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Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

RE: I'm able to switch the L or R groove wall only through both channels and

also listen to the vertical only element of any record.

If you want to hear for yourself, reverse the RH channel tags on your cartridge. I guess this is the 90 degree equivalent of a mono switch. You'll only hear the vertical elements and can pinpoint wear, damage or distortion in a mono record.

When I just switch to mono, the vertical elements I heard previously, including damage, vanish. As a rule, mono records in good condition are better heard with the mono switch engaged.

That's why I only use stereo cartridges for mono Lps and 78s, as in bad cases you can select the groove wall with less damage to listen to. A mono cartridge sums the damage and brings down overall quality.

I also only use stereo cartridges in my single speaker mono system.

To my mind, what is far more important is to get the EQ right for early mono Lps. Here, a mono cartridge with a bright response can compensate for the heavy sound caused by the RIAA curve.

And as to stylus size - in the fifties, before stereo, smaller tips were seen by some as better. The 1mil conical size was considered too big to get through all the HF modulations without causing damage through mistracking. If you look at the groove photos in the 1956 Gramophone guide to hi-fi and the 1958 UK yearbook, you can see for yourself. There's one photo that shows the trace of a 1mil tip and .5mil tip in the same groove.

1mil tips are useful for avoiding damage lower down the groove wall, I have a 1.1mil elliptical tip for playing DGG microgroove 78s and I've tried it on mono LPs. I usually go back to a .7mil where damage isn't an issue, it sounds better to me.

A modern mono cart is a good idea as most modern phono amps do not have a mono switch, providing the records are in good condition.

For my money, I have stereo carts (Ortofon MC25FL/Shure V15III-SAS) feeding into a multicurve preamp with a mono switch, and alternative cartridges with larger tips for worn records.

Regards


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