OK...I've ditched my mono cartridge


Like many others I suspect, after the Beatles Mono release Box Set
http://i.imgur.com/JhcIBai.jpg
I read a lot about the 'supposed' benefits of a true mono cartridge over simply using the 'mono' button in a phono-stage/preamp.
So I was persuaded to try one (without breaking the bank).
http://i.imgur.com/yHeUiPH.jpg
It's now been 18 months of listening and comparing the AT 33Mono
http://i.imgur.com/C3bAOfA.jpg
with all my other favourite stereo cartridges played with the mono button on the Halcro DM10 preamp.
Firstly...I'm not a fan of the AT33 sound. Compared to my short-listed dozen cartridges out of the 80+ I have owned, it lacks sparkle, depth, bass and 'life'...😩
Why have I narrowed down my worldwide search for the 'ideal' cartridge to a mere handful....to then just meekly accept the second rate performance of a 'hack' cartridge simply because it's a 'true' mono?
And why would anyone who has invested in a Koetsu Coralstone, Atlas, Anna, Goldfinger or Airtight for their stereo listening pleasure.....'step-down' to a lesser cartridge for their mono listening?
Oh...I know you can buy better sounding mono cartridges than the AT-33Mono.....but how many are you going to try to hope to match your favourite stereo ones?
Now that I've ditched the 33Mono.....I can listen to all my great cartridges with all their diverse flavours just as I do for stereo recordings.
And I never really did hear a special difference in the dedicated 'mono' one even though I half persuaded myself that I should...🤓
128x128halcro
I have done quite a bit of research and thinking on this subject.  Before you can dismiss mono cartridges as a class, I think you have to consider how the particular mono cartridge(s) you are evaluating was constructed. Only a few were constructed so as to be unable to respond to vertical motion of the cantilever/stylus.  One example of such are the Miyajima mono cartridges, which were designed to be mono in the first place.  (TSD and Ortofon may also make "true" mono cartridges.) Almost all other mono cartridges are stereo cartridges that have either been modified internally such that the capacity to respond to vertical displacement is reduced (and then the two channels are bridged at the output) or are merely stereo cartridges where the two channels are bridged at the output.  (Art Dudley reviewed 3 mono cartridges in one article wherein he tested each for its capacity to reject noise due to vertical motion of the stylus; the 3 were very different from one another in this capacity.) Obviously these 3 basic approaches can make quite a difference in the degree to which a given mono cartridge can be superior to using the mono switch on one's preamplifier.  This is why, if I buy any mono cartridge, it will probably be a Miyajima, but then I would still use my mono switch.  Unfortunately, the preamp driving one of my two systems lacks any mono switch (Atma-sphere MP1).  I am thinking of replacing the function of its "phase" switch with a "mono" function. Miyajima or no Miyajima, I would use BOTH the mono switch and a mono cartridge, optimally. (Have you tried that, Henry?)

But Henry, you did give the impression that you were comparing the dirt cheap AT mono to some very expensive stereo cartridges, although I don't believe you named them specifically. Meantime, I am quite pleased with the effect of using the mono switch that is available on my second system; it's such a big improvement over playing mono LPs in stereo that I don't play mono LPs on my main (no mono) system any longer.

Lew,

To say Halcro's results are, or not the result of price is laying it on a little thick.  Are you like a fan boy who must devastate all opposition?

Just because you or Halcro chose not to go with a mono cart, does not mean there is no benefit. 

Regards,

I like Lewm's thinking, and yes, the Myajima is a fine mono cartridge.

I’m coming to think that, playing "mono a mono" can be very good, but equally important is the stylus profile and general design of the cartridge - irrespective of whether it’s a mono or stereo design.

I think we have two things at play with mono cartridges. The obvious one being that it’s a true mono design (including rejection of vertical motion). The second factor that gets overlooked is that the stylus profile is more suited to the groove profile cut by a mono cutting head.

Taken another way, if "limited" to two varieties of cartridge (i.e. a dual tonearm rig), I’m more inclined to run a vintage stereo cartridge (i.e. Ortofon SPU) in the second position over a mono cartridge. I think this ultimately provides the flexibility to play more of your record collection. 

This isn't to dismiss mono by any means ... just a slightly modified approach, and of course, if that second arm has a removable headshell, then one is free to collect a stable of easily swappable cartridges.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier Design
Everyone should reach their own conclusion.  My experience is that a mono reissue will sound different than a pre 1964 mono pressing, even when using the same cartridge (be it mono or stereo).  Mono cartridges will sound different, based upon construction.  A true mono cartridge generates signal from horizontal motion, only.  A stereo cartridge modified to become a mono cartridge will still respond to vertical motion.  Why is this an important distinction ?  Even though a modified cartridge is supposed to suppress vertical signal by summing, bridging, coil alignment, etc it is still there.  Unfortunately the existence of the vertical signal introduces phase anomalies that are audible.   It is easier and cheaper to adapt a stereo cartridge than to construct a true mono cartridge, which why there are very few.  At the low end there is the Denon DL102.  Anything better costs considerably more.  Some listeners swear by vintage Fairchild and ESL mono cartridges, that are more than 50yrs old.  However there are a few specialists that can rebuild them.
 
Unfortunately, the preamp driving one of my two systems lacks any mono switch (Atma-sphere MP1). I am thinking of replacing the function of its "phase" switch with a "mono" function
Lew, just so you know, we do option the preamp with a mono switch, executed using a custom rotary switch, often with a separate phono input. We've done tape EQ in this same manner.