It’s definitely worth it if you have sufficient mono records. I have two arms on my 301, one of which is a Rega R200 which allows me to swap in various cartridges for mono LPs, 78s, charity shop buys etc. I have both 322 & 323 cards in my Nac72 so avoid the pain Dunc identifies. I use the Denon DL-102 for mono (including Beatles box), but 102 seems discontinued now.
I have to say that Clearaudio is the coolest turntable i have ever seen. Wow.
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Thank you all for your replies.
I hope you all feel sorry for me but I think I’m stuck with my LP12 for the foreseeable future. I’m very happy with for the most part but I’m not sure I’d buy a new one now. But back to mono records.
I do have a P6 in another system I could put a mono cart. on it or buy an old Thorens ,Systemdek or something along those lines.
My Rega phono stage has both a MC and MM input with one output. Hana makes one or two high output mono cartridges. I can also put a low out put cart and add a step up transformer. Any thoughts on a transformer with a mono cart.?
@JosquinDesPrez Yeah it’s pretty damn cool looking!
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Thanks guys. I’m really living the dream with this new TT setup, that I never thought I would have. It sounds so amazing, mono and stereo both.
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Has anyone spent any time with Soundsmith cartridges? They say they will make any of their line in mono as well as stereo. A number of their carts are also high output ,that’s perfect for my needs.
Are you sure they’re not just adding an internal strap to their stereo models? A ‘proper’ mono cartridge has a single coil.
@NAC72
I have no idea, I’ll have to check. Thanks
That’s not correct. The Lyra Atlas Mono I have has two coils, and it is indeed a real mono cartridge. It’s just that the coils are oriented as mono to ignore the vertical groove signal. You get identical output on both channels so that you can use a real mono signal in a two-channel system.
Here’s an image off the box to show the difference.
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In this case the two coils are acting as one big one in the horizontal plane so that is indeed a true mono cartridge.
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Personally, I just press the amp’s mono button to sum the channels to cancel or reduce noise. Or if it’s a needle-drop switch into mid / side mode and zero or nul the side channel which is even more effective.
I am sure there would theoretically be a slightly better result from a dedicated mono cartridge but that assumes the a stereo and mono cart was of the same calibre. And easy to swap over. Just impractical imho.
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I was thinking that myself.
As usual, theory trumps reality. 
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That is a massive understatement, LOL. Not even close to the truth of it.
I have both Lyra Altas Lambda SL and Atlas Lambda Mono cartridges, each mounted on identical tonearms on the same turntable, and played through the same phono-stage (which has dual inputs). They are the exact same cartridge except one has stereo coils and the other mono. Every other detail is identical.
Playing a mono record with the Atlas Mono is very different than playing it with the Atlas SL and engaging the mono button on the phono-stage. It’s just not even close. Playing the mono with the Atlas Mono is much more dynamic and open, with a much lower noise floor and deeper fuller soundstage. There’s just no contest. It sounds vastly better.
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Excellent. I can believe it re the noise floor after comparing a needle drop with the mono button engaged versus a stereo needledrop with the side channel nulled - no noise from vertical movement which is the primary reason for improvement? Not sure I understand soundstage with mono. Definitely no desire myself to complicate things however! Enjoy.
Yes, with mono windings the signal from the vertical groove walls is ignored. When playing mono records with a stereo cartridge that vertical movement is just a source of unwanted noise.
Soundstage with mono records is a thing, believe me. There is more to soundstage than width and stereo image. Depth and height is a factor too. When I first played the Tone Poet mono Picture of Heath with my mono cartridge my wife was sure it’s stereo.
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This^, I had previously used a mono button and stereo cartridge, but a true mono cartridge lifted things into another league.
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