Playing mono records properly without breaking the bank - a phono pre-amp question.

Hi everyone, thanks for your feedback. I fully understand the benefit of having a mono cartridge. I don’t however want to go that route since only a small portion of my collection today and possibly into the future will be mono.. also (a)I’m not quire ready for a turntable with two tone arms and (b) not planning on getting a turntable with interchangeable headshell and
(c) don’t see myself wanting to get a cartridge with a removable stylus where I would switch out the stylus each time I want to play a mono record..(d) will not be playing any 78’s on this turntable.

therefore my options as I see it and based on your comments:


i)playing with everything stereo.. stylus and phono and no mono switch anywhere.ii)playing with stereo stylus with a phono that has a mono switchiii)playing with a stereo stylus with a phono that doesn’t have a mono switch but uses an external device to handle the mono.

So here are my specific questions and hope you can answer them
Q1) Is there a good external switch/box that can be placed between a phono preamp and and a preamp/integrated that allows me to purchase a phono preamp without a mono switch..

Q2) is there a sonic hit between a phono with a mono switch built in and an external one?
Q3) As a newbie, I’m feeling like $500 is my limit for a cartridge.. is there something I should be looking for in a cartridge that plays well both in stereo and mono.. meaning, if the reviews are positive comparatively for their stereo playback, is it a given that it will play well in Mono? yeti42 , according to your experience, the Dynavector 17D3 wasn’t all that good with Mono, which is why I’m asking this question. Wish I had the budget for one of those because I’m looking at the Well Tempered and they apparently favor Dynavector Carts.Thanks everyone.

millercarbon2, thanks for the recommendation to check out Soundsmith.. much to read there..

Thanks everyone for chiming in. Personal experience is always helpful from others specially at different price points. What I'm gathering from the comments are:

a) best to have the "mono switch" within the phono preamp to minimize any added signal loss and/or distortion.  I'm planning on getting a used phono stage so the KAB mono at $200 feels money best spent on a phono with mono switch. And don't see any KAB mono in the used market.  Thanks elliottbnewcombjr  for the suggestion.

b)Stereo cart may sound as good /better than a Mono cart, but as anything in this hobby feels like it depends on the implementation of the product, cost difference, etc. The example of the  $1k mono cart having more soul than a higher priced stereo cart certainly shows that there is room for experimentation once/if one goes deeper into this hobby.

c)Not being able to have a mono cart, separate rig, separate tone-arm, but having a mono switch may buy some time before the upgrade-itis kicks in.
As a picky perfection seeking engineer, looking for the highest resolution and imaging in my current digital rig, I'm sensing that I won't sleep soundly without a mono switch on my future phono preamp.