I really appreciate hearing your perspective from somebody who didn't really know why Emanuel cartridge works better. I understand it better coming from someone closer to my level of understanding. 🙂

i got great results tracking mono records with a conical shape stereo cartridge VM95C and using the mono switch on the amp without going to the expense of a mono stylus, most surface noise and distortion was completely eliminated.

I use a second turntable with a Linn Ittok arm and Linn K9 cartridge with the Audio Technica ATVM95C stylus to play my mono and older second hand stereo records. The thicker conical stylus is very good for surface noise and is enjoyable to listen to. I have found they also make a SP mono dedicated stylus in the VM95 range that is only about £48 so will be ordering one just as an experiment now that I have watched this video.

Hi Jim. Very nice video and an interesting topic. I have never experimented with a mono cartridge, so I have no experience with one. I have only used stereo cartridges. My record collection includes approximately 125 mono recordings. Fortunately, I've not experienced any mis-tracking, distortion or sibilance while using my lone stereo cartridge on all records (both mono and stereo). By the way, I use a Ortofon Cadenza Black.

I bought a Soundsmith Otello mono cartridge in 2013. I use it for mono records cut with a mono cutterhead (pre-1967). Sound quality is amazing - this cartridge punches in way above its price. Clean mono records are almost dead quiet. For modern mono reissues cut with a stereo cutterhead, I use stereo cartridges. I have not had any issues with extra sibilance when playing back mono records cut with a stereo cutterhead. The cartridges I use have the Gyger S and the Namiki Microridge styli.

Hey Jim, I've never used a mono cartridge but using my mono switch on my Sansui receiver it seems to work very well with no sibilance issues. I think that using either a microline or Shibata stylus really helps. The double Y patch cords also helps when I do needledrops.

Great video ! Thank you ! The 2M Black cartridge has a very narrow stylus that might bounce around in the grooves of some older mono and 45 rpm records. A better choice for safely playing old 45s, styrene and mono records is the Nagaoka MP110 - I got mine from lp gear for about $150 usd. I have an Ortofon Mono SE cartridge on a separate turntable that I sometimes use for mono only playback. It’s good but sounds a bit thin relative to the Nagaoka. I have Audio Research amplifiers that can sound very detailed-maybe not a good match for the Mono Ortofon cartridge. Joe Collins has a good video on his site about the Nagaoka cartridge.

There has been an occasional person on the Audio Forums who have been less than pleased with how their Ortofon Black cartridge tracks, (on stereo records). I, using both moving coil & moving iron cartridges have experienced the same sibilance & mistracking playing mono records. If the stylus is coming up out of the groove, see if tracking at a half gram higher doesn't help. Also cartridges with primitive conical styluses are said by some to track mono records better. I have toyed around with the idea of buying a Denon 103 cartridge for my mono records, which uses a conical stylus. It is the cult item cartridge of all time. Having been in their cartridge line since the 1960's. I'm sure a specialty mono cartridge is the best way to go when playing mono lps.

At $90 you're surprised that the sound quality is s$%t? Now where did I leave that extendable 90ft barge pole

There is a Full Moon out tonight. It is called the Fish Moon. It looks bigger than usual. The Moon's distance from Earth averages a quarter of a million miles away. The word Mono and Moon use the exact same letters. In fact, Auto Correct changes mono to moon sometimes. There is a great Jazz/Rock Fusion group called Full Moon. Check out their music on free KZfaq. The big moon is causing glare in seeing the peak period of the Persied meteor shower, and it only comes once a year. Common old moon ruining something that doesn't happen that often. When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, its not "always" Amore. Amateur astronomers are every bit as pissed as analog diehards who now realize they own a huge collection of $125 digital lps from Mofi.

Do you follow the color coded wiring as it states on the head-shell when you connect the wires. Green to green, red to red etc. ?

For my mono cut records I use a mono cartridge. For the others „mono“ records I use a stereo cartridge. But for both I switch on my mono button on my PhonoPreAmp. Technically ,the new (from the 70s) mono records are on stereo cutting head , that is right and a fact. But you can use a mono cartridge for the new mono records. You will not destroy the records when using mono cartridges

Besides the sibilence, is the ortofon 2m mono worth the $425? Can you notice an improvement in sound?

Not sure what type of problem you had with sibilance. I have plenty Mono records old a new and I dont have sibilance issues unless the groove is worn which you cant fix. I use a Mono switchbox for some noisier records, that should work about as well as a Mono cart. No need to get a whole separate cartridge.

For weird panned albums, just switch to mono 😅 is cheaper than chasing mono lp's

Yes, for a Mono LP you need a Mono cartridge for the complete sound in the groove.

I have a dedicated mono tonearm and it was the best investment last years, the difference is amazing. I have old Jazz/Classic records and even the modern monos, like Japanese reissues, sound much much better.

Old time collectors who bought mono copy lp's and then when stereo came out bought the stereo lp often were disappointed. There was more spread to the sound to be sure, but the stereo versions lacked the kick and dynamics of the mono pressing. Believe it or not, there are people today who prefer the sound of mono lp's. There is separation of instruments with mono if your system is spatially competent. I had mono copies of RCA LM 2400 and LM 2449. The Living Stereo copies were rare enough that I didn't know if I'd ever find them. When I did finally find LSC 2400 Ballet Music From Them Opera & the even rarer LSC 2449 Gounod Faust/ Bizet Carmen lp, it didn't take too long at all to hear that they were compressed and lacked some of the kick and dynamics of the original mono lp's. Especially LSC 2400. However, played with a stereo cartridge, the stereo versions were quieter and tracked better. Every Sunday night, there used to be a prime time movie shown on TV. They called it The Million Dollar Movie. I think it was on ABC. The Sunday night institution called The Ed Sullivan Show, I believe was off the air by then. They wouldn't show just any movie. They'd pick real good ones and many that had never been on TV before. When we play an lp, the records spins 33 1/3 times per minute. If you played lp's all day long each day for a month continuously, allowing 8 hours sleep time per day, and a little time to flip sides and cue each album up and maybe clean the stylus, it would take approximately 4 weeks of continuously playing records each waking moment before you'd get to that magical number. Yes... we're talking ONE MILLION spins of the LP records!

Basically, there are two different kinds of mono records: Old originals from the times when mono was king, and subsequent reissues of mono records. The old ones (roughly pre 1969) are cut with mono cutting heads and play best (more lively and punchy sound) with 1mil conic styli on either a mono cartridge or a stereo cartridge. The cheapest way to achieve this is to buy an Ortofon OM cartridge and equip it with a D 25 M styli. NEVER use this on a modern mono reissue vinyl record; it sounds bad and can ruin the record. Instead, use a modern stereo cartridge/stylus or, if you like, a modern mono cartridge/stylus.