Ortofon 2M Mono came today. Mounted it on an extra headshell. Added weight to get it close to the Soundsmith cart/shell. And tried it out. I received some nice mono LP’s from @slaw , chose a couple, but settled on ‘Music for Organ and Brass’ from 1959.
Yep, after then trying the same LP with the Soundsmith, then switching back again, I now understand how much more a mono cart/set-up provides. The Soundsmith sounded thin, and overall lacking in depth in comparison, (probably the only time I can say that about the Zephyr). The Ortofon mono put everything back in order. Full sound, a lot of ‘grunt’ with the organs, deep soundstage, even width was apparent. Just sounds ‘right’.
I was really wondering how much better the mono cart would be, and it is petty significant.
A bit of a pain as the weight tacking differences has to be recalibrated with each - using a single table - but really, well worth it. And as my scale is always at the ready, not a big deal.
