My MONO System

Very cool, someday I hope to have room for a separate mono setup just for my 78s.
 
I haven't done much listening with mono equipment. One exception was when one of my Quad ESLs was on the fritz, and I listened to the other with the mono switch on the amp in. I played discs from The Beatles Mono Box Set.

I have to say that I've never heard The Beatles sound more "Beatley", if that makes sense to anyone. Mono Beatles through a single Quad ESL sounds so exactly right, like a Beatles archetype.

On another note, that Garrard headshell and tonearm look like a locomotive pulling a train going around a bend!

Congratulations on your system - it looks great - like a working museum display!
 
Awesome indeed.

It presents beautifully, and must sound incredible.

I sometimes spin my inherited 45's (from my Father - RIP), but on my 2 channel system.
Nothing wrong with the elegant simplicity of Mono. And your system looks the part.

Contrats on owning it.
 
I have aquired some monoaural albums and have wondered how they would sound with a mono cart. That is a nice clean system. I have The Craftsmen amplifier from like 1952 in good shape, I got the speaker and the receiver with it too. Maybe someday...
 
Very cool, someday I hope to have room for a separate mono setup just for my 78s.
Yes, that is a great idea.

I haven't done much listening with mono equipment. One exception was when one of my Quad ESLs was on the fritz, and I listened to the other with the mono switch on the amp in. I played discs from The Beatles Mono Box Set.

I have to say that I've never heard The Beatles sound more "Beatley", if that makes sense to anyone. Mono Beatles through a single Quad ESL sounds so exactly right, like a Beatles archetype.
The QUAD ESL speakers are so wonderful. Listening to the Beatles through the QUAD’s must sound amazing.

On another note, that Garrard headshell and tonearm look like a locomotive pulling a train going around a bend!
It certainly does look heavy, like a locomotive, but the tracking weight is adjustable and is correctly set for the Shure M7D installed in the system.

Congratulations on your system - it looks great - like a working museum display!
Thanks. One of my goals in setting up this system was to use period consistent components.

Awesome indeed.

It presents beautifully, and must sound incredible.

I sometimes spin my inherited 45's (from my Father - RIP), but on my 2 channel system.
Nothing wrong with the elegant simplicity of Mono. And your system looks the part.

Contrats on owning it.
Thank you for the comment. I too, up until I set this system up, played my monophonic records through my stereo system with pretty good results.

… That is a nice clean system. I have The Craftsmen amplifier from like 1952 in good shape, I got the speaker and the receiver with it too. Maybe someday...
Craftsmen made some excellent amplifiers in the early days of Hi-Fi. I own three Craftsmen amplifiers (RC-2, C-400, C-500) and a preamp/tuner (RC-10) all of which sound pretty darn good. Based on my experience, a monophonic system built around Craftsmen components sounds sweet.

I have acquired some monaural albums and have wondered how they would sound with a mono cart.
Yesterday, I got together with a group of friends for the music listening session. This is something we do from time to time. We usually have a theme for our sessions. Yesterday’s theme was monophonic LP recordings for which there was no stereo counterpart. The host for yesterday’s session has a very nice setup (SOTA turntable, modern Grado tonearm) for playing monophonic records, including a Shure M5D true monophonic cartridge and a preamplifier with all the EQ setting to play the records that were made before the RIAA equalization curve was made the standard. According to him, the Shure M5D is the best cartridge he has used for playing LP monophonic records.

My takeaway for our listening session was that the true monophonic cartridge makes a significant improvement compared to the stereo cartridges that I have tried (Shure M7D, M44-7) when used to play early LP records. If you are into records from that era, I would highly recommend obtaining a Shure M5D or other high quality monophonic cartridge.
 
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My Mono System April 17, 2015

Turntable - Garrard RC 88/4
Phonograph cartridge - Shure M7D
Amplifier - Bell 2199B
Speaker - Minimus 7

Bell Mono System.JPG

another picture of the Bell 2199B & Garrard:
Bell Mono Room.JPG
 
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Very nice, reminds me of a system my father built in the early 50's. Garrard and Heathkit were part of that system as well. I never knew what became of it and I'll never know, both parents gone now.

Thanks for sharing.
 
This thread is very interesting. I have recently become fascinated with mono stuff. God knows why. I guess hearing the Beatles "Revolver" in mono turned me on to it, but now I find myself picking up all sorts of mono only stuff.

Great setup, I too wonder about the single Minimus 7.
 
Nice Bell amp! :yes:

interesting change to the Minimus 7. Do you feel the need to augment the low end?

Great setup, I too wonder about the single Minimus 7.
The Minimus 7 was installed on trial. To answer your question, Yes, the 7 does need help in the low end. I will either add a woofer today or switch back to the original speaker, which sounded much better.
 
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The Minimus 7 was installed on trial. To answer your question, Yes, the 7 does need help in the low end. I will either add a woofer today or switch back to the original speaker.

Thank you.

Love the focus on mono and how satisfying it can be.

Wonder how one really large Horn speaker would sound? :scratch2:
 
Thank you.

Love the focus on mono and how satisfying it can be.

Wonder how one really large Horn speaker would sound? :scratch2:
Yes, mono can be satisfying. I have only listened to mono the past two plus months, since I got my RC 88 installed in my system. I am enjoying the heck out of it.

It has been a while since I had horn speakers (Altec A7, Altec 604). They would really fill the room with 10 Watts of power.

A pair of Altec 604-8G in my mono system circa 1987:
604_2 (1).JPG

Order has been restored to the universe:
Eber Speaker.JPG
 
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Gorgeous set up. Really looks fantastic! Never dabbled in mono but if it's Half as good on the ears as it is on the eyes then your doing well.
 
Yes, mono can be satisfying. I have only listened to mono the past two plus months, since I got my RC 88 installed in my system. I am enjoying the heck out of it.

It has been a while since I had horn speakers (Altec A7, Altec 604). They would really fill the room with 10 Watts of power.

A pair of Altec 604-8G in my mono system circa 1987:


Order has been restored to the universe:

Bet those moved some air..... :music: :thmbsp:
 
Bet those moved some air..... :music: :thmbsp:
The Altecs sure could move some air. :yes: :D

The 1987 setup, shown in the picture:

tuner / preamp: Fisher 70-RT
amplifier: McIntosh MC 30
turntable: Garrard Model 82
speakers: Altec 604-8G in cabinets built by me, with the help of my second brother, following plans provided by Altec.
 
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Update June 17, 2015: Recently, I pulled my Pedersen Williamson type amplifier out of storage and got it running. I decided to put it in my system and give it a listen. Wow, was that a good idea. :yes:

I have been listening to some jazz sides this morning and everything is sounding good. :music:

Current Setup:
Turntable: Garrard RC 88/4
Cartridge: Shure SC35C
Preamp: Heathkit WA-P2 with external power supply
Amplifier: Pedersen W-15
Speaker: JBL HLS-615

Pedersen Amplifier:

PedSys01.JPG
 
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Prior to letting it go, I had a McIntosh MC60, Fisher 80C pushing a huge Jensen cab that uses a rare early Jensen type H coaxial. Sounded pretty awesome w/ a tuner
 
Nice! That Pederson seems similar to the Heathkit W-5. At least the tube lineup. How many watts does it put out?
 
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