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Help me choose a mono cartridge

Hi all.

I just got myself a Black Friday gift. The Beatles in mono box set at a very affordable price on Amazon.

I do not have a mono cartridge but would like to get one to take the full sonic advantage of this box set. I do not have very many mono records. Approx. 50 out of a collection of 2000 lp's.
Which mono cartridge would you recommend in the $500.00-$800.00 range new or used.

My analog front end consist of:

Sota Cosmos IV with Graham Phantom II
Stereo cartridges are Ortofon A90 and Dynavector XV1's
Audio Research REF3 LE with GNSC reference mods
Audio Research REF 2 Phono (not SE version) with GNSC reference mods

Any recommendation much appreciated.
Thank You.

smoffatt
rshak
422 posts
 
I finally decided on a new mono cartridge:  ordered an Ortofon Cadenza  mono from Needle Doctor.  They're giving me a $320.00 trade-in credit on an old, worn out Ortofon Jubilee, so the net price for the new cartridge is $960.00.  I'm looking forward to its arrival.
smoffatt OP
205 posts
 
Hi all.
Since i have a somewhat limited budget now that i am retired, i have decided to go with an Ortofon Quintet mono (white body). I ordered it thru a dealer in Montreal for $540.00cnd but the distributor in Canada is out of stock and the factory in Denmark is shut down for the Holiday Seasons. I should get it by mid-February or so. Love the sound of my Beatles mono set thru my REF3 with mono switch but i just can't wait to hear the same set with a true mono cartridge. 
Happy New Year to all.

lewm
13,732 posts
 
Smoffat, Please do report your results here.  Specifically, how does the Quintet mono cartridge compare to using just the mono switch?  And do you perceive an additive or synergistic effect for the better, if you use both?  Those observations would be very helpful.  From my reading and searching, I was unable to verify that the Quintet mono has been built such that it does not produce a signal in response to vertical modulation of the stylus, but neither can I say that it was not.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,531 posts
 
i just don’t get why anyone would want a mono cartridge. I’m using an Ortofon Winfield and was listening to a very old Frank Sinatra 10 inch Capitol LP.."In the Wee Small Hours"...and it was wonderful. I didn’t get a bunch of noise or extraneous issues....he sang to me between the speakers as though he was right there. What more can one want especially going from a multi-thousand dollar cartridge to a much lesser one.

  ..just as an aside...The Beatles never did anything for me....
tonyptony
628 posts
 

@smoffat, I tried a Quintet Mono and an AT33MONO on my VPI Classic 3, using arms that were best matched to either cartridge. The AT33MONO is relatively light and of low compliance so it matched best with my SS black damped Classic arm; the Ortofon was matched to my aluminum Classic arm. I preferred (prefer - I chose it as my mono cart) the Ortofon. It is more neutral than the AT33 without meaning it sounds dull or lifeless; it rather has much less in the way of "tells" in how it reproduces the music. The AT is also a bit softer in the extreme low end, and a bit (only a bit) splashier in the cymbal range. The AT does, arguably, do a slightly better job in reproducing the upper bass and lower midrange.

All of those observations are small compared to what drove my decision. The big takeaway for me was that the Quintet Mono pulled me into the music much more, and actually got me into forgetting I was listening to my TT and sing along to what was playing. For a guy who goes out of his way not to sing I figured that was a pretty good sign. The Ortofon made it seem more real to me.

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