phono cartridge for mono and stereo

[jazzhound]

need a new cartridge for my Music Hall MMF-7 , play mostly mono but what a stereo cart. anyone know a high output one that plays mono great too?

[Teasing the Korean]

Do you have a mono switch on your amp? That's a big help for playing mono LPs.

There are different eras of mono LPs. By a certain point - I want to say early 60s - the grooves of mono LPs were cut the same way as the stereo grooves, so the cartridge should not be an issue. The cartridge/stylus is more of an issue with earlier mono LPs.

[porcy62]

I agree with TTK.

A true mono cartdrige would be the best, but would imprison you in the 1950-1965 spatiotemporal continuum, so unless you got a working time machine, go back and buy at 2,99 all those records, I'd buy a good stereo cart. I don't think there is a true difference, any good stereo cartridge should track your monos as well as your stereos.

Anyway I never heard of a particular stereo cartridge that works better then another one on playing mono records.

[Teasing the Korean]

Agree Porcy.

Mono playback is essential though. If you don't have mono switch on your amp. you place a Y-adapter patchcord someplace in the chain to sum to mono. $5 at Radio Shack - will make a big difference in the sound of mono LPs.

[jazzhound]

Agree Porcy.

Mono playback is essential though. If you don't have mono switch on your amp. you place a Y-adapter patchcord someplace in the chain to sum to mono. $5 at Radio Shack - will make a big difference in the sound of mono LPs.

yes I have a mono switch. ply mostly 50's-60's lps. I thought i read some types sit better in groove having to do with shape of tip. if i find out more will post.

[Clunky]

The difference I'd guess lies more in the stylus rather whether the cartridge body is mono or stereo.

My Ortofon OM5e (MM) tracks mono LPs better than my more expensive Denon 103R (MC). Both are stereo carts but mono playback achieved by pressing the amplifier mono button

[porcy62]

The difference I'd guess lies more in the stylus rather whether the cartridge body is mono or stereo.

My Ortofon OM5e (MM) tracks mono LPs better than my more expensive Denon 103R (MC). Both are stereo carts but mono playback achieved by pressing the amplifier mono button

A true mono cartridge should only transduces the lateral movement of the grooves, so the body is as important as the stylus, since the suspension of the cantilever should be optimized for a single movement, lateral, rather then the vertical one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound#Vinyl_records

Edited August 29, 2010 by porcy62

[mikeweil]

I am lucky to have two headshells for my Thorens turntable, so I invested in a separate mono cartridge, and the sound is much better when I play back an original mono pressing with the mono cartridge. So when your turntable allows switching tomearm heads that easily, go for it. The difference really is the cut of the grooves and the way the stylus tracks them.

Edited August 29, 2010 by mikeweil

[porcy62]

I am lucky to have two headshells for my Thorens turntable, so I invested in a separate mono cartridge, and the sound is much better when I play back an original mono pressing with the mono cartridge. So when your turntable allows switching tomearm heads that easily, go for it. The difference really is the cut of the grooves and the way the stylus tracks them.

Agree, I have a turntable with two tonearms and two cartriges, mono and stereo. And the mono cart is really great in tracking the mono records, it's such great in cancelling the noise and pops and clicks, that I saved a lot of money buying mono records graded far less then NM, go figure.

Edited August 30, 2010 by porcy62

[Chas]

Do you have a mono switch on your amp? That's a big help for playing mono LPs.

And the mono cart is really great in tracking the mono records, it's such great in cancelling the noise and pops and clicks...

Yes, with no L-R difference signal (which is pure noise in a mono groove), the signal-to-noise ratio is improved, but in situations where one groove wall is more damaged than the other, the L+R signal will contain more noise than the quieter wall by itself. In cases such as this, a stereo cartridge will give better restoration, if not playback, results, since with two channels outputed, you can choose the quieter of the two when making a transfer. A preamp with left-mono, right-mono and full mono functionality can be useful in this connection, though the selection can be done in software after digitization.

yes I have a mono switch. play mostly 50's-60's lps. I thought i read some types sit better in groove having to do with shape of tip.

For mono records cut on mono lathes, stereo styli sit lower in the groove and thus closer to the noisiest part of the groove (even more so if the grooves have been worn), so a truncated tip may be useful.

[jeffcrom]

 I am lucky to have two headshells for my Thorens turntable, so I invested in a separate mono cartridge, and the sound is much better when I play back an original mono pressing with the mono cartridge. So when your turntable allows switching tomearm heads that easily, go for it. The difference really is the cut of the grooves and the way the stylus tracks them.  

Agree, I have a turntable with two tonearms and two cartriges, mono and stereo. And the mono cart is really great in tracking the mono records, it's such great in cancelling the noise and pops and clicks, that I saved a lot of money buying mono records graded far less then NM, go figure.

I recently bought an Ortofon cartridge for my stereo, only to find that it wouldn't fit my headshell - it's kind of oddly shaped. So I bought an Ortofon headshell, and I'm going to get a mono cartridge for my old headshell. I'm looking forward to it.

[mikeweil]

How are the results?

[jeffcrom]

How are the results?

It's made a big difference. The mono sound seems more focused to me, but the biggest improvement in using the mono cartridge comes with playing records that are in less than pristine condition - which means many of my old mono records. The surface noise and pops no longer come at me from two stereo channels; they're folded into the overall sound much less obtrusively. And of course, those few "fake stereo" records I have are now listenable.

I have noticed that my mono cartridge doesn't have as much gain (if that's the right term) as my stereo cartridge. I have to crank the volume higher when I'm playing mono records.

Due to my inherent laziness, I tend to leave one headshell/cartridge on for several days at a time. If the mono cartridge is on, I play only mono records for a few days. That's really kind of ridiculous, though, because I've gotten to the point where I can change the headshell and adjust the tracking force in 45 seconds. Anyway, I like having two cartridges and headshells so much that I wonder why I didn't do it years ago.

[Teasing the Korean]

I am so tempted to get a mono cartridge, even though I have a mono switch on my amp. I have so many mono LPs and I love the sound. I like stereo CDs, but I really love mono LPs.

[Bigshot]

The closer to the stylus you strap to mono, the more out of phase noise will be reduced. A mono cartridge is best, but jumpers on the back of a stereo cart would be just as good.

There are also coarse groove records from the earliest year of LPs on Columbia. Those require a slightly larger tip.

Edited April 22, 2011 by Bigshot

[mikeweil]

Due to my inherent laziness, I tend to leave one headshell/cartridge on for several days at a time. If the mono cartridge is on, I play only mono records for a few days. That's really kind of ridiculous, though, because I've gotten to the point where I can change the headshell and adjust the tracking force in 45 seconds. Anyway, I like having two cartridges and headshells so much that I wonder why I didn't do it years ago.

Same here - since I, too, have to readjust the tonearm tracking force and anti-skating every time I switch ...