Grading 45s mono cartridge vs stereo

[Jim]

I have always used top of the line stereo cartridges because I also have true stereo 45's and albums.

Recently I have installed a mono cartridge on my second record player and the sounds have hugely improved, especially on played but not scratched records. How to play grade my 45's? I used to downgrade as to make the buyer happily satisfied but now that I have installed a mono cartridge the records sound the way they were intended to be played in true mono. And much better.
Any opinions on the subject?

 

[bosshoss]

Mono cartridges reduce noise and distortion when playing mono records, by about 3 decibels. It's because they don't register vertical stylus movement, unlike stereo cartridges which do. Mono records do not contain any vertical audio signal, unlike stereo records which do. So any vertical stylus movement on a mono record is due to dirt, scratches, warps or pressing errors, which are properly ignored by a mono cartridge. You can't get the same benefit by summing the channels of a stereo cartridge because the vertical stylus movement will still be there.

Most people use stereo cartridges to play mono records. So if I was grading audio quality, I would probably do it with a stereo cartridge. After all, customer satisfaction is the desired outcome. Your mono cartridge is ignoring any vertical noise and distortion which is in the record and will be heard by anyone who doesn't use a mono cartridge.

 

[Dave Baldwin]

Mono cartridges reduce noise and distortion when playing mono records, by about 3 decibels. It's because they don't register vertical stylus movement, unlike stereo cartridges which do. Mono records do not contain any vertical audio signal, unlike stereo records which do. So any vertical stylus movement on a mono record is due to dirt, scratches, warps or pressing errors, which are properly ignored by a mono cartridge. You can't get the same benefit by summing the channels of a stereo cartridge because the vertical stylus movement will still be there.

Most people use stereo cartridges to play mono records. So if I was grading audio quality, I would probably do it with a stereo cartridge. After all, customer satisfaction is the desired outcome. Your mono cartridge is ignoring any vertical noise and distortion which is in the record and will be heard by anyone who doesn't use a mono cartridge.

I've found (anecdotally) that playing some vinyl 45s with pressing anomalies (skipping/overly hot mastering/peak distortion) with a mono cartridge and stylus combination even once can actually improve and correct their tracking and playback when played again using a stereo playback rig.

 

[nadorozny2001]

anybody got recommend a good mono cartridge

 

[Jim]

I have gotten great results with this one