Phono Stage advice for Mono listening

I use two tonearms on a table with two separate phono amplifiers into one preamplifier.

Get the McIntosh phono preamp.  MP100 is the more modestly priced solid state model, but the It does stereo and mono.  Look for a used MP1100.  It is wonderful.  Sell your other phono preamp and invest in the McIntosh.  You won’t be disappointed.  It can handle multiple settings for multiple tables and cartridges.

My tonearm, a Morch DP-8, mounted on an Amazon Reference TT, has a removable arm wand which allows for quickly switching from stereo to a dedicated Mono cartridge without having to make any adjustments.

I went full out with a dedicated Mono cartridge set up to play Mono pressings, primarily RCA Shaded Dog classical records from the '50s and '60s, which are very well recorded.

Comparing the sound of the pure Mono set-up with just playing the Mono records through the Stereo set-up did not, in my opinion, disclose any clear advantage of the Mono over the Stereo.

This may be because the Mono cartridge was not competitive with the much more expensive LOMC cartridge employed in the stereo set-up, although I was using a highly regarded Mono cartridge at the time.

Bear in mind the sound was different between the two, because of the employment of different sounding cartridges.  The Mono rig sounded a little more robust dynamically, but the Stereo rig was more detailed and for reasons I cannot explain, seemed to have a wider soundstage, almost mimicking a Stereo effect.

My conclusion, for the limited times I listen to Mono recordings, the expense and hassle of having a dedicated Mono set-up was not worth the added expense for any perceived sonic gain.

These comparisons were done through a Nagra phono preamp, Elekit SET amplifier and Avantgarde Trio speakers.  That is my experience for what it is worth.

If you are collecting mono recordings, you are probably aware that there were, in the early days of LP, a number of different equalization schemes. Maybe your collection doesn’t go that far back and you’re mostly dealing with standard RIAA recordings. In either case, a well-restored vintage preamp might be an option for you. A Scott, Heathkit or even Dynaco PAS will give you, at the least, the option to switch one channel to a stereo output. Just a thought.

I run two decks, one has a detachable head shell so it's easy to throw on the mono cart from time to time to spin my old jazz pressings. That said, I love the the Gold Note PH-10. Sounds incredible to my ears. Two inputs. You can switch loads on the fly without messing about with DIP switches. Plus, it has six different EQ curves to really dial in old records, if need be.