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How are you playing your precious MONO Vinyl?

I am about to invest in MONO Vinyl playback setup.

The goal -  pure, undiluted music straight down the center. 

The plan - dedicated 2nd tonearm + mono cartridge + phono

After 6 long months of waiting, my Woodsong plinth with dual arm boards schedule to arrive next month. 

I came across a product that peaked my interest. The Monaural Phono Amplifier - Aurorasound EQ-100. No reviews, so I am wondering if anyone tried it yet? 

⬆️ Is EQ-100 or something similar, absolute necessary from a purist perspective or should I take the pragmatic path and use the ‘Mono’ switch on my Integrated with a built in phono?

There are ofcourse pros and cons to both approaches so I am seeking advice from folks who have  compared  both options or adopted another alternative in their vinyl setup. 

Thank you for your time! 

lalitk
lalitk's avatar
lalitk OP
5,785 posts
 

@vinylrestingplace 

Thank you for your comprehensive summary of what’s required for high-quality mono and 78 RPM playback. You’ve outlined several key nuances that some of us may overlook or those newer to mono playback. 

Congrats on building a thoughtful and deliberate mono system, the kind that lets you hear records from 1948 to today as they were meant to be heard.

goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,424 posts
 

Sorry but I just had to bring this thread back given the new information I found about mono cartridge stylus size. So Miyajima claims that their 0.7 stylus is optimal for modern mono re-pressings and that their 1.0 stylus is for those earlier mono pressings that began in 1950. Columbia introduced the Microgroove pressing in 1948. The Microgroove pressing offers 300-400 grooves per inch and AI claims that the correct stylus for these pressings is 0.7. I will say that I don't believe Miyajima to be entirely wrong, as there were labels that still used wider grooves however, I believe nearly all of the major labels eventually adopted the Microgroove band width thus making it the norm by the early to mid 1950's. 

dwette
321 posts
 

AI claims that the correct stylus for these pressings is 0.7.

Oh, brother. AI is a real FU mess. It gets many things wrong. It's worth using for research; however, "don't trust and verify first" is key to claiming as fact anything it has to say about anything, 

The quoted statement may be wrong or right, but when it's "AI claims" I consider that suspect until verified.

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