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A new player in the quality Mono cartridge game

For awhile there, if you wanted a mono cart to get the most out your new mono Beatles collection, other mono reissues, or vintage mono LPs, there were the budget offerings from Grado, a big price gap, and then the more expensive good stuff. The elliptical mono Grado goes for around $150.

But now the Audio Technica AT MONO3/LP, a HOMC, is available in the US. The link goes to the official importer, LpGear, who prices this $299.99 cart at $189.99. However, I also found that this cart is available from Amazon for $112.65. Worried that the unofficial import puts your purchase at risk? For a mere $12 extra you can buy a 2-year protection warranty.

I ordered mine via Amazon Prime on Sat. Oct. 24 and it arrived today.

This thing is NICE! 1.2mV output, which is plenty, conical stylus (don't know if it's nude or not, but it *sounds* nude), tracking force range 1.5-2.5g. I'm breaking mine in at around 2g.

Even fresh out of the box, this cart's a revelation. I started with "Within You Without You" from the new Beatles Mono vinyl reissue. It's really something when you play a mono record with a cartridge that produces no signal in the vertical plane. The noise floor drops down to the indiscernible. In fact, even cueing the needle makes very little sound thru the speakers.

Everything on Sgt. Pepper's sounded richer, lusher, more distinct, more dynamic, with great treble extension and no hint of sibilance. I followed it with Analogue Productions' 3-LP 45 rpm remaster of Nat King Cole's "After Midnight." Fan-TASTIC! I thought Nat was in the room before, but the dynamics, transparency, and truth-in-timbre reached a height I hadn't heard on my rig up to now.

I finished my mini-audition with a *real* mono record, an original mono Columbia Masterworks pressing of "Grand Canyon Suite" performed by Eugene Ormandy and The Phily Phil. Again, smoother, quieter, more dynamics. It showed its age a little bit, but I think I could bring this 55-yr-old record close to the reissues with a steam cleaning. Even without it it was very satisfying.

Folks, if you have nothing but the new Beatles mono reissues and have an easy way to switch cartridges or set up a mono rig, this cart is so worth it.

Right now I have around 13 Beatles mono LPs, two Beach Boys reissues, the Nat King Cole, some old Columbia Masterworks and shaded dog Orthophonics, mono reissues of Prestige and Miles Davis LPs, and some mono pressings of '60s pop.

I'm thinking of separating all my mono vinyl into its own shelf so--when I mount the AT Mono3 LP--I don't have to sort through my entire collection to play the compatible LPs.

BTW, if you decide to go after this cartridge, make sure you get the AT MONO3/LP cartridge, which is for mono LPS, and *NOT* the AT MONO3/SP cartridge, which is for 78s.
johnnyb53
johnnyb53 OP
3,490 posts
 
11-05-15: Fleib
Elimination of vertical noise is a great advantage with a mono cart as
Johnnyb says. This can be dramatic with some older or beat up records.
That's what I've been exploring with the AT33MONO
cartridge the last few days. I've been digging out various mono records I had
tried years ago and set aside as they were too noisy when tracked by my
stereo cartridge and signal chain.

Now I'm trying them again and they sound great. Examples include an
original 1965 pressing of the Janos Starker Bach Cello Suites on Mercury
Living Presence, an Angel mono of baritone Dietrich Fischer-Diskau singing
Brams songs, an old Verve record called Giants3 featuring Nat King Cole on
piano (no voice), Lester Young on tenor sax and Buddy Rich on drums, a
1969 Fantasy mono of the Vince Guaraldi Trio doing the music to A Boy
Named Charlie Brown, an old Columbia mono LP of Gene Krupa orchestra
with Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge, and some others.

In each case, when played with a stereo cartridge there was so much surface
noise I couldn't enjoy the music. When played with the AT33MONO the noise
was gone (or 30dB down if you wish). So far this cart has made around 20
old mono pressings totally playable and enjoyable.

For awhile the tonal balance sounded a bit dark and closed in, but I raised
the arm height a bit to make the headshell level with the record and that
fixed it.

Now playing a mono pressing of "Echoes of a 16th Century Cathedral" by
the Roger Wagner Chorale. Released July 1967. A Capella renaissance
choral music and a lovely way to start a Saturday morning. Lots of great
music for fifty cents. The AT mono cartridge has brought so many vintage
mono LPs to life it's paid for itself.
lewm
6,770 posts
 
Fleib, What are you saying? Besides saying that I am incorrect, that is. What's the stuff that follows on after your mention of a MM/MI type cartridge? Actually, I had in mind more the modern MC mono cartridges, of which there are many. So, are you saying in effect that MM/MI type mono cartridges do a better job of rejecting signals created by vertical deflection of the stylus tip?

