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

Which cords did you order? Someone informed me that some of the RCA cords could potentially be transferring a stereo signal instead of mono, so be careful.

 

My phono stage in my system is hard to reach to have to switch out y connectors etc. But the two cables running from my preamp to the amp are accessible. Would it be possible to run the two output rca's into a y adaptor and back out into the input of the amp and accomplish the same thing?

 

No what I meant that swapping out a cart and realigning etc would be a nuisance and that having a mono headshell and cart and stylus set up would be less hassle.

 

This is very interesting. How the right set up via equipment and connections can bring out the best in mono.

Mono to me doesn't sound good for the Beatles 1987 With The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night, and Beatles For Sale via CD. Now I'm starting to think it was just the transfer to CD in 1987 and not having all the "parts" in the "right place"...so to speak.

I've got many Beatles cassettes on order waiting to be delivered. I'm very interested to hear how some of the earlier mono Beatles albums sound on a well recorded analog cassette tape, played on a fairly decent cassette deck.

I do like the mono Only A Northern Song a lot on the newest "Yellow Submarine" CD...so I know that mono, when done right...can sound very good and offer strengths that stereo can't. Even as I still love stereo.

I imagine analog mono probably is the best way to hear mono. This thread is helping my understanding of what's important in creating the right conditions for it.

 

Thanks for the input. I've always been under the impression that a mono cartridge will damage stereo LPs. In my system, I have four tonearms and can dedicate one to only mono so I don't play stereo LPs with the Dynavector. Even if it theoretically might not damage the disc I'm not taking any chances.

I'm a little confused as to what the implications of these mono reissues being cut on a stereo lathe are. At any rate, they should sound even better with the mono cartridge and also not be damaged by it if I understand what you're saying correctly?

 

So, if your pre amp and your amp have mono switches it doesnt matter if you dont have a mono cart?

 

Yes. That has been my experience using a couple of Lyra mono cartridges -- a Helikon mono and a Kleos mono. I have a fair number of 80s and 90s mono reissues and they all sound better with a mono cart -- better than with a stereo cart and mono button (which I have on my preamp).

 

Thanks for the info. It looks like this is what I will have to use between my Sony turntable and NAD PP-1 phono pre-amp.

 

Actually very few expensive phono stages have a mono switch. Icon Audio are one of the few exceptions. Can't think of solid state unit of the top of my head. CAB do a switching unit that doubles as a mono/stereo switch. Using y cables has practicality problems. If you use anything better than a usually poor sounding budget cable it can be expensive. I would suggest make one yourself from Klotz AC 110 type cable. I don't think there is a substitute equal to a mono cartridge with proper mono cut LP''s. There is a Mono AT33 cartridge that is cheaper than the new Ortofon (Beatles) cartridge.

 

Actually very few expensive phono stages have a mono switch. Icon Audio are one of the few exceptions. Can't think of solid state unit of the top of my head. CAB do a switching unit that doubles as a mono/stereo switch. Using y cables has practicality problems. If you use anything better than a usually poor sounding budget cable it can be expensive. I would suggest make one yourself from Klotz AC 110 type cable. I don't think there is a substitute equal to a mono cartridge with proper mono cut LP''s. There is a Mono AT33 cartridge that is cheaper than the new Ortofon (Beatles) cartridge.

 

Wow! What a difference. I just tried Steve's suggestion and now it's all snapped into place. Spun some mono Dylan - H61R - using the y set-up and I hadn't realised how far to the left the top end was 'drifting' beforehand. Now everything is dead centre. Thanks.

 

I give a lot of thought to the two extremes of reproduction these days, the best extraction of lossless sound files and mono sound from mono lps, and believe me, there is a lot to consider in terms of variables.

