SH Spotlight If you have a turntable you need to play your mono records in true MONO. How to do it cheaply..

I have mono reissues from the 80s and 90s that sound better with a mono cart. Trying to think if I've got something later than that...but that's "modern" for all intents and purposes. In fact, I think anything after about 1967 is 'modern' mono.

I have a ca. 1972 RCA mono comp of Mikey and Sylvia's classic 50s tracks. Sounds better with a mono cart.

They just do in my experience.

I know there are quite a few people here that will have had the same experience as I have.

 

Don't worry about it at all. A true mono cart is uncommon these days and quite expensive. Stereo carts wired for mono are available but likewise are probably more than most would want to pay.

The Y cable is a good work around - read Steves thread and you'll get all the info.

But really, dont bother - modern mono records are not cut the same way as 60's mono's and the groove is the same as a stereo groove - just has identical information on both sides and being all nice a new there wont be (hopefully) any noise floor to reduce (which summing the channels goes along way achieve).

 

Just curious (and also ignorant!). Couldn't this be due to the intrinsic quality of the cartridge itself? In other words, would this same mono cartridge somehow wired for stereo give likewise an improvement over your regular stereo cart?

 

I really appreciate the Mono button on my ARC VSi60 integrated tube amp. It sure looks like I'll be playing more mono vinyl in the near future! Can't wait!

 

This from the thread - the bolded section is possible with most amps - AV or otherwise.

Nesboy43 - I think your Denon has tape in/outs? Use the connectors in the way Adam9 has described and viola you have a mono switch.

 

No. You couldn't just re-wire the mono cart for stereo and have it be the equivalent of the stereo cart, as its an altogether different design.

See here:

http://www.lyraconnoisseur.com/Products/Products_Analog/kleos/kleos_mono.html

On mono records, the vertical axis of the groove contains no musical information, but it will frequently have noise, in the form of groove damage and dirt. The Kleos Mono has therefore been designed to be completely insensitive to the vertical axis, which greatly improves the signal/noise ratio without any downside on monaural records.

The coil former is a square permeable plate oriented parallel to the record surface rather than the 45-degree angle used for most stereo cartridges, while the coils are wound so that they only generate a signal when there is horizontal movement of the stylus and cantilever when tracking a record.

 

Is Adam9 saying it's possible to split the double Y set up so that it feeds into, for example, the phono inputs on the back of the amp and another set of inputs (Tape in his case) therefore allowing you to switch between mono and stereo via the tape switch on the front of the amp? I can't see how it's possible to set the double Y cabling up so that it feeds into two sets of inputs on an amp. Maybe I'm misunderstanding his post?

 

The phono inputs are not used at all, just the tape monitor.

 

I have a decent system, so I don't really object to investing in a nice mono cart (such as an Ortofon SPU) but I don't have many pre-1967 mono albums. As you're saying maybe the gains are negligible, in which case I wouldn't bother.

Also I don't have a mono button, and I'm opposed to the Y cable thing.

 

The tape in/outs on old amps are a loop - the Y cabling is the "tape player". In the old days when you made a tape (rather than play it) of a record with the cassette player/recorder in your set up it was possible to hear the record or hear what had just been taped with the monitor switch/button turned on.

If you have tape ins and outs you can do Adam9's set up - works perfectly - I have it set up that way myself on my 5.1 amp.

But you must have in and out so the loop aspect works. The loop in this case is a mono signal pathway. So what your hearing with the tape monitor switch on is the mono signal produced with the Y cables.

 

I thought that a true mono cartridge (like they used in the '50s and '60s) had almost no vertical compliance and will tear up a stereo cut record. I don't know if any current mono cartridges have mono style suspensions in them, however.

 

This looks great but sadly wiring and soldering is not my forte! Probably a dumb question but are mono switch boxes for turntables available commercially and, if so, can anyone recommend a good/cheap one? I've tried googling it but there's nothing obvious turning up.

 

Certainly looks pricey! Thanks for the info.

 

Yes, I just bought one: KAB Remote Analog Switch. It's actually a configurable isolated, grounded A/B switch, so you can use it for other stuff too. They also have slightly cheaper version that is only mono/stereo. The great selling points for me are the wired remote that I can set next to the TT and the super isolation/grounding preventing any ground-loop hum.

 

Easy E - thanks for the info.

Ok so I have an Arcam amp and I see it has Tape in and out connectors on the back like so:



So pardon my ignorance, but if I take the Y cabling set up that naru1980 suggested earlier:

Am I plugging that into the Tape In or Out input? Or does it need to be plugged into both somehow? How is the 'loop' created?

Many thanks!

 

I once made a mono switch box, and found that it negatively affected the sound when in stereo mode, since it added another junction to the signal. It's far better to just add a mono/stereo switch to your preamp, which is fairly easy to do.

 

Yeah theres a bit missing in all that - you'll need 2 sets of RCA leads - see how those little widget things have 2 female RCA connectors and either another female or a male end? A standard RCA cable goes into the 2 female plugs - stick 1 set into the widget and the other end of your cable into 'in' and the same with another set. Connect the male and female ends of the widgets together and your done.

Just make sure that the widgets are mono connectors - there are stereo ones as well.

 

In case you're wondering where to get something like those widgets

http://www.monoprice.com/Category?c_id=104&cp_id=10429&cs_id=1042902

has them - items # 7197 and 7188

 

I've spent quite a few years putting together a system I feel is balanced and musical. Putting that Y cable into the signal chain doesn't strike me as a good idea. By all means I accept the possibility that my thinking here is flawed, and I'd be willing to try it, I can always take it out.

And I have about 100 mono LP's, most of which are post 1967.

 

You are right - if you have a good set up then you'd want to be using quality cabling and connectors and in all likelihood if your system is revealing you may lose some fidelity - but some if not all of those 60's monos are going to be a bit "used" and the summing certainly takes care of a lot of the noise floor associated with "use".

 

One thing to be aware of is that the active outputs of some amps' Tape Monitor loops may be adversely affected by passive "summing", resulting in distortion and possible damage to the circuit. That was the case for my current receiver, and why I use a low distortion summing amp in the Tape Loop chain: http://www.rdlnet.com/product.php?page=82



I even taught my remote to take care of it.

 

great idea if one knows how to do that sort of thing.

 

Summing the STEREO signal to MONO is easy. From STEREO cartridge outputs to RCA pair summed in single line between Y adapters ===>---<=== summed MONO signal divided to RCA pair for input to phonostage. You will need two Y adapters and signal path should look like illustrated.