Guest yamaha_man Posted August 16, 2013 Posted August 16, 2013 Can someone please enlighten me as to the pros and cons. Why would a mono cart be needed? I have mono pressing that sound sublime to me on my system but I don't have a mono cart???? Please explain!
VanArn Posted August 16, 2013 Posted August 16, 2013 Normally,if you use a stereo cartridge with an elliptical or fine line tip shape,then playing early mono lp's is fine with the proviso that the best performance is obtained if your amplifier has a stereo/mono switch.The mono position cancels vertical modulation that produces unwanted noise.If a switch is not provided ( a commonly found condition with modern equipment)then a cartridge can be wired with the L&R channels in parallel to achieve the same function.
ophool Posted August 16, 2013 Posted August 16, 2013 I have an increasing collection of older records and some newer mono "microgroove" ones, some of the newer ones sound fine played with a stereo cartridge. Others are barely listenable when played with a stereo cartridge. My first experiment with a mono cartridge (AT Mono3 LP) was a revelation, the rather scrappy playback of the older recordings was transformed, way beyond the modest effect of using the mono switch on my phono stage. Even the quite acceptable ones received a lift to my hearing as did my old 7" 45s. My understanding is that while stereo recordings use both lateral and vertical modulation mono uses only lateral modulation. A stereo cartridge has the coils/poles arranged in a 45/45 arrangement (degrees to vertical) to translate movement in both directions into signal, a "true" mono cartridge has them arranged in a 90/0 arrangement and generates no signal from vertical movement. Within this general classification, some "true" mono cartridges have vertical compliance and are OK to use on stereo records, some have NO vertical compliance and will ruin a stereo recording. Examples are the Ortofon SPU mono (Stereo Pick Up) which has vertical compliance as compared to the Ortofon Mono CG which does not (AFAIK) - both cartridges are the traditional looking Ortofon big lump. There are ways of trick wiring cartridges I believe to achieve similar results, but my experiment above left me happy with the idea of using a "true" mono cartridge and removeable headshells. Next step down the slippery slope is a phono stage with variable EQ for older recordings Hope this covers some of it, only what I have gleaned and tried, quite happy to be corrected as necessary.
djb Posted August 17, 2013 Posted August 17, 2013 (edited) Yamaha man Good question I've never seen the point either although I did hear a very good mono cart at Jan's 6 months back He's out your way .... Well half way! I have taken the easy way out I refuse to let myself buy mono recordings! Am I really missing ou on much? Is mono about highly specific recordings by specific, long dead, artists? Out of fashion genres? banjo bands and steam hardy gurdies? Long dead pipe organs! Not taking the p***. Educate me still further Two excellent explanations pitched where I can understand them, thank you both Edited August 17, 2013 by djb
Kensell21 Posted August 20, 2013 Posted August 20, 2013 My increasing collection of mono recordings, both new and older pressings made the purchase of a mono cart a no brainer.. With a removable headshell, Jelco 12" arm on my Garrard 401, my Benz Micro SL Ace mono has been a revelation. Everything from the recent Bob Dylan mono box set to Original UK pressings of The Beatles to a US 6 Eye Columbia copy of Dave Brubeck's Time Out.. Sound improvements, let alone the vast reduction of surface noise on older pressings...
sean Posted August 20, 2013 Posted August 20, 2013 Great question Joe. I was thinking this when I was browsing an online record store and came across some mono pressings. Thanks also to those that responded. Just on a side note.....I noticed the reference to 'PIMP' in your avatar. So can I start calling you Huggy Bear now? (remember the old 70's tv show called Starsky and Hutch)
frankn Posted August 20, 2013 Posted August 20, 2013 Slightly off topic, but in a similar vein. I recently purchased a copy of Art Pepper meets the Rhythm Section - I plonked it on the TT and sat there looking/listening to my speakers thinking somethings not right?? One instrument on one channel, all others on the opposite?? Checked my cabling etc.... Finally, flipped the Stereo to Mono - and snap - all in the centre.... Checked out Google and found this: Vinyl collector stuff: pressing, run-out and label detail A very sought-after record in its original form, both the UK Contemporary-Vogue and US Contemporary Records pressings for 1957 are rare and competition for them is fierce. It should not go unnoticed that the market is also bursting with anonymous digital to vinyl clones with convincing card covers to catch the unwary. Check that run-out for tell-tale hand-inscribed matrix numbers and the clone-makers job-codes! S7532 is, according to Goldmine, the second stereo US press, from 1959, a year after the first Stereo by Stereo Records S7018. The run-out carries the matrix code machine stamp of an original – LKS 35/36 – pressed with original stampers. It carries the direct lineage sound from the original tapes, though there are issues with the stereo which may explain why the mono is so sought after.(The mono in excellent condition sells for over £100 !) The problem is a familiar one to collectors, from a time when stereo was still in its infancy. In this pressing Pepper is exclusively on the far left – in one channel only, and the right channel contains all the other instruments – piano, bass and drums. The result is one lonely tenor player on his own, a hole in the middle, and a bunch of other musicians jammed on top of each other in the right speaker. May be this was what was intended to “showcase†stereo on none too hot equipment. Mono circumvents the problem, but first you have to get one.
Kensell21 Posted August 20, 2013 Posted August 20, 2013 Slightly off topic, but in a similar vein. I recently purchased a copy of Art Pepper meets the Rhythm Section - I plonked it on the TT and sat there looking/listening to my speakers thinking somethings not right?? One instrument on one channel, all others on the opposite?? Checked my cabling etc.... Finally, flipped the Stereo to Mono - and snap - all in the centre.... Checked out Google and found this: Vinyl collector stuff: pressing, run-out and label detail A very sought-after record in its original form, both the UK Contemporary-Vogue and US Contemporary Records pressings for 1957 are rare and competition for them is fierce. It should not go unnoticed that the market is also bursting with anonymous digital to vinyl clones with convincing card covers to catch the unwary. Check that run-out for tell-tale hand-inscribed matrix numbers and the clone-makers job-codes! S7532 is, according to Goldmine, the second stereo US press, from 1959, a year after the first Stereo by Stereo Records S7018. The run-out carries the matrix code machine stamp of an original – LKS 35/36 – pressed with original stampers. It carries the direct lineage sound from the original tapes, though there are issues with the stereo which may explain why the mono is so sought after.(The mono in excellent condition sells for over £100 !) The problem is a familiar one to collectors, from a time when stereo was still in its infancy. In this pressing Pepper is exclusively on the far left – in one channel only, and the right channel contains all the other instruments – piano, bass and drums. The result is one lonely tenor player on his own, a hole in the middle, and a bunch of other musicians jammed on top of each other in the right speaker. May be this was what was intended to “showcase†stereo on none too hot equipment. Mono circumvents the problem, but first you have to get one. Same as some of the early Beatles stereo LP's, voices on one side and instruments on the other...
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