What do you estimate is the vertical rejection at 1kHz, when you deploy the mono switch on a preamplifier whilst playing a mono LP with a stereo cartridge? (This is not a rhetorical question; I don't know the answer myself, but I would bet its within the same ballpark, 30db-ish.)
fleib
1,124 posts
 
Lew, I suspect a mono MM/MI does not have better vertical rejection than a mono MC. This is due to relying on the magnetic field for determining cantilever direction, but this is a guess. How they work is confusing and that's why I tried to describe it in general terms. I haven't seen a vertical rejection spec for a mono MM/MI, not from Ortofon or anyone else.

I estimate the vertical rejection at 1kHz, when you deploy the mono switch on a preamplifier whilst playing a mono LP with a stereo cartridge, is near zero, or very low. Most of my mono records are like yours, in good shape or Japanese reissues. I'm just getting into vintage mono, but the mono switch w/stereo cart did almost nothing to render a noisy copy listenable. Maybe Johnny can quantify that better.

Did you read my (neobop) post on Asylum mono thread? I'm not refuting theory. I'm stating fact. No doubt you would find new enjoyment with your mono records and appropriate cart. Considering your equipment, I guess your choice would be between detail and romance.
Happy listening,
johnnyb53 OP
3,490 posts
 
Hey Lewm, I found some threads that may address the mono switch feature you were talking about.

Here's something to consider, however. Some mono switches may occurr at the phono stage; others may be implemented at the line stage. They would behave differently.

Here's a thread about preamps with mono switches in general. And here's a thread about a specific circuit design at the phono stage that does the things you were talking about such as noise cancellation.

However, note that these are not features you can just go out and buy. The first thread mainly addresses vintage classic items (such as an Audio Research unit) that would cost a lot on the vintage market. The second thread addresses a design that probably has to be custom-ordered and handbuilt.

Then there's the third alternative, particularly the cartridge that started this thread. The Audio Technica unit is a high output (1.2mV) moving coil cartridge, true mono with a -30dB rejection in the vertical plane, and it's readily available for anything from $112.65 to $299.99, depending on the vendor you choose.

Furthermore, if your System profile is up-to-date, I see you have a Kenwood LM07 turntable, which has a universal headshell. You could get the Audio Technica AT33MONO/LP and a headshell, mount and align it, and just play the mono records in native mode. It's much easier than hunting down a phono head with mono switch, and the results would be at least as good.

I'm really happy with that cartridge and it has increased my enjoyment both of latter day mono reissues (Beatles, Beach Boys, Nat King Cole, Gene Krupa) and digging out 45-60-yr-old mono original pressings. Highly recommended.
fleib
1,124 posts
 
The mono switch on most preamps will function with any source, not just phono. In one of those links they were talking about some separate phono stages which include a mono switch. If you try to duplicate this with Y adaptors there are impedance/load considerations which could alter the sound, depending on where you combine/split channels.

Most of my listening is with a preamp w/o mono switch or with a passive preamp. I tried Y adaptors both on the phono signal going into the preamp, and on the preamp output. Both of these approaches were unsatisfactory. SQ was degraded to the extent that any noise reduction didn't matter. I didn't think to try it in a tape monitor loop. Also, I used solid body Y adaptors w/Teflon or nylon insulation.

I also have an old Mitsubishi tuner-preamp with a great sounding tuner which I use on a second system. It has a mono switch. This is where the mono switch did not provide adequate noise reduction with a stereo cart playing a compromised mono record. For the price of the MONO3, trying one was a no-brainer. A beat-up copy of Mozart Requiem, formerly unlistenable had noise reduced about 95%. It was astounding. SQ was still imperfect. This is an old wide groove pressing and I think the tip was bottoming out in-groove. This is where you need a 1 mil tip.

Although it seems that all microgroove mono pressings sound much better with this cart, it occurs to me that my direct comparisons to a stereo cart + mono switch, are limited.
Perhaps someone else made similar comparisons?

I went to a thrift store and bought some old mono records which looked to be in decent shape. I wouldn't have considered them with stereo pressings. Results should be interesting.
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