MONO cartridge recommendation
How about the Miyajima Spirit Mono HI, I love my Zero and judging by this review the Spirit brings the same feeling at its price point https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-1-page-2 |
@lewm I’ve owned a Lyra Dorian Mono and heard many other mono Lyra’s. They give great sound in the Lyra house style but to my mind miss the soul, the energy, the brio that the Miyajima’s bring. I also obviously can play a mono disc using my stereo cartridge (an AS Palladian) and while this is arguably more “accurate” than the Zero the Zero is more fun 😉 So yes it depends what the OP is after but please don’t assume that our responses are simply “buy what I have” based on no prior experience of alternatives |
@salectric not sure if it was my comments you were referring to but to clarify. I've no reason to believe (nor have I ever experienced) a reduction in record related noise (i.e. from the playing surface) in using a mono cartridge over a stereo, with or without a mono switch. However going to a true Mono cartridge may (and often will) induce objectionable hum in your setup. This is intrinsic to the challenges of adding a mono source in a system not designed for it (see the reference below for a discussion of the issue and some solutions) http://www.durand-tonearms.com/Support/Mono%20connections/monoconnections.html In my experience having a mono switch or having the ability to lift, or part bypass via a resistor, the ground at the cartridge input to your phono stage or step up is essential to rid your system of this hum |
@rossb It’s a bit more complex then that For example, anyone purchasing ERC can be confident they’re using a mono cutter ... https://electricrecordingco.com/about ... but comparisons with other pressings of the same material cut on a stereo large suggest that this isn’t always a good thing ... http://www.coupdarchet.com/reviews.html ... which likely explains why if you’re cutting a mono disc these days you’re best off using a stereo cutter incidentally and somewhat off topic I was discussing the virtues of mono playback with Tim de Paravicini and his assertion was that mono cutters offered superior high frequency response due to the lower weight and simpler construction |
That’s the problem in most of these comparisons. The basic cartridge is different. Not surprising that a cart costing 5 times as much (as in my Palladian vs the Zero) can drag out some more detail, but often the cheaper Zero is more sympatico. Anyway the 501 comparisons are just the way to go, would love to hear your results |
@rossb I also own all the Coup Martzy’s (I’m not so rich that I can justify ERC prices) and love how they sound with my Zero. They also sound good with my Palladian but somehow there’s more vim with the Zero which suits the material. Have you tried them both ways and liked the stereo set up best? Some other works, such as the recent 45rpm Pet Sounds, seem to work better with the stereo cartridge. I have two arms and so can make comparisons easily. Still great to have the dedicated mono for the older stuff in any case. |
@wrm57 sorry I do not use a custom cable. Perhaps you are thinking of this advice on the topic http://www.durand-tonearms.com/Support/Mono%20connections/monoconnections.html I actually tried this and it did not work for me. I found that either using the mono switch on my amp or lifting the ground on my step up works fine and completely eliminates the problem — the latter is how I have it currently configured as my step up has a three way ground lift switch |
