2. analog
  3. 181017-174921

Mono Cartridge Question

You chaps have watched me struggle with the issue of my London Decca Reference being irreplaceable, and then joyfully learning that John Wright has a successor after all. You have seen me buy and test three other MI designs (Nagaoka MP-500, Grado Statement3, Soundsmith Sussurro MkII) along with my older MC cartridges (Ortofon Kontrapunkt C and Benz Micro Ruby 3). Since those struggles have led me to owning two SME turntables and four tonearms, I am now torturing myself with the question of whether one of those four should be home to a dedicated mono cartridge. Remember, I only have one ear and cannot hear stereo at the best of times. A mono cartridge for my few dozen mono recordings would be a matter of reduced surface noise and possibly some improvement in dynamics.

I can get hold of an Ortofon Cadenza Mono (two voice coils so not true mono) for about 1600CDN, and a Miyajima Zero for 3450CDN. So the question is this: am I mad to even think about it? Money is not what it once was before I retired. There is no opportunity to go and hear these before purchase, without spending much more than purchase price on travel.

Shall I "make do" with my rather good stereo carts for my mono LPs or is there something better waiting for me when I get out those Parlophone Beatles LPs?

 

dogberry

Showing 1 response by realworldaudio

realworldaudio
174 posts
 

Hello,

My input on this subject: my recommendation goes the same way as Lyra cartridges designers- the AT33Mono. It is a true mono, not neutered stereo! People get confused because it has two true mono coils. (They are not stereo coils connected to run as mono - this is a cart designed as mono, not the usual stereo cart internally connected in mono, which is the neutered stereo/mono.)

So, Lyra's designer was saying (reportedly) when they interviewed him, he said that in case one cannot afford a Lyra mono, then he'd recommend the AT33Mono as it's the next thing that comes close to his Lyra to his ears.

I can second that it's a fantastic mono cart, and for folks considering a very much budget option, the AT3MONO little brother is pretty good as well, and performs quit above its price.

I have the anniversary edition, which is essentially a premium AT33MONO. It is not far off a Benz MC3, and is a perfect match for the ET-SUT (1:25 step up, 100R load LOMC).

The huge advantage of the AT33MONO is that it can plug into a stereo system, so you don't have to reorganize your system and / or your room to switch between mono and stereo. (I have my stereo & mono on different arms, and just select the input to select between them.)  It plays every album you throw at it, with the vertical compliance. I often just use it to play stereo albums....

Now, if the cart has no vertical compliance then you might get into a pickle, because restricting to mono records might not work: as some (older) monos were made with mono lathes, and others (newer) with stereo lathes! The ones cut on stereo lathes may need the vertical compliance! Briefly, you will go nuts to find out which lathe was cut for which of your recording...

If you have 5 mono records, no problem researching all 5 out. But if you have about a thousand like me, then its beyond frustrating to go through a pile of records, as you have to research each and every one, and cannot play the ones you feel like playing for the next few hours....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More to discover