Mono LP Vinyls

[Simon Wires]

Why Mono vinyls are given step motherly treatment.. After all and even Beatles recorded them in mono, until digital processing made them to stereo. They are in their purest form, of that times of reality

I love mono vinyls, when it comes to 60s, and I keep them as prized possession.. A puritan..

Just wanna know, what the audiophiles are thinking about Mono..

PS> When my father once brought home a Mono LP Drama, I frowned, but

 

[malvai]

I have a lot of MONO LP's. I never, ever, understood why they are considered so good by (some) audiophiles abroad.

Then, very recently, I got myself a phono that allows me to play mono records as 'Mono'. And it completely changed my perception!

If you get yourself a phono that allows you this little "luxury" try it. Especially on nicely mastered Classical and Jazz LPs AND on the Beatles LPs.

I was reading somewhere that when The Beatles were at their prime, Mono was at its height and stereo was just taking off in terms of popularity... Just like now, where we 2channel maniacs are when compared to 5 or 7 channel SACD recordings...

However, since Mono was dominant, The Beatles would take the pains to sit through the Mono mixing sessions to get the best output. And leave the stereo mixing to the engineers and their manager.

So, do listen to The Beatles' Mono LPs. It'll be a paradigm shift. Really good stuff.

 

[G401fan]

Mono LPs are not given stepmotherly treatment. Far from it.

For 50s and 60s jazz LPs, the Monos cost more these days than the Stereos.

Same with many pop/rock records. In fact, what are referred to as the "late Monos" - those pressed between '68 and '71' - are tough to find, and often command astronomical prices.

If you don't have a dedicated Mono cartridge - one that modulates only horizontally, as opposed to both horizontal and vertical for Stereo - you could have the Mono experience by using a Y connector at the end of your phono leads. Plug them into a set of female inputs connected to a single male output RCA which then plugs into a single female input that has two male RCA outputs that plug into your phono stage. Older amps from the 70s and 60s used to have a Mono switch that did virtually the same thing.

 

[reubensm]

+1 to Malvai's statement. Mono usually sounds special on mono equipment. I remember my dad's Mono equipment belting out some very impressive sounds when I was a kid. Here are some of the brilliant Mono LPs from his collection which we still own and enjoy:

 

[tek]

You'll be surprised, there are even a few modern bands that release stuff in mono. The Smashing Pumpkins album "Adore" was released as Mono for the vinyl version.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

I've been given to understand that if you connect the positives and negatives of your cartridge, it becomes mono (correct me if I am wrong) and if you play through a amp with mono switch, you could listen to mono records. Yes, mono sounds different and some mono pressings,especially Jazz of 50's and early 60's sound fantastic. I love old Malayalam mono records . They sound more natural than sereo

 

[Simon Wires]

I've been given to understand that if you connect the positives and negatives of your cartridge, it becomes mono (correct me if I am wrong) and if you play through a amp with mono switch, you could listen to mono records. Yes, mono sounds different and some mono pressings,especially Jazz of 50's and early 60's sound fantastic. I love old Malayalam mono records . They sound more natural than sereo

not really, though you may get some output with the stereo players of seventies.

The track recordings ie, left right, and dept crest, and the groove width are unique with mono, and the right stylus would deliver far better effect , than the one suggested abot.

 

[avidyarthy]

Maybe thats why all my vinyls sound different from what I get to hear on different TT set-ups now. My TT is an antique HMV idler with ceramic mono cartridge ... and yes, most of the old Vinyls (my late Dad's collection) are mono recordings .. English pop, Bengali classical /vocals/ instrumentals.

Since I do not spend too much time with the turntable, never gave it a serious thought as to why the sound was so different ... the mono-thing explains it all. Thanks.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Mono was at its height and stereo was just taking off in terms of popularity

It's not magic. It wasn't at it's hight: it was all we had!

"We" being the mass of the record buyers. Youngsters in their bedrooms with boxes called gramophones. "Stereo recording, can be played on compatible Monophonic equipment" was some sort of mystical label that made us wonder what it might sound like if we had such a wondrous thing as something that would play in stereo.

It is quite possible that mono recordings might sound better on equipment of their vintage. That's something for collectors of vintage records. But don't glorify mono, as such: we only listened in mono because we couldn't afford anything else. Or, going back another generation, because stereo hadn't been invented.

