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

It has been raised several times. The rane.com article is a valid one but there are many users of the 'SH double Y cable trick' around here and I don't think any of them have reported 'severe signal loss' (or worse)...

In my opinion, for what it's worth, the article is talking about tying two pairs of amplifier outputs together. The SH method involves placing the Y cable between the turntable and the phono input of the amplifier (or seperate phono stage if you have one). Therefore the adaptor cable is slotting between source and amplifier input - it isn't going anywhere near an amplifier output (or else it is between the phono stage output and the main amplifier input. Again, it isn't tying two outputs together).

And also, the rane.com article is referring to combining signals into loudspeaker crossovers and we are not doing this. Not at all...

 

Good! Thanks Steve

 

Thanks for the insight.

 

yeah fair point. I bought a pair of Y cables just for these new Beatles mono LPs and the improvement in sound quality is so slight as to likely be immaterial to most people's enjoyment of the albums. if you're someone with a ton of old mono records, then by all means, do whatever you have to. but for those like me who are looking to primarily enjoy these new Beatles records, you're going to be able to enjoy more than enough as is.

 

maybe post something at the start of this thread to disclaim any need for the cables with the new Beatles mono pressings, which I'm sure is why the vast majority of people here would currently be browsing this thread.

 

I never understood why many manufacturers eliminated the mono switch from many consumer intergrated amplifiers and receivers. It seems to me that this occurred during the mid-late 1980's. I have always used it for noise reduction, or a stereo-mix that was so bad I could not tolerate it.

 

we can keep talking in riddles or I can state what I already did: that the "double Y" made a nearly inaudible difference in playback of the new Beatles LPs for me.

 

Didn't realize that was under debate, but fwiw, there's basically zero "stereo noise" for me when playing back these new Beatles LPs. as you said, maybe it's different for other people and the cables will be of more value to them.

 

I forgot to thank Steve, who started the post. My listening experience has been improved. Thanks, Steve.

 

I got my y cords a few days after I got the Beatles Mono Box Set. The difference in noise and the improvement in sound was significant. Thanks to Steve and this forum, my box set went from really good to great.

 

I'm with you on this!

 

I'll use my very first post on this site to thank everyone as well. The double Y (or magic X) has revealed that my noisy, distorted UK "Hard Day's Night" is a gorgeous record that boogies. And my U.S. Mono "My Generation," which was never crackly, but still a bit "off" and distorted is now a super star. I'm so excited! This has changed my life by opening up a whole new slab of record-buying potential. Tonight will be spent listening to all of those mono records I bought because I "couldn't find a stereo version." Ha! Those days are over! Mono here I come!

 

Me too, but a lot of people are getting into a right old flap about this and the fact is that these new Beatles mono releases sound great whether or not one is listening to them in true mono. Yes, they sound better in true mono but is it a night and day difference? No.

It is, however, certainly worth the very modest investment to find out for yourself.

 

If that had been the case I, and I suspect quite a few others here, would've never experienced what true mono would've sounded like. I do not have a mono button or a mono cartridge and it wasn't until I tried the simple Y trick that I realised I hadn't been listening to real mono at all. And I'm not talking about vintage records; I'm referring to recent reissues such as Beatles, Dylan and VU. If there was such a disclaimer I would've thought I didn't need a Y adapter to get the most from some very expensive records, when I definitely did. Any audible noise is the least of it in my experience. Thank you, Steve.

 

Awesome. Thanks for the feedback much appreciated

 

These are my sentiments exactly! $12 well spent which opened up a whole new world and experience since the 1950's and early 60's. My said, "Why do you want to go backwards?" My answer was that in many respects I'm going forward by listening to lp's the way they were recorded. I've spent way over $12 every so often with the "promise" of "improved" sound, and this one really works.

 

If anyone is concerned about putting cheapo cables in the pathway of their nice expensive bits of wire, QED make a nice y subwoofer splitter cable which can be hooked up using one of those little gold - plated splitter thingies (there was a picture of one posted a few pages back) to perform the same function as the double -y adapter. I bought one originally for my sub with two inputs but it made no audible difference to me. So I've now given it a new job to do. Works a treat. If you don't have many mono records you may not think it worth the cost and I wouldn't have bought it myself to play my small number of mono records but at least it's now earning its keep and I don't have to worry about cheap nasty cables coming between my quality ones.

 

I've become quite adept at whipping the Y-cable into and out of the chain between my phono preamp and amplifier, and I'm massively enjoying listening to tons of old stuff that sounds significantly improved via much lower noise and some ineffable tightening and focussing of the musical presence and punch.

In particular, many 1950's and early 60's classical and opera LPs have received a very sweet sonic upgrade. I was listening to the 1955 Maria Callas Aida on Angel mono earlier today and it just sounded great. Likewise a far from mint Glenn Gould Goldberg Variations LP. The mono pop stuff (Ode to Billie Joe, Troggs, the first Mamas and the Papas album, etc.) produces a much bigger bang as well thanks to the cable thang.

I must admit that I've been playing some of the new Beatles mono without paying much attention to whether the cable is in or not, and massively enjoying it both ways.

 

Steve for those feeling compentent it can be done simply in the pre amp replace input RCA block with thru connectors add a SPDT micro switch to front panel run shielded leads from left side "white" to one side of switch back to board, ground shield on shell of connector only, run another shielded lead from right side "red" to other side of switch and other lead to center of switch ground shield same as left in stereo it connects red to red in mono it connects red to white. Use two wire shielded conductors, "IGN pick up wire is good"
Small simple shelf contained just flip switch no extra cables shielded from IMF etc.
Can do on input or on output to condition signal thru RIAA if it doesn't matter on mono?

Jim

 

I have worked in the electronics field for the past 19 years and these instructions confuse me.

 

Look at the post on the first page from Graham for his switch box instead of two sets of connectors sub out set for the PC board. Switch is inbetween RCA connectors and PC board.

 

I can't believe this thread is 33 pages