Googyfoot, Based on all that has gone before in this thread, I am not sure how you arrived at the "understanding" you describe above. What you wrote may fairly be characterized as your opinion. In your 3rd sentence, you use the term "mono cartridge" without specifying which type. I assume you refer to a "true mono" cartridge, best described by Intact Audio, one that cannot read vertical deflections of the cantilever for any of several reasons based on its construction.
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Dave, You wrote, "My take is that if the coils remain oriented at a 45º angle to the
record and then wired in series for mono then it is a stereo cartridge
wired for mono and it doesn't matter if it if done internally or
externally. If however the same parts are used for a mono cartridge and
the coil is oriented so there is only pickup in the lateral plane, then
it is a mono cartridge. In this case there would be only be windings
for pickup in the lateral plane and the windings at 90º to that plane
would not be used / wound."
That is also what I and many others have been saying here and elsewhere. What I wondered about is whether from a purist standpoint, does the true mono cartridge offer us a level of performance in the mono mode that cannot be had via the bridged stereo approach? I guess that if you use bridging, then cancellation would be imperfect to the degree that the two channels of the cartridge are not perfectly matched, which probably never happens.
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Hi Dave, Do you have any thoughts on the putative benefits of a "true mono" cartridge vs a mono cartridge created from a stereo cartridge by bridging the two channels internally?
I think someone originally must have used the upper case "U" to symbolize the shape of an early mono record groove, for want of a letter in the alphabet that better conforms to the actual shape of the groove, whatever that is. Now we all use it without thinking much about it.
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I bought a mono cartridge about a year ago and still haven't mounted it, because I am so pleased with the results using just the mono mode switch on either of my two preamplifiers. This also tells me that an internally bridged stereo cartridge might be just fine. For hairsplitters and purists, I suppose one must have a bona fide true mono cartridge. One guy even claimed you need BOTH a true mono cartridge AND a mono mode switch for best results.
I bought a Shelter 501 mk2 mono. Does anyone know how it produces a mono signal? I presume it might well be an internally bridged version of their stereo equivalent. I'm not losing sleep.
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Ummm... Despite all your declarative sentences, the grooves in a vintage mono LP are shaped differently from those of a stereo LP. This changes how a stylus will wear out. Conical is well suited to mono.
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Also for conical stylus on early mono LP wear is not the same as for stereo LP. |
Goofyfoot, Ortofon’s description of the Cadenza mono as quoted by you suggests to me that it is a bridged stereo cartridge, based on the Red. Not that there is anything wrong with that. What I don’t like is their ambiguous language.
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Level II is upgrade of F8.
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F 9 Ruby has sapphire cantilever.
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On the other hand, like I said earlier, there is nothing "wrong" with deriving mono by internal bridging, in my opinion. Some purists might argue that cancellation of the signal produced by vertical displacement of the cantilever, in such a design, is imperfect unless the cartridge is perfectly constructed physically. (The two channels have to be perfectly in balance with respect to gain, etc.) One would have to do a careful study and take measurements to sort that out.
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Goofy, I did not specifically mention the Cadenza mono cartridge. I was for a time interested in the Quintet mono. If you look at the language they use to describe the Quintet, you would think it is "true mono", i.e., like the Miyajima cartridges in that it is insensitive to vertical cantilever displacement. However, if you then look at the specs, you will see they are identical to those of the Quintet stereo cartridge. This to me is an indication that the mono version is derived from the stereo one by internal bridging of the two channels. This was also true of the Black mono. If the Cadenza blurb says otherwise, check the specs of the stereo compared to the mono version. Does the Cadenza mono have two channels of outputs (4 pins)? If so, that is usually a sign of a mono cartridge that was created from stereo. The manufacturers can be devious, and you have to read between the lines.
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Or you could buy one mono cartridge specifically for vintage (up to very early 50s or late 40s, I am guessing) original mono LPs with a 1.0mil conical stylus (if you have a large number of such records), and use a mono mode switch with a stereo cartridge for the rest. I have none of those early mono LPs, and I bought a Shelter 501 mk2 mono cartridge to play the mono LPs that I do own, last year. However, I am so satisfied with just using the mono mode switch that I have yet to mount the Shelter.
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One reason for the use of exotic shaped styluses in modern mono cartridges is practicality. Most modern mono cartridges are actually stereo cartridges that are bridged internally to create a mono output in two channels. So, it is very easy for any manufacturer to create a new mono cartridge by that method. Miyajima is one of only a very few that builds mono cartridges from scratch; their mono cartridges do not react to vertical deflection of the cantilever at all. Lyra achieves the same goal by re-orienting the coils such that the output is mono. After much digging I was able to ascertain that Ortofon mono cartridges are created by internal bridging of a stereo cartridge. Their website is misleading on that subject. However in my opinion there’s nothing wrong with that approach. If you have a mono mode switch on your preamp, that works too.
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Goofyfoot, There is a lot of information on this subject available on the internet, but no matter how much knowledge you acquire (and I do recommend that you acquire more than you have already), there will always be some gray areas and areas where knowledgeable persons disagree with each other. If you go to the Miyajima website, English version of course, and read what they have to say about how their cartridges should be used, that would be a good place to start. If memory serves, they recommend a 1.0mil conical stylus for older original mono recordings. 0.7mil conical for later recordings, mono LPs into the mid-to-late 1950s. I don't recall what they recommend for modern mono re-issues, but I am confident 0.7mil would work. I am also sure that Sleepwalker's choice works too. With only one tonearm on one turntable, you're going to have to decide what compromises you want to make. Also, search on this site and on Vinyl Asylum and Vinyl Engine for more info.
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