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New Mono records - Cart?

Toblerone

Toblerone

Active Member
Simple question.

What's the best cart to play a modern/new Mobile Fidelity Mono record? Stereo cart / Mono cart? I've never purchased a "New" mono record before.

I just picked up Mobile Fidelity's Johnny Cash - Walk the Line (mono). I don't know what to do.
 
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In the land of mono, conical stylus is the king. Don't get fancy line contact stylus for those. My go to mono cartridge is stanton 500 with 0.7 mil conical and shure M35s and use mono switch on my receiver. It works great ;)
 
Thanks. That's actually my question. What stylus/cart should be used, or rather is ideal, on new mono records? In my case, a Mofi mono.

I've not been able to find this information.
 
schon8624 said:
In the land of mono, conical stylus is the king. Don't get fancy line contact stylus for those.
Click to expand...

This only applies to '50s and '60s mono LPs, not modern cuts.

beat_truck said:
:rolleyes: Whatever, indeed.

Most modern mono records are cut with a stereo lathe, so using your preferred stereo cartridge is perfectly fine, if not ideal.
Click to expand...

Correct, and for that reason a stereo cartridge may sound better than a mono cart on modern pressings, particularly if the master tape was played back on a deck with stereo heads instead of a full-track mono head. (If the azimuth wasn't set perfectly during cutting, there will be phase cancelation artifacts when played back in mono that won't be present if played back in stereo.)
 
beatcomber said:
This only applies to '50s and '60s mono LPs, not modern cuts.



Correct, and for that reason a stereo cartridge may sound better than a mono cart on modern pressings, particularly if the master tape was played back on a deck with stereo heads instead of a full-track mono head. (If the azimuth wasn't set perfectly during cutting, there will be phase cancelation artifacts when played back in mono that won't be present if played back in stereo.)
Click to expand...
Agreed.
You said what I was thinking, but was too lazy and otherwise preoccupied to type out.
 
beat_truck said:
:rolleyes: Whatever, indeed.

Most modern mono records are cut with a stereo lathe, so using your preferred stereo cartridge is perfectly fine, if not ideal.
Click to expand...

Lathe here isn't Stereo, the cutting head, and mastering electronics are Stereo. Which is why to play these new mono records with any good Stereo cartridge like you normally use to play that class of record. The only company I know of which cuts mono on purely mono everything, are those pricey Electric Recording Company reissues. They also do have a Stereo mastering chain which they use for Stereo disc cutting.
 
Just thought I’d add, that I have quite a few, mid 1950’s to mid ‘60s mono records and they sound quite good played with...a Microline stylus. Would they sound better with a conical? Maybe. They still sound quite good. So - unless you have quite a bit invested in old monos, you may not feel a need for a mono cartridge. On the other hand - if your tonearm uses a cartridge sled or removable headshell, or your table is able to fit more than one arm, then by all means, get a mono cartridge.
 
For my 50s and 60s mono records, I normally use a Pickering v15 with a conical stylus. I either press the mono button (if the amp I'm using has it), or I have a second v15 mounted in a headshell with the pins jumpered for mono at the cartridge.

I have found that some problem records with damage track better with an elliptical, and they sound fine, too. The conical just seems to mask noise a little better.
 
You can introduce at lot of phase or timing distortion using a stereo cartridge on a mono record. And vertical stylus motion will be a negative for sure. So use a mono cartridge.
 
In a way, the best cartridge is the one you have. To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, you go to play a record with the cartridge you have, not the cartridge you might want or wish to have at a later time. If you just want to hear your record, a stereo cartridge will work fine, by design and in practice, and won't harm the record. If I were to go and get a mono cartridge, I'd sure want to know if it betters my stereo cartridge. How would you know if you don't play your record with the stereo cartridge?
 
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