Fact or misinformation?


Can  playing a mono LP possibly damage a stereo cartridge?

I got this response from an exhibitor at The Show in Long Beach, Ca. over the weekend.

This was the first time I've heard such a claim.

tablejockey

intact audio makes a reasonable point. I doubt most modern cart's have limited vertical compliance tho.  I think i would be more concerned with the reverse, since in the old days the grooves were cut entirely laterally (well, there was that 45 degrees but the two were out of phase....) so the reverse is more, IMO, likely- except that about 0.01% of us have mono cartridges.

 

Yes, a buddy of mine does. He also has multiple arms on one table. Wonderfully insane.

No. I agree with all the other members that no harm will occur. I also use my mono switch with an old LP. It is sometimes amazing with a stereo cartridge. 

I don't know about everyone else. I have thousands of records and maybe 30 mono ones mostly old Jazz. Spending Thousands of dollars to get a mono cartridge as good as the stereo one for 30 records seem a bit odd almost as bad as buying a reel to reel to play the 30 or so prerecorded tapes that exist.   

 "Spending Thousands of dollars to get a mono cartridge as good as the stereo one for 30 records seem a bit odd almost as bad as buying a reel to reel to play the 30 or so prerecorded tapes that exist."

mijostyn- I guess the guys with disposable income, are the ones who reason"-what the heck?"

 

If your Mono albums were pressed after 1968 they were pressed on a stereo lathe. Recording studios in the USA eliminated the mono lathe. The way mono recordings are made from 1969 and on is they use a 2 track stereo tape recorder w/the mono tape. On occasion these records may be prone to trouble if not folded to mono properly. If it sounds phasey or loses the top end it needs to be played in stereo even if its mono. The groove on the stereo lathe is different than the mono lathe groove. If you have current mono albums you should be fine w/a stereo cart. It’s compatible w/the record grooves. Steve Hoffman explained this.