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MONO cartridge recommendation

Hi,
I was all set to get the ORTOFON 2M MONO SE cartridge to play the Beatles Mono Vinyl box set.

But it seems they do not offer it in any longer. Anyone have a suggestion on a true Mono cartridge $550-1000 range?

MM or MC in the 2.5mV range for my preamp

thanks 

 mike
128x128mikepaul
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,821 posts
 

Lew, I should have posed it as a question rather than a statement. As in: "Is a mono switch the same as a mono cartridge?" I ask because the stereo pickup creates it’s output signal from both the horizontal (monaural) and vertical (stereo) modulations. When the stereo pickup plays the groove of a mono LP, the signal resulting from the cartridge trying to read a vertical modulation (of which there is none on a mono LP, correct?) contains any noise and/or distortion obtained or created by that attempt---it is now an intrinsic part of the signal. Does putting the Mode switch to it’s mono setting enable the pre to cancel that noise? I don’t know.

A true mono cartridge, in contrast, does not try to create a signal from the vertical modulation to begin with---it is deaf to the noise/distortion created by trying to do so. If it is done perfectly, a mono cartridge should sound the same whether the Mode switch is set to stereo or mono, I would think. Of course, perfection is an unachievable goal!


I posted this, only to see Lew's post directly above it. Never mind!

ab2ab
21 posts
 
Very good information.  Thanks guys!
hdm
1,062 posts
 
For the OP, the only recommendations in this thread that will really work for him in terms of the gain and his phono preamp, without getting into complications with a step up, are the Ortofon 2M Mono SE (from Thakker on Ebay) or the Denon 102. 

If I was forced to choose between those I'd definitely opt for the Ortofon as it offers a better stylus (although much more critical of setup) and does not have the restricted frequency range of the Denon, which is a bit off-putting for me. 

I'm currently using a rebuilt Ortofon MC 20 Super (boron cantilever & microridge stylus) strapped in parallel for mono (no mono switch here) and it sounds very good, but am going to experiment a bit with it soon wired in series instead as I have slightly quirky phono stage (current mode as opposed to voltage mode). 

I'm a cheapskate, so if I was to pop for a mono cartridge, pretty sure that I would do the AT 33 Mono, run it for 400-500 hours and then retip it with a very good (boron or sapphire) cantilever and microridge or line contact stylus. I bet that would be an absolutely killer mono cartridge for about $700 all in and give some of the very pricey mono cartridges a run for their money. Unfortunately that won't work for the OP with his phono gain. 
terry9
2,342 posts
 
My experience mirrors Folkfreak’s.

Miyajima Zero sounds very good indeed, almost as good on pristine mono as a higher end stereo Koetsu. Without an immediate A-B comparison, one would not hear a difference. On worn mono vinyl the Zero is clearly superior.
jp90
20 posts
 
I as of recent had also been thinking about a mono cartridge for Beatles and vintage lps. Before I decided to drop down any money it dawned on me I had a Grado 78 cartridge laying around. The next thing I did was grab my paratrace stylus off my gold 1 and threw it on the 78 mono cartridge. The sound is as expected warm of neutral but very clean and cohesive with a nice bass.

 I'm not sure if this really helps but maybe a Grado mono perhaps with an upgraded stylus if needed like the 8mz or better. But then again I have no experience with any other mono cartridges I just like tweeked Grados.

All the best
JP.

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