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

Something about your explanation is making me think of the mono mix of The Beach Boys Drive-In. In this case it was misaligned tape heads? I seem to remember something like that. Resulted in a lost top end phasey mud fest that even me and my friends at age 10 noticed.

Not exactly analogous, but related to messed up mono generally.

 

The "direct" button would just bypass the tone controls. Don't you have an instruction manual?
"B" speaker is a switch to a second set of speakers. There is no mono button.

Edited by moderator for clarity.

 

I wish I had, I got it half price ex-display missing the remote control as well

 

Go online. I'm sure a company like Cambridge has that stuff on their website.

 

Good idea, will try that, I wonder if you can buy a little box thing to put between the cables with a button to make mono when needed, there must be something like that on the market ??

 

KAB used to make a passive switch like that. Went in the tape loop. It was discontinued, but they now have a snazzier version that has a couple more functions.

 

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/dumb-question-about-mono-vinyl-playback.49659/

Lots of threads on this forum, try searching. This is one has a lot of good info.

 

KAB Remote Analog Switch

They still have the dedicated mono/stereo switch listed too, so I think it may be available.

 

A video tutorial would help Steve..

 

Lovely Fisher console.I have a '59 RCA,a '62 Zenith,and a '61 Magnavox,I am still looking for someone to work on.I know nothing from the working end of a soldering iron.

I keep saying that if you're going to listen to vinyl,a late 50s or early 60s tube amp is the way to go.A Marantz 7 or a pair of 9's at $7K to $15K is something I'll never see,but I am more than happy with the HH Scott and Fisher amps I lucked out on a few years ago at Goodwill after years of searching.So many settings on these things.78,mono LP,stereo LP,tape,two RIAA settings on the Fisher.What more do you need? No wonder the prices on these things continue to climb.

 

In my opinion you don't really need the mono button at all. I have a dedicated mono cartridge and have also played my mono LPs with a stereo cartridge. To be honest, the stereo cartridge sounds fine. One thing you may get using a stereo rig on mono LPs is a little more noise. Correct me if I'm wrong but my understanding is that a mono cartridge only reads horizontal oscillations and has no vertical motion. A stereo cartridge also reads oscillations in the vertical plane. Since a mono record has no musical information in the vertical plane, anything a stereo cartridge picks up in the vertical plane on a mono disc will just be extraneous noise.

So, a stereo cartridge will work fine on a mono disc even without a mono button on a new clean disc. A dedicated mono cartridge will damage a stereo LP though because it has no flexibility in the vertical plane and will eat away at those oscillations in the stereo groove. I listen with both. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to change out to a mono cartridge for one or two records ( the RSD Randy Newman debut comes to mind) and I'm just fine. I have pre-ordered the mono Beatles box (against my better judgement) and I think a box of this scope will inspire me to hitch up the XV-s 1 mono cartridge.

 

Would you please elaborate?

 

Very helpful. Thanks!

Jeff

 

Or an expensive turntable that can accomodate two tone arms

 

I happen to have two Y connectors. I imagine a male-to-male between them would work?

 

True, but I've found that using a mono cart will still improve the sound of a new mono record IMO.

Me, too.

Ditto.

Didn't you just get through saying you're going to damage your stereo records with a mono cart? These mono reissues will have been cut on a stereo lathe. Do you really think something like your Dynavector is going to chew up whatever vertical ridges there are in there? I don't.

Sure, if you have some kind of boat anchor 50s or early 60s mono cart, best change it out or only play your backyard frisbee vinyl with it.

If you have any audiophile grade, lightweight mono cart, I'd guess from the late 70s onward, I think you'll be fine.

 

I wonder if this is how.....


And here's the female ends of the Y.



I happened to have a bunch of these lying around.
Actually this is the other way round...that center piece is F/F

 

Great topic !!! i have an old Scott receiver that has a mono button , but i need to do this for my newer Marantz for mono spinning .

 

The female bottom of one Y would connect to the female bottom of the other Y with a male-to-male cable that has 1/4" plugs. Would that do the trick?

 

I bought one of these:

http://www.audioadvisor.com/Parasou...-with-USB/productinfo/PAZPHOUSB/#.U6Eakdq9KSN

It has a mono button, and adds a usb output for converting to digital files. It even has extra inputs to digitize other sources. I think it maxes out at 16/44 but that's fine for me for now. They've been blowing them out for $250 ($100 off!) for the last year. I think it's being discontinued. Short of making your own switch, I haven't found a cheaper way to get a mono button. Of course the Y cords work fine, and I did it for a couple years. But, I tired of reaching back and connecting/disconnecting (too many opportunities for me to break, pull, or otherwise cause problems).

 

I'm all set now. Double Y cord setup is on route from Amazon. Thanks for the consultation!

 

One of the things I like the most from my sound card drivers ( http://www.kxproject.com/ ) is their immense versatility, not to mention how good they sound. Not so long ago I found out how to set up a mono output signal path in my system, and I truly noticed the difference. My mono "Pet Sounds" and "Are You Experienced" started sounding like never before. Although I'm definitely a (realistic) stereo mix advocate, a great mono mix is a terrific listening experience when compared to an extremely panned stereo recording.

 

Wouldn't be silly at all. My friend had two tables, a Linn with a mono cart and an SME for stereo. It was awesome. Way too rich for my blood but absolutely fantastic.