One great stereo cartridge would be my choice. Actually recently heard a My Sonic Labs Gold Signature (I believe retails at 9k) that I'm saving for. Incredible musicality and tone with a soundstage to die for.
One stereo or two (stereo and mono) cartridges?
I am planning to upgrade my turntable and cartridge (Rega RP10/Aphelion). I have many mono records. If my budget for cartridge is $10k, should I buy one stereo $10k or one $5k stereo and one $5k mono cartridge. Anyone that already own a turntable with two arms has advice? Thanks!
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@luis223344 Having both a stereo and a mono cart is great fun. In general mono carts are a little less costly so I would say 60/40 or 65/35 stereo/mono for budget. Will you have two tonearms? Or use a removable head shell tonearm and swap carts as needed? |
Dear @luis223344 : The quality performance for play mono recordings quality performance between a stereo and a mono cartridge is not " night and day " differences and if you have two tonearms then makes more sense to me that you buy two different stereo cartridges, this is a limitless decision because the mono cartridge puts immediatly a limitation of playing alternatives in those tonearms.
As @jasonbourne52 pointed out the Umami Red is an excellent quality performer. The Dynavector top of the line is excellent too as the Colibri or the LPS.
Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R.
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis981a7-benz-micro-lp-s-cartridges
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It truly depends on your personality and values. It is probably breat to hear different point of views from here. But it is really you. Personally, I can seldom listen to a mono recording… I get bored almost immediately. I loved a Fats Waller album but am so disappointed it is not in stereo. It just falls flat. Another personal thing… I want the best possible sound at all times, so I would never own two cartridges. Never.
Alternatively I have read about folks with nearly a dozen cartridges with head shells… pairing the perfect cartridge with a particular album… I am left scratching my head.
On the other hand, I shoot a Leica M10 and have been very tempted to buy a Leica M10 monochrome (only shoots monochrome… higher resolution and more gray shades). So, it comes down to you. Given your question I like the idea of splitting the investment in proportion to how much you listen to stereo versus mono. Also, from my experience if I have a $10K budget… definitely worth spending it. My cartridge is around $8.5K, definitely well worth it. |
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