Mono Cartridge Stylus

Mono is a bit special to me as I have no hearing in my left ear, and cannot perceive stereo. The London Reference has been a great favourite purely for its sound (I can't speak to imaging and suchlike), and I am curious as to whether a Decca mono cartridge would be as special to my ear.

Now having discovered that a SS Hyperion gives the Reference quite a challenge, another possibility for the same cost as the Maroon would be a SS Zephyr MkIII in mono. Possibilities!

Shoulda mentioned Chick Corea re Bach.  I would love to hear those two playing together or to have Bach hear Chick. Anyway, we were blessed to have Chick in our audiophile lifetimes. As to the plethora of mono cartridges available these days, I don't know whether that is due to any resurgence in the popularity of mono recordings or to successful marketing of the idea that one must have a mono cartridge in order to enjoy those mono recordings. The Lyra Helikon Mono was once highly touted, but I notice no one here has mentioned it.

Somewhat apropos to this conversation, I just unearthed from a large collection of records that I have taken custody of, a copy of "Play Bach: The Original Jazz Interpretations of the Music of Johann Sebastian Bach" by the Jacques Loussier Trio.  This one is volume 3, so maybe there is more in store.  I am listening to it as I key this note.  It is quite good, very much in the vein of MJQ.  According to the liner notes this guy made Bach music in a jazz context into a career.  It is very well done.  It is on London, PS 289 if you are interested.  With respect to Chick Corea, I think I have all of his records.  My favorite without question is the one he did with Bela Fleck.

I have all 3 of those “Play Bach” LPs. They were great fun but I haven’t had a listen in decades. I should pull one out for a spin.

I'd favor listening to PDQ Bach. I saw the professor live at CCM many years ago.