Best sounding MONO cartridge

Lets turn around this table, posted on April 1, 2015 at 11:02:57
Penguin Audiophile Posts: 7116 Location: Delaware Joined: August 5, 2001	What is it that you dislike about the Helicon? There are not many to compare. dee ;-D True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. quote by Kurt Vonnegut

RE: Best sounding MONO cartridge, posted on April 1, 2015 at 14:57:18
Olorin67 Audiophile Posts: 20 Joined: September 27, 2001	hard to beat a GE VR2 for mono records. Works best with older high mass tonearms-like an old Garrard type A.

RE: Best sounding MONO cartridge, posted on April 1, 2015 at 18:11:56
hvbias Audiophile Posts: 396 Location: New Hampshire Joined: December 18, 2005	I'm interested in this as well after learning Miyajima Premium Be will damage stereo records and mono albums cut with a stereo cutter head.

RE: Best sounding MONO cartridge, posted on April 2, 2015 at 00:39:39

Stitch
Audiophile

Posts: 736
Location: Camden (New Jersey)
Joined: April 3, 2007

Most "mono" cartridges we can buy today have the same stylus like their stereo versions. I think, they are offered for those who buy the Mono Reissues which are cut with a Stereo head.
Maybe a marketing gimmick, I don't know, because there are also "real" mono carts out there, Ortofon SPU, Denon and a few more...) but there is no information available why some manufacturers go one way and others a different way.
I don't want these "mono reissues", I don't buy them and I don't want to listen to them. I listen to originals and I look for a cartridge which can serve the maximum...

Kind Regards

Have a DL102, posted on April 2, 2015 at 01:54:38
jusbe Audiophile Posts: 5950 Location: North Island Joined: April 4, 2000	Seems to do the job. Won't damage stereo discs either. Cheap enough to try for fun, or keep for good. Big J "... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal* salvation is a contradiction in terms."*

RE: Best sounding MONO cartridge, posted on April 2, 2015 at 04:36:17

neobop
Audiophile

Posts: 492
Joined: September 10, 2010

Mono records pressed in or around 1958?
They were cut with a microgroove - developed in 1948.

The difference between a true mono cart and a wannabe - lack of output for vertical movement. There are basically two ways to accomplish this, having no vertical compliance or vertical movement of the cantilever, or manipulating the generator for no or almost no vertical output.

The former method if played on a stereo record, will tear it up. The true mono aspect of a cart using the latter method, depends on how mono is accomplished. Check out this AT33MONO:
http://eu.audio-technica.com/en/products/cartridges/product.asp?catID=8&subID=57&prodID=4072

Instead of the usual separation spec it has "Horizontal/vertical output ratio: 30dB (1kHz)"

Some inexpensive carts might combine channels or at home you might have a mono switch which does this. Combining channels in parallel does not cancel vertical output. On another forum a physicist said that combining channels in series will give true mono. I don't really understand this, maybe someone can explain.

Below is a history of mono records and carts etc.

neo
BIRD LIVES

http://ortofon.com/hifi/products/mono-series

DL102 is for mono AND Stereo, posted on April 2, 2015 at 08:47:53

Stitch
Audiophile

Posts: 736
Location: Camden (New Jersey)
Joined: April 3, 2007

The Denon 102 is a stripped 103. It has a 17 �m Stylus and this for Stereo grooves. The DL102 was designed with the idea of playing both mono and stereo records, but outputting a true mono signal. Real mono grooves are much wider. Most think, the 102 is a "real" mono, but that is wrong. When someone uses such a Stylus with old mono records, it is like wearing shoes 2 sizes too big. Such stylus is simply too small for such grooves.
Anyway, there is so much wrong "information" out there, very confusing. Anyway, the 102 is among those I don't look for.

Kind Regards

RE: DL102 is for mono AND Stereo, posted on April 2, 2015 at 09:16:02
ddk Dealer Posts: 17 Location: Utah Joined: June 10, 2010	DL-102 was originally designed for converting stereo recordings for mono radio broadcast, its an unusual and unique cartridge. Its still worth having and works fine with Microgroove mono LPs. david

RE: DL102 is for mono AND Stereo, posted on April 2, 2015 at 11:54:52

neobop
Audiophile

Posts: 492
Joined: September 10, 2010

The 102 converts 2 channels to 1 ??

