound polite. They need precision, but they also need velocity.

2026 Rush Audiophile Reissue Schedule

• Fly By Night (1975): 45RPM 2LP and Hybrid SACD, coming summer 2026
• A Farewell to Kings (1977): UltraDisc One-Step 2LP and Hybrid SACD, coming summer 2026
• Rush (1974): 45RPM 2LP and Hybrid SACD, coming fall 2026

2027 to 2028 Rush Audiophile Reissues

• Caress of Steel (1975): 45RPM 2LP and Hybrid SACD
• 2112 (1976): UltraDisc One-Step and Hybrid SACD
• Hemispheres (1978): UltraDisc One-Step and Hybrid SACD
• Permanent Waves (1980): UltraDisc One-Step and Hybrid SACD
• Moving Pictures (1981): UltraDisc One-Step and Hybrid SACD
• Signals (1982): UltraDisc One-Step and Hybrid SACD
• Grace Under Pressure (1984): 45RPM 2LP and Hybrid SACD
• Power Windows (1985): 45RPM 2LP and Hybrid SACD

The Bottom Line

The MoFi Rush series arrives at exactly the right moment. Rush are back on the road, the Fifty Something tour has reignited interest in the band’s catalog, and the presence of Anika Nilles has added a new chapter to a story many fans assumed had ended with Neil Peart’s final performance.

The audiophile angle also makes sense. Rush records are built on musicianship, density, movement, and tiny details that disappear quickly when the mastering gets too compressed, too bright, or too polite. If MoFi gets this right, the series could become one of the most important rock reissue campaigns of the next few years.

It will not be inexpensive. The SACDs are the most accessible path at $34.99 each, while the 45RPM 2LP sets are priced at $59.99 and the One-Step titles begin at $125. But this is Rush, not a forgotten soft-rock side quest from 1978. The audience is there, the tour has put the band back in the spotlight, and the catalog deserves serious treatment.

Just remember: all titles are getting Hybrid SACD editions, but not every album is getting the UltraDisc One-Step treatment. That difference matters. So does the DSD 256 step in the vinyl mastering chain. Rush fans notice details. Our review copies are expected shortly.

Where to pre-order: mofi.com

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