MONO cartridge recommendation

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. 

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.

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.

If i will need a Mono cartridge then Miyajima would be my first buy. 

There are very few true single coil mono cartidges available.   The vast majority of current mono cartridges are in fact stereo cartridges modified for mono reproduction.   

Decco London is an outlier in that their stereo cartidge is derived from their mono design !!  Sounds strange, I know, but it is documented in several places on the 'net.

Mono cartridges will sound different, based upon construction. A true mono cartridge generates signal from horizontal motion, only. A stereo cartridge modified to become a mono cartridge will still respond to vertical motion. Why is this an important distinction ? Even though a modified cartridge is supposed to suppress vertical signal by summing, bridging, coil alignment, etc it is still there. Unfortunately the existence of the vertical signal introduces phase anomalies that are audible. It is easier and cheaper to adapt a stereo cartridge than to construct a true mono cartridge, which why there are very few.

At the low end there are the Denon DL102 and the AT3 mono.  Anything better costs considerably more. Some listeners swear by vintage Fairchild and ESL mono cartridges, that are more than 50yrs old. However there are a few specialists that can rebuild them.  Cost of a vintage true mono cartridge is abt $200-300 in the current market.   Rebuld cost is about $300-$500.   Total investment would be about $500-$800.

i use the Ortrofon CG25 DI MK2.   This is an updated version of their first MC mono cartridge.   1mil conical stylus, tracks at about 3 grams, and comes as an integral cartridge headshill designed to attach to an SME terminated arm.   List price is about $900 but no one pays list....and you can fnd it from several japanese on line sellers.   I have 2 TT and use one for pre 1960 mono LPs.  I play all 60's era and later reissue mono LPs on my stereo TT.    

Works for me.   Your opinion and experience may be different.