MONO cartridges

If you have funds and quite a few mono records the Helikon Mono is a jewel. It is low output so watch with your phonopre, but the output is higher than announced in the manual. A must for old mono records.
Best,
Jean.

welcome to a new world!buy an emt or spu mono.you must however use these in conjunction with a variable eq phono stage.there is no going back!

I think if you are mainly playing mono re-issues, a Helikon Mono may be the way to go (if you have the funds.) Their sophisticated stylus may be a better match for modern cutting heads. If you are like me and have a bunch of old mono lps and 45's, an older design is probably the way to go. The Denon DL-102 is a good low cost option--if you have a substantial tonearm (it requires a good deal of mass.) I was happy with mine, but then I got a good deal on an SPU mono which I like quite a bit more. The SPU is more dynamic and more coherent, but I could happily live with the Denon. Other options are the Grado monos and the mono stylus for the Ortofon MM cartridges. I also have a GE VRII and a silicon damped arm, but I haven't mounted it yet. I figure this may just be the ticket for those beat-up 45's that I might not want to play with the rather dear SPU.

Thanks, I will think about it, the Arm for it would be Fr-64s. I saw the Denon, would be enough for a start I guess. 2 years ago I listened to a Shelter 501 mono, was a good performance.
Are the differences in mono cartridges similar to those stereo MC's from today?

you don't need a mono cartridge to fully appreciate a mono recording...as with any stereo pressing, results may very title by title, no matter what cartridge you use.