Mono vinyl, how do you know if really single channel mono or if stereo recorded to mono


I'm exploring the possibility of getting a mono cartridge. 

Please, I am not trying to start a debate about whether or not that is a good idea. I simply have a question about monophonic records.

How can you tell which records are truly mono and which are actually stereo with 2 identical channels to simulate mono?

I know that for all mono records before stereo there was only one channel cut laterally into the record .  When stereo came out some so called mono recordings were actually 2 channels just like a stereo record with both horizontal and vertical information but  L and R were the same so ended up as mono. I also know that a "true mono" cartridge only has output from the horizontal motion and that the stylus size is different than a stereo stylus, which means according to many aficionados of mono recordings,  in an ideal world you would want a cartridge optimized for mono to play true mono records

again, I do not want to debate the pros and cons of this, just want the facts about the records. If you want to debate something else please start another thread

thanks


herman

Showing 4 responses by flatblackround

That is news to me.  If the record album says mono, I play it on my mono rig.  It sounds like you want to use your stereo cartridge on the “two channel mono” you describe.  Many albums were recorded in mono and stereo, and you can find both.  This is of course clearly labeled in most cases. Your issue is?
Yes, you can get deep in the weeds trying to match cartridges and stylus to different vintages and labels of pressings in both mono and stereo.  The question is how many monos do you have or want to acquire.  I started testing with inexpensive mono cartridges and determined that they are well worth it, compared to using a stereo cartridge, or a stereo cartridge and the mono switch on my preamp.  Now my most expensive cartridge is mono on a separate TT, but I have a large collection of vintage mono pressings.   
I think it was directed at me.
please excuse my redundancy and awkward enthusiasm for mono.  
Nice.  I predict you will love the Zero and you will enjoy your mono collection immensely.