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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, May 14, 2006.

  1. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    It can also reduce distortion.
     
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  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Yes, on a badly cut record, a worn record or using an inferior needle. I couldn't play 1/2 of the 78's I have otherwise.
     
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  3. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    It definitely helps on a noisy record - I’ve got some old Stones mono pressings that are a bit worn and summing the channels cuts the noise a lot. On my Beatles monos from 2014 it makes zero audible difference.
     
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  4. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    Try Nowhere Man or If I Needed Someone.
     
  5. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    I don’t notice a difference. The record plays just fine as is, no noticeable sibilance on those songs played in stereo on either of my TT’s.
     
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  6. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Hilarious. I’m listening to RS right now, and I turned to the missus and told her that the grainy vocal sound in Girl is gone! It’s very noticeable!
     
  7. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    ..apparently a lot of different viewpoints here. Oh well. All good.
     
  8. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    A lot of people don’t notice distortion.
     
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  9. Nanotear

    Nanotear Drummer, Writer, FM radio DJ, cookie baker, etc

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    The whole reason I invested in a mono cartridge was because my Beatles box sounded grainy, distorted, and sibilant.
     
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  10. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    And did it help?
     
  11. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Pet Sounds from the So Tough two-fer is very smooth. There’s a difference, all right.
     
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  12. Mono for receiver, too
     
  13. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    The reduction in surface noise by summing still exists with new records.

    While the introduction of other issues is possible in theory, I rarely, if ever, find it to be true.
     
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  14. RobNeil

    RobNeil Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midlands, UK
    I just got rid of my UK Pet Sounds lp. Its horrible sounding and is available for a nominal fee to all.....
     
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  15. 99thfloor

    99thfloor Senior Member

    Location:
    Sweden
    Yes, but the difference in surface noise between a brand new record and a 50s/60s pressings that's been on the floor during plenty parties and you find in the dollar bin could be substantial, I would think there would be more point in appliying the technique to the latter, was my point.

    Well, aren't there quite a few mono records where there is something wrong? For example the tape has been transferred using both channels of a stereo head that is misaligned. That was the type of thing I was referring to.

    Yes, the difference always exists, but it will be less on a flawless record than on a junk record, no?
     
  16. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Not really. The difference is more or less the same. It’s just with a really noisy record the result is “slightly less noisy than really noisy” while with a fairly quiet record the result is “slightly less noisy than fairly quiet”.
     
  17. qwerty

    qwerty A resident of the SH_Forums.

    As far as I understand, the cartridge is doing the mono duties, so the amp's mono won't do anything more.
     
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  18. Joel S

    Joel S Forum Resident

    I'm trying to listen in mono using a stereo cartridge and just one cable between my integrated amp's RECORD IN/OUT jacks.

    To this end, if I plug a single male rca to two male rca cable like this one (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZEK3QE/ref=twister_B00KMC8GGG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) and connect the single male end to ONE channel of my integrated's RECORD OUT jacks and the two male end to BOTH channels of the RECORD IN jacks , will I hear mono in reduced noise? Or do I need to use two y-cables? Thank you.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2021
  19. The sibilance is all over on those cuts and really the whole Beatles box. I’ve heard it on probably close to a dozen setups (mostly at a hifi shop), from a $200 MM cart with ML stylus to a $10k Strain Gauge cartridge that was mounted on a $25k table. It’s there on every single setup and on multiple copies of the same record.
     
  20. eyeCalypso

    eyeCalypso Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado, USA
    I think you need two Y cables. The point is to take L and R signals and combine them so the pops and crackles unique to the individual channels are minimized in relation to the mono signal. You aren't getting the mono mixdown if you only start with one stereo channel.
     
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  21. Joel S

    Joel S Forum Resident

    I didn't think so, but I wanted to make sure. Thanks.
     
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  22. RPM

    RPM Forum Resident

    Location:
    Easter Island
    If you do the opposite you can get mono sum on one speaker: from rec out to one of the rec in. The other speaker won't give sound.
     
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  23. john morris

    john morris Everybody's Favorite Quadron

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    No argument there.......
     
  24. Steven Bowers

    Steven Bowers New Member

    Location:
    Saint Louis, MO
    I am new here. I have been reading the posts in this forum and I just want to understand. With the double Y setup, I would have to unplug it to listen to a stereo album? Correct? I gather from reading all the posts that is what I have to do, but this is the first time I have actually thought about mono vs stereo. I have a number of old mono albums. Thanks.
     
  25. qwerty

    qwerty A resident of the SH_Forums.

    Yes, you have a correct understanding. You would plug your double-y into your hifi which combines the l+r channel creating mono playback when listening to a mono album. When you listen to a stereo album, removing the double-y will revert your hifi to be stereo.

    If you leave the double-y to playback a stereo album, the l+r channels will be combined. However, it won't be a true mono mix, because anything that was mixed to be in the centre of the stereo soundstage (ie, equally loud in the left and right channels), will be emphasized by several db when the channels are combined. This is what is known as a "fold-down" mono mix. A true mono recording is mixed separately to a stereo mix so the instrument/vocals have an appropriate balance. Towards the end of the mono era, there were a lot of albums (and especially singles for radio play) released that were fold-down mixes.
     

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