 

[Hiten]

We have two ears so to get life like sound stereo is necessary. But some old vinyl recordings in mono may have almost same capability depending on recording techniques. Setting up two speakers for mono recording is little difficult if placement is not proper because of the chances of phase difference between two speakers.
Regards

 

[malvai]

It's not magic. It wasn't at it's hight: it was all we had!

"We" being the mass of the record buyers. Youngsters in their bedrooms with boxes called gramophones. "Stereo recording, can be played on compatible Monophonic equipment" was some sort of mystical label that made us wonder what it might sound like if we had such a wondrous thing as something that would play in stereo.

It is quite possible that mono recordings might sound better on equipment of their vintage. That's something for collectors of vintage records. But don't glorify mono, as such: we only listened in mono because we couldn't afford anything else. Or, going back another generation, because stereo hadn't been invented.

Thad... I am not glorifying MONO. All I am saying is that certain recordings were recorded very well on MONO in comparison to their Stereo counterparts as Stereo was not popular. The echinques were still being optimised for stereo, while MONO sound engineers were already at the top of their game.

The Beatles are an example of that. Another example is a copy of Holst's The Planets... sounds superb in MONO, with a Phono that has mono as an option...

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Then you are talking about good and bad recordings, and the mono/stereo issue is a sideline. I don't know what went on in studios at that time, but I know that hifi, or even stereo at all, was pretty-much elite in those days.

Of course, it was also regarded, by many, in much the same way as some people still see setting up a computer: a confusing collection of boxes, sockets, plugs, wires, for a technician to handle. Thinking back to relatives who could have afforded stereo, in the 1960s, they didn't: they had a radiogram thingy that was a somewhat younger than ours, and somewhat more expensive. But this guy was one of those people who was clever at business and thick as a brick at everything else: he may have enjoyed listening to all those Hollywood-Musical soundtracks that I seem to remember being their record collection, but he would not cared about fidelity.

Similarly, those that just wanted to twist and shout wouldn't have been too concerned about music quality either.

Amplifiers used to have a mono button --- but maybe that paired one input channel to two out. I don't remember. My mother used to say that early memories return as one gets older: give me another decade or two!

 

[hemantwaghe]

I remember couple of years back malvai said that he was planning a mono setup ----- mono cart -fed to a monoblock through a pre...

i found that idea was odd but when I read more I found there is some logic .... I must say Manav ( malavi) is one of the very very few persons , whom I have ineracted and learnt more about vinyl..

btw malvai - are you planning a mono rig??

 

[malvai]

btw malvai - are you planning a mono rig??

Yep! That is on the cards... In fact with my ugraditis completely cured, this is THE project that will be focussing on!

So if anyone has a single speaker - Tannoy MG 15 or a Altec 604 that they don't what to do with, lemme know!

Will try and get O Mishra to build a single channel Pass kit amp (whenever he has the time)!

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Just wanna know, what the audiophiles are thinking about Mono..

It's only half the story hyeah:

I have a lot of MONO LP's.

In which case I can understand the wish to get the best from them. A mono deck/cartridge setup might be the best way to listen to them --- but splitting the mono -> l+R is so easy, why change anything else?*

Of course, if you do not get a central sound source, it might reveal problems in a stereo setup, but I'm sure you will will have put so much work into that that it will be just fine.


*rider: buying stuff and setting up systems is fun, and does not require justification or good reasons. Enjoy! :licklips:

 

[malvai]

watch this...
talks about mono, stylus and more...

My VinyLiberator Phono Preamp | Playing Mono Records - YouTube

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Oh, right... so specifically-mono cartridges with specifically-mono stylus is an expensive thing, and dangerous in the hands of anyone not very familiar with the exact technology of the records they are playing. Makes sense. Probably the only thing I ever had that wasn't "stereo compatible" had a needle and played 78s!

My Youtube froze up about 7 mins in, but unless things changed, I'm assuming that the message was to do the 2->1 in the phono pre-amp. That makes sense too.

Also, there was the point about those old mono disks not going above 10khz. Is that really worth spending dedicated-amp-speaker cash on? I don't think so --- but it isn't my cash

 

[malvai]

^^^
see the entire video.... it'll put things in perspective

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Fascinating stuff. I now know more ...but have the same perspective .

Leaves me wondering, though, why higher-end phono pre-amps don't come with the same facilities of independent R and L gain. And a mono switch. I think some have the ability to vary the Eq curve? The equipment in that video looks like pretty basic ideas.

 

[Simon Wires]

We have two ears so to get life like sound stereo is necessary. .
Regards

but, we have only one mouth (speaker).. one out put!!