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

Great Thank You

I trust it works and will not blow the amp etc

 

Please allow me to bump my previous question, since it's now buried in the previous page with no replies: I don't have a double Y adapter (yet). For playing mono records I just set up my sound card for mono output and, if I want to record a needledrop, I create a mono file for recording. What practical difference(s) does this create when compared with the use of a double Y adapter?

 

Lazy man's question.

If I add a pair of Y splitters to my phono unit's out puts, with set of IC's going into one of my preamps inputs, and use the other leg of first set of Y splitters to hook up the "double Y splitter" to another of the preamps inputs, can I just use the input selector of the preamp to choose between stereo & mono without swapping cables?

My preamp does not have a proper tape monitor switch, so I am unable to do it that way.

 

I am going to start referring to two Y adapters plugged together as an X adapter.... Could probably re-sell these at audiophile prices.

In all seriousness though, I have thought about doing the mono loop through the tape monitor. Wondering if any downside to this? That is, does the signal path of the loop pass through any other signal amplification or processing of the receiver normally or could this in some way be harmful to the receiver?

 

Is it always safe to short the outputs of two preamp channels together with a Y cord? I suppose many will have build-out resistors, but some may not.

 

If you're inputting a stereo signal from your turntable into your sound card, and if you are summing the channels together to create a mono signal, that works fine too. However, if you are just isolating one of the two input channels to create a mono signal, the desired effect isn't achieved.

It's also a snap to just record an audio file in Audacity and mix the stereo signal down to mono. Takes about 5 seconds.

 

It's not absolutely necessary but I find that the results are somewhat better this way. It's not even possible depending on some setups (integrated pre-amp) so just do whatever you can.

For the record you can also easily sum your digital recording after needledropping.

 

In my little amateur experience I would have thought it would not matter, record in Stereo and when you have recorded the Mono vinyl split the file into two channels (Left and right) with a computer program like 'Audacity' and then choose the better sounding channel, delete the other and then just copy the best sounding channel and convert to Mono or keep it Stereo which will play Mono. When The Beatles Cd Singles were release on Cd it was detected that they used a 'Stereo' tape head in the mastering which caused a 'phasing' problem causing the left and right channels to be slightly different sounding, so to make the songs true Mono, the Stereo Left and Right channels were divided and the worst sounding channel was deleted and the best sounding channel copied over. Great things learnt here on SHTV

 

Thank you very much for your reply! That's what I wanted to know.

I'd like to hear your impressions after comparing these three files with the same excerpt from my original (1965) Colombian mono pressing of The Beatles' "Help!". The first file is the excerpt recorded in stereo (two-channel 96/24 wav file, Nagaoka MP-110 stereo cartridge). The second file is the same stereo recording, but this time mixed down to mono using Sony Sound Forge. And the third file is the excerpt recorded directly in a single channel 96/24 wav file. No Y-cables used. All recordings have one pass of declicking, but no denoising. They were also normalized to -0.3 dB. Headphones are recommended. Here are the links:

1. "Help!" excerpt from mono album recorded in stereo.

2. "Help!" excerpt from mono album recorded in stereo and mixed down to mono.

3. "Help!" excerpt from mono album recorded in mono (single channel file).

P.S.: Please bear with the overall sound quality. This is not the best pressing of the album in the world.

 

Sounds like a good solution for those with a stand-alone phono preamp that sends the signal to a receiver or integrated amp with an extra aux input available. Obviously won't work for those using a receiver or integrated amp with on-board phono preamp unless there is more than one phono input.

 

Thanks for the photos and tips. But I'm technologically stupid. Could someone please post the double Y in action?

 

I'm glad this thread was posted again. I read about this in the Beatle's Mono Box thread recently and I'm not 100% certain of my situaion. My integrated amp (Audio Research VSI60) has a mono button but phono preamp (Dynavector MKII) does not. Am I ok as long as the integrated amp has a mono designation? Please forgive me if this is a dumb question. My guess is that it's fine as long as it is on the amp but I hate to assume. Thanks.

 

I'm not the expert here, but from reading all the comments, and from what Steve has said, you are good to go. The Mono switch on your amp is all you need

 

Yes

 

Got it! Thanks!

 

Thanks for the response. I've used it in the past and most mono lps sound good. I apologize if it was a repetitive question.

 

Ok, Thanks, summing it after might be the better way for me to go then.

 

That is the question I have. Also, if using a splitter to go to another phono preamp input for mono, does that affect the level since the cartridge has a low level output to start with.

 

I always needledrop mono discs in stereo for the extra flexibility and process afterwards in a DAW, I find it generally allows for the best results

 

You would think so, but that hasn't been my experience. I spent three years researching with no luck. That's why this poor "working class" slob spent at least two of those years with his "double Y," and saved his pennies for the item I shared. It seems strange that there seems to be nothing between the $15 "double Y" solution and parasounds's $250 phono preamp. And, good luck finding anything again between $250 and $1000 with regard to a phono preamp with a mono button. I'm sure someone will chime-in with a couple of solutions, and I for one would be glad to know of them as I have been unsuccessful. Yes, I kow it is a simple switch and can be built easily and cheaply. I'm just surprised there are so few manufactured "black boxes" and built-in mono buttons on phono pre-amps.

 

Yeah, if you're doing needledrops on several mono and stereo records, it can be much easier to edit after the recording is made. Sometimes you'll also discover that one groove wall is a lot more damaged than the other groove wall. In those cases, you can select the best-sounding groove wall. It's not a summed mono signal at that point, but just a one channel mono signal...but sometimes it's the better option. Of course, the "good" groove wall is then split to occupy both channels. (You can also do this with a single Y-cable if you want to do it at the time of recording.)

One other point about "mono" buttons on amplifiers. While most of them will sum the two channels together, some of the mono buttons out there (particularly some on vintage amplifiers) may only just select one input channel and run it through both output channels. My Voice of Music 1428 integrated tube amplifier does that. So I opt for the Y-cable setup when playing mono records with that amp. (Someday I'll get in there with a solder gun and change it so it sums the channels together.)

 

Strictly speaking it's not "needed." You can play any mono microgoove record with your stereo cart as you've been doing, just like the ad copy on 60s US mono Capitol record covers said on the back.

You need some kind of channel summing, some kind of mono function to get the the most out of your mono records. That's what it's about.

 

WOW! If anyone has any doubts about the differences using the Double Y-cable for MONO playback of LP's this should end those doubts! Great post trashman!

 

Heck, I've got an early mono Brenda Lee LP that I can only play with my AT150MLX! Attempts to play it with either of my conical styli resulted in 4-5 skips on side one. The AT150MLX handled the task without breaking a sweat!