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How good can a mono cartridge be...?

Can a modest mono cartridge better the performance of a top-of-the-line stereo cartridge?

I am wondering if anyone has practical, first-hand experience with this matter as I am deciding whether or not to invest some money in it. The situation:

1) I am luck to have a top-end tonearm and stereo cartridge
2) I have many mono LPs that sound great on the stereo setup (stereo cart, phono stage, 2 speakers)
3) My turntable will support a 2nd armboard, but my budget would not support a 2nd arm of the quality of my current arm -- nor would I be able to afford a top-of-the-line mono cartridge.

Question: Could a modest arm/mono cartridge actually perform better on mono source material than my top arm/stereo cartridge, all else equal? (No mono switches on the preamp, no mono amp, no single-speaker setup.)

What I'm assuming: If I could mount a top-of-the-line mono cartridge on a 2nd arm of the caliber of my first, then I would assume that it would perform better than my stereo cart on the mono source. Unfortunately, I could not afford to duplicate that setup, so I need to add that "practical" element to the question.

Said another way, on mono LPs...
a) Top arm + top mono cart > Top arm + top stereo cart
b) moderate arm + moderate mono cart > moderate arm + moderate stereo cart
c) moderate arm + moderate mono cart ? ( ?) top arm + top stereo cart

Has anyone experimented with this? Is it worth pursuing for me? I would have to get a 2nd armboard, in addition to the arm + cart.

Thank you!
ebalog
Post removed 
uraniumcommittee
60 posts
 
Here's one that certainly looks to be acceptable:

http://www.musicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=ALYRTITANM
sirspeedy70680e509
1,064 posts
 
Just wait for the "word" on the new Air Tight mono cartridge.It WILL be considered fabulous,but not cheap!I can say no more,without a contract being put out on me.
Best!
ebalog OP
31 posts
 
thanks for the responses so far. i am fully aware that there are many mono cartridges *AVAILABLE* (including $4K models), but i am wondering this specifically:

will a modest tonearm (say a rega) + a modest mono cartridge (say in the $500-700 range) perform BETTER on mono recordings than my (top-of-the-line) tonearm + (top-of-the-line) stereo cartridge?

i cannot afford to own 2 top-of-the-line tonearms and 2 top cartridge, but i am wondering if the modest mono combination would actually sound better on mono records.

can anyone help?

thank you!
thomasheisig
568 posts
 
will a modest tonearm (say a rega) + a modest mono cartridge (say in the $500-700 range) perform BETTER on mono recordings than my (top-of-the-line) tonearm + (top-of-the-line) stereo cartridge?

Yes for the cartridge. Check out a Shelter 501 mono and you are there. A Mono Cartridge is for Mono Recordings and a Stereo Cart. for Stereo. To compare a cheap Rega Arm with a Top of the Line Tonearm is a different Story.
Try it with a Shelter 501 Mono cartridge, it is not expensive and you will hear your Mono's in a real good Quality.
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