to this end, all my stereo is heavily modified except the lovely 1960's Kef Concertos, but even they are going to have their crossovers upgraded soon, or at least I will try the supposed upgrades and then of course let the ears decide. The least original part of the system is the turntable, which is a restored vintage idler with a replacement arm, in a homemade composite layer plinth. I have recently changed down from a more expensive straight arm with fixed shell to a Linn S shaped arm with removable shells, with a collection of ADC & Sumiko headshells all having different carts in, to enable switching between cartridges (until I have finished building my own 12" arm, nearly there). As I have a four figure amount of mono lps, I have a couple of mono cartridges, and have heard a few more. It is a very nice addition to the system, and does seem to tighten the soundstage focus of most 50's albums. The cut off point is not about the year of the album, but the model of lathe used in the transfer, as this determines groove size. Anyway, after all that rambling on for the sake of context, what I wanted to say was, the very modestly priced Ortofon OM d25 m dialled in at 3 grams is a fantastic performer on these pre 1966 mono lps. I sum the channels by using a single strand of copper wire tied between the pins to the rear of the cartridge (in fact it came with a body I have not tested yet to see if that is mono output, as it look identical to all the OM bodies). This allows me to use a modern style passive (homebuilt stereo) preamp after the valve phono stage, in to a good mosfet design power amp with the least interference in the signal path. When I have the longer arm in place I will try more of the variluctance mono designs, but in standard low mass arms the d25m is the mono cart for me.

For the suggestion earlier in the thread of summing with the double y at the tonearm cable point of the path, I would suggest the other option of after the phono stage as preferable, as the signal is tiny and more susceptible to degradation at all those joins if made at the earlier stage..

 

Dedicated mono table is really the way to do it right.

 

I have to do this for when my mono The Beatles box set arrives.
Thanks Steve
Cheers
b.

 

I use a mono switch and stereo carts, one with a .07 mil conical and another with a 1 mil conical. Older mono records in good condition sound better with the 1 mil stylus. But the 1 mil stylus is more sensitive to surface damage. For mono records that are less than perfect I go with the .07 mil conical. For needledrops I use the double Y connector from the tape out into the Behringer capture device.

I've never owned a strictly mono cartridge. I'm very happy with my set-up as is.

For modern mono reissues I just play them on my stereo table with my AT150MLX. They have .07 mil grooves as far as I know [like late monos from '67-'68]. I usually hit the mono switch here also but I don't think it really matters with modern, mono reissues. The ones that I have pretty much sound the same whether the switch is on mono or stereo.

There seems to be confusion about older mono records vs. modern mono reissues. I doubt that these Beatles LPs will have 1 mil grooves.

 

The required cables are $3.79 ea. at Guitar Center.

 

Big question though:

Are most modern mono reissues (or issues, like Sharon Jones' recent limited mono release) cut as mono LPs or two channel mono?

 

My first reaction was 'This is a joke, right?". But then I thought, "Hey, we're talking about the beatles", so most anything is possible. I assume that this cartridge would be useful for the Beatles Mono boxset only if they used a mono playback head for cutting the LPs or they made certain that the stereo playback head was properly aligned for cutting the LPs. Otherwise there could be playback issues, right?

 

Glad I finally took the plunge. Listening to a gray-label Capitol mono of Sinatra's "Come fly with me". Makes a huge difference!

 

It seems like we don't have a direct illustration of the Y-cable setup on this thread, so here is the setup:



This cable setup takes all of 10 seconds to install or remove. The difference in sound quality is instant, especially if you're enjoying vintage mono records that aren't in the greatest condition. Surface noise is cut in half. And even some of the peak distortion seems to be lessened a bit, if you have a worn record. As someone who plays a lot of 78s and vintage 45s, these cables are a necessity.

If you need to find a set of cables, just go to Amazon and do a search for "RCA Y cable." Many options will appear. Just make sure you buy one each of the two different end configurations as shown above.

Perhaps later I'll post some needledrop comparisons, showing a vintage mono record playback with (and without) the Y-cable.

 

Yeah, as Steve says, all modern mono records are designed to be played with a stereo needle/cartridge. Quite who introduced the idea that you need some special mono equipment I don't know, it's bizarre. I can understand why some of our younger readers may be confused.

 

Post that video comparison please. Not that I doubt it but right now I'm on a business trip and not home to cable this thing up on my rig.

 

The best result is to combine both channels of sound that your stereo cartridge produces, because the surface noise from each channel will be cut in half when the signals are combined. You're much better off using the Y-cable setup regardless of how many speakers you plan on playing the signal through.

If you only want to listen to the music with one speaker, then you could just buy the Y-cable on the left side of the illustration I posted and plug the single male end into one channel of your preamp or phono input on your receiver. But what would be the point? Why not listen with two speakers for more overall volume? And if you listen with headphones, you'll definitely want the signal converted back to two channels.

 

I just made an experiment with a double Y-cable and my beat-up 1st UK mono Rubber Soul. Wow, now it is very listenable! Thank you so much Steve for this! Been playing vinyl and mono records on a stereo cart for a long time but never figured this out before.