Setting up a Second Tonearm to be used for Mono

mep · Jun 19, 2014

Since I ordered the Beatles mono box set today, I started giving some serious consideration to adding another tonearm and a mono cartridge to my SP-10 MKII. I have some questions for those that have already been down this road and thus the purpose of my post:

1. How are you guys using the existing cable that comes with a tonearm that is designed for stereo cartridges? Are you shorting out one pair of the cartridge pin connectors and then using a Y adapter on the remaining signal cable to run the mono signal into both sides of your phono section?

2. Do you have a phono preamp that has two sets of inputs that are switchable or do you run two separate phono preamps into different inputs on your preamp?

I want a setup that doesn't cost a zillion dollars because, well, I don't have a zillion dollars. I also don't want something that is terribly inconvenient like having a single phono preamp with a single set of phono inputs that has to have one set of cables removed when switching from the mono arm to the stereo arm and then all of the phono settings changed (gain/loading). That would be a huge pain in the ass and would cause you not to be bothered with it which defeats the purpose of sinking some money into the capability.

All thoughts from experienced users would be appreciated.

rockitman · Jun 19, 2014

I use a stereo tonearm cable. No pin shorting required. I have separate MC inputs (2) and MM (2). I run two stereo arms...one with active gain via MM and the other MC (passive transformer gain). The 2nd MC input is dedicated to mono for me. If you only have one MC input, you will need to pull the stereo one (inconvenient). If you like listening to mono records, a mono cart setup is a must. I would never listen to a mono record via a stereo cart. Much more noise (vertical) and far less bass extension and the imaging/soundstage is far less compelling no matter how good your stereo cart is.

Mike Lavigne · Jun 19, 2014

mep said:
Since I ordered the Beatles mono box set today, I started giving some serious consideration to adding another tonearm and a mono cartridge to my SP-10 MKII. I have some questions for those that have already been down this road and thus the purpose of my post:

1. How are you guys using the existing cable that comes with a tonearm that is designed for stereo cartridges? Are you shorting out one pair of the cartridge pin connectors and then using a Y adapter on the remaining signal cable to run the mono signal into both sides of your phono section?

first; there are stereo cartridges which are summed to mono, and then there are 'ground up' mono cartridges that have the mechanical advantages of the simpler approach......both types are typically set up for the 4 cartridge pins.

my mono cartridge is the Miyajima Premium Be mono (approx $1300)....which is a 'real' mono cartridge.

read this website for more on why mono is different. the translation from Japanese to English is entertaining.....if also 'head-scratching' frequently. you will get the idea.

http://www.miyajima-lab.com/e-mono.html

in my case i use the regular connnections for the cartridge to phono cable and then at the preamp end i use a 'sum' short cable to avoid gound loops (2 RCA females into one RCA male) which then pluggs into one channel of my dart pre. i then use the 'mono' button on the dart pre to get 2 equal mono channels. i have 2 separate phono stages inside my dart pre, so one is set up for my mono cartridge in terms of gain and loading.

if your preamp does not have a 'mono' button then the best approach to avoid the ground loop hum is to use a 'sum-splitter' (2 female RCA's summed and then split to 2 male RCA's) which you might need to have built. this would eliminate the ground loop but result in a mono signal to plug into both channels of your phono stage.

2. Do you have a phono preamp that has two sets of inputs that are switchable or do you run two separate phono preamps into different inputs on your preamp?

I want a setup that doesn't cost a zillion dollars because, well, I don't have a zillion dollars. I also don't want something that is terribly inconvenient like having a single phono preamp with a single set of phono inputs that has to have one set of cables removed when switching from the mono arm to the stereo arm and then all of the phono settings changed (gain/loading). That would be a huge pain in the ass and would cause you not to be bothered with it which defeats the purpose of sinking some money into the capability.

All thoughts from experienced users would be appreciated.

if you want to avoid plugging and upglugging but only have one phono stage input something will have to change.

jazdoc · Jun 19, 2014

I use a dedicated Miyajima Premium BE cartridge with mono tonearm cable into a dedicated mono phono input, so you can go a bit crazy. I think the most important improvement is via a dedicated mono cartridge. You also have to consider how much of commitment you are interested in making in software; often, mono vinyl is cheaper and better sounding than their mono counterparts. For pre-1967 rock, pop and jazz, I usually (but not always) prefer mono...

mep · Jun 19, 2014

Thanks guys. I should have said I realize the need for a true mono cartridge as they are built differently than a stereo cartridge. I don't know why a mono cartridge would have 4 pins unless the two unused ones were actually shorted together to eliminate the hum. Having one phono stage with two separate inputs and provisions for separate loading would be ideal. Second best would be having two separate phono stages.

Mike-Interesting that you only plug one cable into your Dart and hit the mono button and you get both channels playing.

Mike Lavigne · Jun 19, 2014

mep said:
Thanks guys. I should have said I realize the need for a true mono cartridge as they are built differently than a stereo cartridge. I don't know why a mono cartridge would have 4 pins unless the two unused ones were actually shorted together to eliminate the hum. Having one phono stage with two separate inputs and provisions for separate loading would be ideal. Second best would be having two separate phono stages.

