Vinyl lovers--in case you haven't tried this yet

Drubin and Eldartford: Yes, your point about stylus profile could be reasonable, but again none of us seems to know if it's actually the case in these products, just as with the suspension question, or Eldee's suspicion (shared by me until I'm told otherwise) that they may simply be no different than the corresponding stereo carts mechanically, just with two fewer output pins. Drubin gets my point about mono CD's -- that mono reproduction of CD's is essentially perfect *from that standpoint* (meaning the "mono-ness" of the reproduction), yet I don't recall any audiophiles jumping up and down and yelling about what a revelation experiencing *that* kind of mono was in relation to playing mono LP's with a benighted stereo cartridge.

Eldee: As I said, I usually find the *audible* consequences of choosing either position for the mono switch when playing good-condition mono LP's to not greatly favor one or the other, but assuming there is no cancellation from misalignment with either the cartridge coils or the way a disk was cut, then it seems reasonable that some of the compartively greater sense of "air" heard when playing a mono LP witout engaging the mono switch would be the result of spurious noise. I'm willing to run your proposed experiment as a learning tool, if you'd be kind enough to spell out for me the connection method you have in mind. (I have available normally-configured speaker cables, and a pair of conventional tube monoblock amps or one conventional solid-state stereo amp, none of which are themselves bridged designs or fitted with a bridging switch. I guess using the stereo SS amp would be easier, and that I don't risk harming it?)

assuming there is no cancellation from misalignment with either the cartridge coils or the way a disk was cut, then it seems reasonable that some of the compartively greater sense of "air" heard when playing a mono LP witout engaging the mono switch would be the result of spurious noise.

This happens with mono CD reissues, too. Those RCA Latin Classics on CD are KILLER mono recordings--and so are the Ansonia label reissues....

WPPAPI,

It is precisely that 'air' introduced by playing a mono disc in stereo that is the reason that vinyl is preferred to CD play. That 'air' is also due (beside the noise)to the phase difference between the channels that is introduced into the vinyl playback rendering it 'better' than the CD. Does anyone claim that mono playback of stereo vinyl is superior to mono CD?
Bob P.

Zaikesman...Use the SS amp. Feed it the Left and Right stereo signals from the preamp. Connect a speaker from one red amp terminal to the other one. This "bridges the amp. You don't need any special bridging switch on the amp. What you will hear is the difference between Left and Right, which obviously should be silence for a mono recording.

The idea that "air" can be created by adding a bit of HF noise is a dirty little secret. And, as inpepinnovations@aol.com notes, slight imperfections of vinyl playback such as phase shift and differing frequency response can create a false stereo effect. Indeed, some mono recordings were reissued as "stereo" by deliberately introducing large amounts of these distortions.

Fran: WPPAPI yerself dude :-) Been a while, nice to see you again! But as I said, with most of my mono CD's I hear virtually no difference engaging the mono switch (I imagine I'd hear more of one if I used a tube preamp and/or player).

Inpep: Yes, agree about the phase aspect as well. But, doesn't *somebody* claim mono playback of mono LP's is superior to stereo playback of mono LP's, despite the same principles applying? If not, who's buying mono versions of stereo cartridges, marketed/sold at an additional $$ premium to boot? (Another characteristic of these devices that makes me question their legitimacy until somebody informs me differently -- in this case, specifically as to why an otherwise-identical product, only needing fewer connections and connectors, and perhaps a simpler stylus profile or a slightly adjusted suspension [if that much], should fetch a few-hundred dollar upcharge over the more complex stereo version. But then again, the prices of high-end cartridges in general bear very little relation to the reality of what goes into their design and manufacture to begin with.)

Eldee: Every once in a while, with certain early-to-mid 60's pop disks, I'll actually *like* the peculiarly distorted sound of the fake stereo versions, probably because in many instances that's the sound I grew up with...But I normally try to own a mono version as well, and the majority of the time with material of this vintage I'll prefer the mono to the true stereo version, with its even fakier-sounding hard left/right "dual-mono" panning.