I don't know about that, but stylus size info does not pertain to records after mid '50's. From Ortofon link above:

"Regarding the bottom groove radius, old microgrooves from around 1950 could approach 15�m, or even larger if the record stamper was used for too long. Records like that need to be played only by a cartridge with a spherical 25�m stylus, otherwise there is a risk of the stylus bottoming out and causing poor fidelity. From around the mid 1950s, the bottom radius was reduced to around 8�m, which corresponds to the IEC98 standard from 1958 where 7.5�m is stated as maximum radius. Later on, up to the stereo age, this was further reduced down to 4�m. The bottom radius is one of the important factors determining which styli will replay the record satisfactorily as can be seen by the drawings below.

Spherical styli were the most commonly used geometry up to the beginning of the 1960s. Consequently, most records from the first 15 years of microgroove records have been played with a spherical stylus. This will not, however, mean that mono has to be played with a spherical stylus. In fact, elliptical types as well as line contact types can be highly beneficial for mono records from the mid 1950s and upwards (see figures below). The line contact types, specifically, will ensure an improved high frequency response due to the slim shape. Also the distortion from the pinching effect, which occurs when the stylus is pushed upwards due narrow high frequency grooves, will be reduced substantially.

Replaying an old mono record, which probably has been played only with a 25�m spherical stylus can be replayed in a different unworn location of the groove by using an 18�m spherical stylus or, even better, an elliptical or line contact stylus. Choosing one of these diamond profiles will dramatically increase the stylus' ability to reproduce the inscription with detail and accuracy."

BIRD LIVES

So which ones, posted on April 2, 2015 at 13:50:04
jusbe Audiophile Posts: 5950 Location: North Island Joined: April 4, 2000	have you considered? Saw Art's recent post? Big J "... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal* salvation is a contradiction in terms."*

RE: Best sounding MONO cartridge, posted on April 2, 2015 at 14:52:12
Cpwill Audiophile Posts: 1096 Location: DC Joined: December 22, 2003 Contributor Since: October 24, 2008	I just use my stereo cartridges and stick a finger in one ear. "Anyone who understands jazz knows that you can't understand it. It's too complicated. That's what's so simple about it." - Yogi Berra. Cpwill

RE: Best sounding MONO cartridge, posted on April 2, 2015 at 16:27:05

hvbias
Audiophile

Posts: 396
Location: New Hampshire
Joined: December 18, 2005

I would also be interested in hearing how the Lyra mono cartridge fares, which I think Stitch has?

Jcarr's explanation of how it works sounds very interesting; seems like it would pick up less surface noise since the vertical tracing does not convert to a signal. But it does have vertical compliance.

RE: DL102 is for mono AND Stereo, posted on April 3, 2015 at 15:34:26
Crazy Dave Audiophile Posts: 14371 Location: East Coast Joined: October 4, 2001	That is a good argument for a removable headshell. Dave

I saw that link last week, and it is one of the best that I , posted on April 4, 2015 at 00:29:39
alaskahiatt Audiophile Posts: 7508 Joined: December 9, 2000 Contributor Since: November 1, 2005	have read on the debate between using a stereo cartridge or mono cartridge for mono playback. Ortofon definitely prefers a true mono cartridge picking up lateral vibrations only. However, I still don't know how to install a true mono, two wire, cartridge into a stereo headshell. I need to read more to figure out two wires connected to four wires.

RE: I saw that link last week, and it is one of the best that I , posted on April 4, 2015 at 08:22:22
neobop Audiophile Posts: 492 Joined: September 10, 2010	The DL102 has two long pins and you double up the clips - two on each pin. Most mono carts have four pins and you connect the same as a stereo cart. The former method can be a PIA depending on the shielding around the clip. The latter way requires faith that it's a true mono cart. neo BIRD LIVES

Thanks very much. nt, posted on April 4, 2015 at 18:26:41
alaskahiatt Audiophile Posts: 7508 Joined: December 9, 2000 Contributor Since: November 1, 2005	nt

Vinyl Asylum

Best sounding MONO cartridge

84.156.2.74