Mike-Interesting that you only plug one cable into your Dart and hit the mono button and you get both channels playing.

as far as i know; any preamp with a 'mono' button would work similarly. it should not matter whether you have one or both channels plugged in; the mono button sums the signal that it gets and then outputs equally to both sides.

the 'sum-splitter' cable thingy basically does the same thing....while also eliminating the ground loop.

mep · Jun 19, 2014

jazdoc said:
I use a dedicated Miyajima Premium BE cartridge with mono tonearm cable into a dedicated mono phono input, so you can go a bit crazy. I think the most important improvement is via a dedicated mono cartridge. You also have to consider how much of commitment you are interested in making in software; often, mono vinyl is cheaper and better sounding than their mono counterparts. For pre-1967 rock, pop and jazz, I usually (but not always) prefer mono...

Who makes your mono tonearm cable and does it connect to the cartridge with 2 pins or 4 pins?

jazdoc · Jun 19, 2014

Found Music makes the tonearm cable and it uses 4 pins, matching the Miyajima pin configuration (which is a bit funky). Subbing this cable did make a nice difference. Listening to a minty Miles Davis "Friday Night in Person at the Black Hawk" 6-eye now and its heavenly. Set me back a cool $9.99

mep · Jun 19, 2014

jazdoc said:
Found Music makes the tonearm cable and it uses 4 pins, matching the Miyajima pin configuration (which is a bit funky). Subbing this cable did make a nice difference. Listening to a minty Miles Davis "Friday Night in Person at the Black Hawk" 6-eye now and its heavenly. Set me back a cool $9.99

Just checked out the Found Music website and it has that funky yet expensive vibe about it. I hate to ask how much your tonearm cable cost and if that included rewiring your arm which they indicate on their site.

jazdoc · Jun 19, 2014

Honestly, I can't remember the cost; but it wasn't too bad. I can dig it out and PM you. The rewire was included in the cost. Alternatively, it might be easier just to contact Scott directly.

rockitman · Jun 19, 2014

I have a mono button on my preamp, but I choose not to use it. It seems to cut a bit of tonality summing both channels in my setup. I have no ground loop hum. YMMV.

mep · Jun 19, 2014

rockitman said:
I have a mono button on my preamp, but I choose not to use it. It seems to cut a bit of tonality summing both channels in my setup. I have no ground loop hum. YMMV.

So how is your arm wired back to where it plugs into your phono preamp?

rockitman · Jun 19, 2014

mep said:
So how is your arm wired back to where it plugs into your phono preamp?

The same way it is for my stereo arm. I am not the only one with that tonality observation...the dubious Syntax from agon feels the same way. I suppose there is a chance that the channel output could be slightly off by not summing. IME is doesn't matter...reading two channels of mono without summing them sounds better to me. I recommend running a mono cart and plug it in the same way you do stereo and see how that sounds. If you have a mono button on your main pre, you can go back and fourth sum or not and see what sounds best. The important thing is to have a mono cart.

mep · Jun 19, 2014

rockitman said:
The same way it is for my stereo arm. I am not the only one with that tonality observation...the dubious Syntax from agon feels the same way. I suppose there is a chance that the channel output could be slightly off by not summing. IME is doesn't matter...reading two channels of mono without summing them sounds better to me.

So there are four pins on the mono cartridge (which surprises me) and you just use a normal tonearm cable, hook up all 4 wires from the headshell to the cartridge, and then plug in both RCA male plugs from the tonearm cable into your phono preamp like it was stereo and you get a dual mono output with no hum? I thought that setup would hum like crazy.

Mike Lavigne · Jun 19, 2014

rockitman said:
The same way it is for my stereo arm. I am not the only one with that tonality observation...the dubious Syntax from agon feels the same way. I suppose there is a chance that the channel output could be slightly off by not summing. IME is doesn't matter...reading two channels of mono without summing them sounds better to me. I recommend running a mono cart and plug it in the same way you do stereo and see how that sounds. If you have a mono button on your main pre, you can go back and fourth sum or not and see what sounds best. The important thing is to have a mono cart.

every preamp has a different level of execution of the mono button, internal connections, etc.; you can't generalize. and the phono cable will be part of the whole equation too.

rockitman · Jun 19, 2014

mep said:
So there are four pins on the mono cartridge (which surprises me) and you just use a normal tonearm cable, hook up all 4 wires from the headshell to the cartridge, and then plug in both RCA male plugs from the tonearm cable into your phono preamp like it was stereo and you get a dual mono output with no hum? I thought that setup would hum like crazy.

That is correct. I use Ikeda 9TT mono.

rockitman · Jun 19, 2014

Mike Lavigne said:
every preamp has a different level of execution of the mono button, internal connections, etc.; you can't generalize. and the phono cable will be part of the whole equation too.

I agree. In my case, whatever the Pass implementation is, to my ears leaving mono off sounds better.

jazdoc · Jun 19, 2014

mep said:
So how is your arm wired back to where it plugs into your phono preamp?

A single mono connector

mep · Jun 19, 2014

jazdoc said:
A single mono connector

Three guys and three different solutions.

jeromelang · Jun 20, 2014

mep said:
Three guys and three different solutions.

I use lasers.

But there're a few things I would like to understand:

In a stereo configuration, is the left-right movement of the cantilever/needle meant only to depict one channel?

The other channel is depicted by vertical movement?

Which type of movement depict which channel?

How is mono depicted? Only up and down movement?

What are the range of this vertical movement, and how will it affect SRA?

Finally, will the anti skate setting (which will affect tracking force) affect mono retrieval?

Thanks.

Setting up a Second Tonearm to be used for Mono

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