Let's See What Makes Your Vinyl Spin!

AnthonyI said:
Ya, I've read that, I mean could they be any thinner? That said, the carts not getting swapped on this deck ever so I'm ok with that, also contacted a tech, he quoted me $25?! We'll see if that changes once he has it in hand.
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Well the wires are €20 to begin with. Labour, rent etc is pretty high around here too plus the tech I used was the official project mendy guy so that probably adds a bit of a tax to it as well.
 
AnthonyI said:
Hmmmmm, no right channel??? 🤔

..................It's always something :mad:🤬😡🤬
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We're ready to roll and today's trip to get the tonearm lead fixed brought some renewed faith in humanity.
AT33MONO.jpg
So I took the day off today because A. I needed a break and B. I needed to get out of the house [WFH]. So mask in tow I headed to this brick and mortar shop. It is a record shop, but the owner sells vintage gear and does repairs as well. I show up, tell him my woes and he heads to the back for a quick sec. Comes back with soldering iron and meter in tow and has at it, right there at the front counter.

I did a little browsing while I waited, I had completely assumed I'd be dropping it off for pickup at a later date, but no. After about 15 minute he tells me "You're good to go". I was like, damn! We chit chatted a bit, he explained what he did, what he used and made sure there was continuity. Really enjoyed the conversation and really need to come back and shop here soon, even though its a bit out of the way.

So I then ask, "So what do I owe you?", Bill replies, "Nothing, happy to help". Of course I insisted, but was shot down with a simple explanation of, "Doing the little things for customers are why we're here".

That's it, there's really nothing else to add to this story. :)
 
AnthonyI said:
We're ready to roll and today's trip to get the tonearm lead fixed brought some renewed faith in humanity.
View attachment 216887
So I took the day off today because A. I needed a break and B. I needed to get out of the house [WFH]. So mask in tow I headed to this brick and mortar shop. It is a record shop, but the owner sells vintage gear and does repairs as well. I show up, tell him my woes and he heads to the back for a quick sec. Comes back with soldering iron and meter in tow and has at it, right there at the front counter.

I did a little browsing while I waited, I had completely assumed I'd be dropping it off for pickup at a later date, but no. After about 15 minute he tells me "You're good to go". I was like, damn! We chit chatted a bit, he explained what he did, what he used and made sure there was continuity. Really enjoyed the conversation and really need to come back and shop here soon, even though its a bit out of the way.

So I then ask, "So what do I owe you?", Bill replies, "Nothing, happy to help". Of course I insisted, but was shot down with a simple explanation of, "Doing the little things for customers are why we're here".

That's it, there's really nothing else to add to this story. :)
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Man, shout out to that shop! Do they do online orders?
 
AnthonyI said:
We're ready to roll and today's trip to get the tonearm lead fixed brought some renewed faith in humanity.
View attachment 216887
So I took the day off today because A. I needed a break and B. I needed to get out of the house [WFH]. So mask in tow I headed to this brick and mortar shop. It is a record shop, but the owner sells vintage gear and does repairs as well. I show up, tell him my woes and he heads to the back for a quick sec. Comes back with soldering iron and meter in tow and has at it, right there at the front counter.

I did a little browsing while I waited, I had completely assumed I'd be dropping it off for pickup at a later date, but no. After about 15 minute he tells me "You're good to go". I was like, damn! We chit chatted a bit, he explained what he did, what he used and made sure there was continuity. Really enjoyed the conversation and really need to come back and shop here soon, even though its a bit out of the way.

So I then ask, "So what do I owe you?", Bill replies, "Nothing, happy to help". Of course I insisted, but was shot down with a simple explanation of, "Doing the little things for customers are why we're here".

That's it, there's really nothing else to add to this story. :)
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New table and cart up and running now? How is the sound?
 
Jbraswell said:
New table and cart up and running now? How is the sound?
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Indeed they are, only put about 3 hours on the cart so far, but it sounds fantastic. Had a couple moments during this whole thing where I was like "was this worth it?", especially with the drive belt missing, then the broken tonearm lead, wasn't all warm and fuzzy getting this up and running. But now, couldn't be happier.

The cart, table and StudioPhono work well together and having a "one button" solution to going mono is great. :)
 
AnthonyI said:
Indeed they are, only put about 3 hours on the cart so far, but it sounds fantastic. Had a couple moments during this whole thing where I was like "was this worth it?", especially with the drive belt missing, then the broken tonearm lead, wasn't all warm and fuzzy getting this up and running. But now, couldn't be happier.

The cart, table and StudioPhono work well together and having a "one button" solution to going mono is great. :)
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Awesome.
Glad to see you are back on track... So to speak. 🍻
 
Thackeraye said:
Out of interest, do you think it makes a huge difference over playing mono records on a stereo cartridge?
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A couple of things, and these are my opinions based on what I've done and heard.

When I had two systems before I had a chance to try the Quintet Blue and Quintet Mono on the PLX-1000 and there was a definite difference in how they sounded when swapping between the two. With the mono cart there was more clarity, punchier low end, really quiet and vocals seemed a bit more natural compared to the Quintet Blue. There's something about the uniform sound distribution that works, and yes, I took notes back then because this mono thing has been a back burner itch for quite a while.

All that said, there are a bunch of ways to produce "mono", some I would consider "faux" mono, and hey, whatever works for you. But the reason I ended up going this route was for a couple of reasons.

Why not just put it on a head shell and use it on the 1210G? I'm nearing end game and really want simplicity when deciding what to listen to. So while I could have gone that route, I would have had to still adjust phono setting, and calibrate the cart to some extent, so some time and effort involved. I wanted it to be more simple.

I also wanted to run as true a mono chain as possible, the AT33MONO is a TRUE mono cartridge, so we found a good turntable and phono with the goal being this rig was as is, no changing carts, just set up for mono when I wanted to listen to mono, end of conversation. So the mono rig is going into AUX 1 on my amp and the 1210G/Manley through AUX 2, so it's literally a source button push and I can listen to whatever, whenever.

Lastly and most importantly, I wouldn't jump into the mono rabbit hole if you only have a few pressings, it's not worth it. I have quite of few new and old mono recordings. Like I mentioned earlier, there are other ways to go about it, but I think most of those aren't going to produce enough of an audio difference to warrant doing it that way, you'll enjoy the recording just as much in stereo. I just wanted to do it as close to the "Right" way as possible, just my opinion/decision.

If you want to go down this road, I would recommend finding a decent table, doesn't have to be super expensive, put your money towards a true mono cart and push it through your phono input if you're using a separate phono for your main rig. I had to go with an additional phono because I went with an MC cart. Keep in mind that your going mono, so a separate phono can be very inexpensive, you can go with a Schiit Mani for $150 and be done. I grabbed an open box StudioPhono for $200. So there are options, again, my snag was "doing it the right way"..........according to me ;)

In conclusion, lol. Yes, I think mono LPs sound better on my rig, set up the way it is, with the components I'm using ;)
 
I'll say that for years I always thought mono equals boring, blah playback experience, which mono buttons and various settings on most of your big box stereo embraces.

Digging into a vintage mono recording, not a fold down type, and getting the setup to pick up on only the horizontal modulation from the vinyl goove is sublime. Really eye opening to how good music in mono can sound.
 
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