Back to mono?

Hi Viridian - a friend of mine has a single Klipschorn that he uses for mono listening, driven by an SET that puts out just 1/2 a watt (don't remember the make of the amp, sorry). It sounds fantastic. He also has a Garrard 301 that he uses with a mono cartridge. This simple set-up, in a nice room for it, blows away a great many stereo set-ups I have heard. He has been record collecting for decades and has a great many mono LPs from the great Blue Note years, and RCA and Mercury, etc. Don't have a mono set up myself, but his system makes me want the capability eventually.

I would suggest a single Altec 605 in OB or vented cabl like 612 or 620 (604's too!). The 605's if I am not mistaken is a combo of 515 and 802 mated together while the 604's are 416 and 806, which are two of the best driver's Altec ever produced. At around 100+ dB, you will not have a problem looking for amps to drive it to its full potential.

I run 604's in OB, or a 414 with 802D in OB for mono once in a while and I really enjoy how it sound. Use the old RCA phono circuit design (RIAA) with single ended amp (SET or Pentode strapped as triode)and you are set. I prefer using a mono cart like the Denon 102 and I avoid stereo cart converted to mono and stereo preamp switched to mono by combining the two channels. Enjoy!

I have a Pilot HF42 mono receiver attached to an Electro-Voice Centurion corn horn speaker and I like it very much. It's a vintage mono system using a modern, digital front end. Mono is different and you may not like it. You'll lose nearly all the soundstage/imaging. Mono does have dimensionality, but it's not the 3-D stereo type. What mono does do is give a better focus on tonality and articulation. You should also be better able to position your loudspeaker for best sound in a mono setup. One hidden advantage of mono is that for the same amount of money you will be able to afford significantly better components than stereo.

I would strongly recommend that you keep you existing stereo and if you want to put a foot into the mono world, then do it as a separate system. Try it first before making an all out commitment.