Why mono?

Thom,

you wrote;

BTW, Mike L. inadvertently added an extra zero. The Myajima mono series of cartridges runs in the $900 to $1,200 range (there are three mono cartridges in the line).

my use of $11,000 referred to my Lyra Olympos, not the Miyajima Premium BE Mono. what i wrote was;

most of my mono Lps sound better on this $1100 retail cartridge than on my Rockport/Lyra Olympos stereo cartridge ($11,000 retail).

sorry if i did not make my meaning more clear. my point was that this modestly priced Mono cartridge bettered the mighty Olympos on the vast majority of mono Lps.

Thom has done a great job articulating the dedicated 'mono experience'. I think his description of the soundstage, especially the 'enveloping' quality and depth are spot on. On some records there is an incredible tonal richness that is unique to mono...perhaps reflecting differences in the recording technique, i.e. recording equipment, miking, etc., rather than mono versus stereo.

As Thom and Mike have noted, this applies to the majority, but certainly not all mono recordings. In my experience, the better the recording, the greater the benefit from the dedicated mono cartridge.

I look forward to hearing what the Miyajima can do mounted on the Artisan ;-)

I have a Quicksilver linestage that has mono,left only and right only.

Mike: Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, due to the language gap but also what I perceive to be a near total lack of genuine attempt at explanation or justification on the part of the author, it doesn't tell me anything useful. But if you think their carts sound great for the money, that at least is something.

Thom and Jazzdoc: Again, all well and fine impressions, but what is the comparison (if you know) to simply summing the channels of a good stereo cart that you already own? The more the folks who champion mono carts post like the question doesn't exist, the more I wonder whether they know the answer, or even to ask the question...Maybe everyone ought to state for the record (sorry!) whether or not they even have a mono switch available in their rig (or summing Y-cables, but less good for the obvious reasons), because I realize that these days many don't.

Jrtrent: I also used to take advantage of channel/groovewall-selection capability with mono records back when I was using a C-J PV8 full-function preamp, and older McIntoshes had this too...Just like a mono switch (and also an absolute polarity switch), I'd like to see modern standalone phonostages incorporate this "L to L + R"/"R to L + R" feature (since linestages won't ever again, as mono is only really important for vinyl playback). It can also be useful for certain diagnostics even if you never use it for listening to music.

Thom, Mike, Jazdoc:

Would each of you state if your experience with variability in mono playbacks happens with newer mono reissues, with older original monos, or with both?

Thanx