Dumb Question about Mono Vinyl Playback

It's scary how much presence a mono LP from the 50s can have when everything is wired up correctly.

 

Does anybody know where I can order one of these on the Net? There is no way I will ever get one in Spain.

Also does the reply above post No 24, aslo apply to MONO titles that have been remastered by the likes of Classic records etc.

 

Works like a champ if you don't have a mono switch! I did it for years, before I got a my McIntosh, which has a mono switch.

 

This is true. Although I have a "mono" knob on my integrated, for mono LP listening on headphones I break out the old double Y set-up.

 

As I've posted elsewhere - I have a few old mono records that give me either a lot of sibulance or a swishing sound if I collapse to mono. Not sure why that is...

 

I'm assuming you're talking about "mono cut" mono records, right?

 

Since these were cut in the 60s, I'm presuming they are "mono cut". My y/b mono Rubber Soul and my MGM mono of the first US Animals album are a couple examples off the top of my head. I haven't had too many cases of this but it's weird.

 

I've heard that about the MGM Animals LP's before. I don't know why that is. But all my "tube cut" and "mono cut" mono Beatle records sound exactly the same mono button on or not (other than the surface noise).

 

Hmm, strange anomalies. The ones that swish...I wonder if they're true mono. Maybe the full-track tapes were played back with a stereo head and then cut in stereo?

Alternatively, one could pick either the left or right channel and make it both. That works well sometimes, especially if one channel is noticeably better than the other. Not as much of a reduction in groove noise but at least everything is a nice, dead-center mono.

 

Would that have been common, that is for mono records to be stereo cut back in the mid-sixties?

 

PARDON my "d/a-ness", but is it safe to assume this double-Y goes between the t.table out and the phono stage in?

d

 

I have a friend who just restored a Harry Partch recording from 1957. It was a 1/4" mono recording but it had lots of dropouts. What he did with great sucess was to play it on a stereo machine and use only one channel at any time, but selectively switch channels to greatly lessen the effect of the dropouts. This worked because dropouts are not always across the full width of the tape. Quite often there is a dropout on one channel only.

 

Not only is it safe to assume, but it is correct.

 

It is amazing how often this topic comes up here. From what I have learned, there are two primary reasons for channel combination: 1) noise reduction and 2) summation of channels when listening to crappy duophonic-type recordings. There are basically three solutions: 1) Steve's double-Ycord solution (cheapest); 2) Depress the mono-button(s) on your pre-amp or Marantz-era receiver if you have one; 3) have your tech install a mono switch on your stand-alone phonostage (or do it yourself). I used option 3 and have not looked back. Much more convenient than switching cords. If you have invested in a nice vinyl system and have more than a few mono records, I'd highly recommend options 2 or 3.

 

Or do what I do; have a turntable with removable headshells and wire dedicated mono cartridges.

 

anybody use one of these? obviously more than the y cord solution, but looks like it might be worth it if you have a lot of mono vinyl.

http://www.kabusa.com/drxretro.htm

 

Another thing that could work which I've mentioned here is to take the left and right feeds of your tape outputs and hook them up to an inexpensive a/b switch. By engaging the switch you can easily mono the stereo feed coming out the tape monitor. As long as the monitor outputs are not buffered this should make your turntable feed mono as well. A possible advantage of this method is that you are not changing the capacitance of your phono leads. This may or may not matter depending on the type of cartridge. A high impedance cartridge will usually have more cable issues than will a low impedance type. The tape outputs are after the phono preamp so you are basically doing the summing there as opposed to the cartridge output.

In fact, all you have to do is take a single rca cable and plug it between the right and left outputs of the tape monitor to test this method. The switch box does the same thing but eliminates the need to get behind the equipment every time you go from mono to stereo.

 

I've been using the double-y for several months now, ever since reading about it here. It has literally opened up the world of mono for me, and since then I've picked up dozens of mono lps that I probably wouldn't have even considered a couple of years ago. They sound better than I could have imagined. Here's a very abbreviated list of my most recent mono favorites:

Pet Sounds DCC
Midnight Ride-Paul Revere/Raiders
Here Come the Tremeloes (UK edition)
Animals (UK Columbia editions)
Rolling Stones Big Hits/Between the Buttons/TSMR/Beggar's Banquet/Let It Bleed (UK red Decca)
John Mayall/Bluesbreakers Crusade/Looking Back/Blues from Laurel Canyon (UK red Decca)
Yardbirds (side one of Having a Rave-Up with The Yardbirds)
Byrds (their first five lps sound great in mono, especially Younger Than Yesterday)
Beatles (all the mono lp issues on Parlophone except 'A Collection of Oldies...' which has some hit or miss problems).
Beach Boys All Summer Long/Today/Summer Days
The Dakotas 'Meet the Dakotas' Parlophone ep
The Groop (debut and I'm Satisfied)
Easybeats Vol. 3
The Fourmost (First and Fourmost)
Them (Angry Young Them and Again)

I started some threads a year or two asking 'mono--what am I missing?' Some of the above are so clear and punchy in mono I can't believe it. Now I know what I was missing, and damn if I'm not disappointed now with a lot of stereo mixes (of classic 60s material). Not to say I've given up listening to stereo, certainly not, but there sure is a huge amount of first rate mono material out there to discover...and I probably would not have discovered that without this site. thanks!

Besides the surface noise improvements, the double-y really does something tangible to the soundstage as well, that I can't really articulate besides saying it's a great improvement. It's one of the few budget tweaks that really does an amazing world of good. Since I found out, I never listen to a mono record without summing the channels.

 

I totally agree with you dgsinner. I've been using the double Y for a few months now with mono vinyl playback and it works wonders. On my system I have a nice physical space where I can place speakers wherever I want to get optimal imaging (e.g. I'm not having to work around living room furniture decor). I find that with the Y, I get absolutely dead center mono imaging, better than without the Y and also a sense of greater depth than without it. Plus a great reduction in surface noise, and less sibilance on the high end as well. It's great.

 

Interesting, You would have to add in the cost of extra cables (TT into box - original cables, out of box to phono amp - new cables), but it looks very versatile. I use KAB's strobe for setting TT speed, works like a charm.

 

Thanks for the info Steve, maybe I have more to discover on the DCC Pet Sounds then?