Mono record sounds like stereo

A well recorded mono LP is an attention getter.

Period press of straight ahead Jazz on Contemporary, World Pacific and Riverside are a few of the other labels that do the magic.

Might be more trouble than it's worth, but you can "strap" the phono outputs if your system doesn't offer a mono switch. With a mono switch strapping is then done in the pre-amp. What I do is run two turntables in two different systems. The dedicated mono unit is 1, an e-bay and then overhauled Pioneer 1150. The Pioneer runs the Grado MC+ (there is a new upgrade MC+), the other, 2, is a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC with a Audio Technica MC cartridge through the P-J S box, that cart has since been obsoleted and supplanted. You can play mono with a stereo cartridge, each side of the cart will feed "stereo" outputs to your system. I have noticed the effect you mention when playing a Shibata stylus. Do not play your stereo records with a mono cart. For Jazz and Classical I prefer Mono, it gives a more "sitting in the front row" experience for me, not to mention going back to the days of mono systems.

Wow! That's not a room, thats a temple for the God of speakers, stunning! Even a radio jingle will sound great in that setup.

OT:

What are the tiny 15 cell horns resting on the A5's?

DeKay

The tiny horns were made by Markus Klug. They are for 1” compression drivers. I’m using Faital HF10AK tweeters. My crossovers are a Hiraga inspired 3 way design built by Pete Riggle. It helps the Altecs up top and you can flip a switch and turn the tweeters off if you want the classic sound.