A few years ago, I got a Naim Atom, which I’m very happy with. When my father passed away, I inherited about a hundred 78 rpm shellac records with jazz. I’ve now bought a Dual CS-5000 with an Ortofon mono cartridge. Neither the turntable nor the Atom has a built-in phono stage, so I’m using a NAD PP2.
When searching for mono settings on the Naim Atom, I couldn’t find any option either on the unit or in the app.
How can I play mono properly with this setup?
If I need to add anything to make it work, what would you recommend?
Make sure you’re using the specific 78rpm stylus on your Ortofon for playing the 78s, and whatever you do, don’t use it for playing regular LPs! The PP2 will work, but it’s not ideal here as it’s best to have a phono stage with some pre-RIAA EQ options onboard. However, it will work in a fashion, although you may be best using a “mono” interconnect from the PP2 to the Atom, which will reduce unwanted noise. Your dealer could probably make one of these up for you.
In the “old days” there were preamps with built
In phono stages and mono buttons. There were also many classic jazz albums that were mono and 33rpm, before there was stereo.
Just a “heads up” here, but Michael Fidler makes a phono stage specifically for 78 shellac. It’s called the Spartan 78. It’s a pure mono phono stage with adjustable turnover frequencies along with 2 bandwidth options.
If all you are going to use the deck for is to play your late fathers 78’s, i would suggest there is no better phono stage
From what I’ve gathered, the two most viable options are:
An external mono summing box – something passive that I can place between the phono stage and the Atom, which safely combines left and right channels into mono.
Upgrading to a phono stage with a dedicated mono switch, like those offered by Graham Slee or Musical Fidelity.
I’m keen to hear what others here recommend. If you’ve solved this kind of mono playback issue before — especially with shellac and a Naim setup — I’d be grateful for your input.
Ideally, I’m looking for two options:
– a premium solution for long-term quality
– a budget-friendly workaround to get started without compromising the Atom
A Summing box really has no place in any serious hifi setup in my opinion.
The best of phono stages are designed to have a next to zero noise level, because noise is the devil incarnate where phono stages are concerned. Adding a Summing box into the mix undoes all that hard work.
Unless someone else recommends another phono stage, at least take a look at the Michael Fidler Spartan 78. Yes Graham Slee does one as well, but a google will show that Slee’s boxes come with their own baggage and dirty washing.
One last question — it seems I may need two separate phono stages: one for my 78 rpm records and another for modern stereo vinyl. Are there any phono preamps that handle both well?
Could you please suggest a few models in the budget range?
There’s the Graham Slee Jazz Club, but it’s a fair bit more expensive, although they do crop up from time to time secondhand on the usual sites.
Doing a cursory search of the 'net I see at the other end of the scale there’s a Technolink TC-778, which offers both RIAA MM and 78 inputs. It fits the brief and is relatively inexpensive so may well do the job until you’re in a position to move to something better. However, I haven’t heard the Technolink, so who knows…?
The Graham Slee Accession does mono, and supports various EQ/RIAA curves. It might serve both purposes.
I’m very pleased with mine, it sounds great, and there are good reviews online about them, including from Michael Fremer, so I think that’s reasonably good feedback on the SQ. Obviously listen for yourself if you can, Graham Slee offer a try before you buy service.
The only negative feedback I could find, from a Google search, is retarding build quality. The Accession is a £1000 phono stage, with a £350 power supply. It doesn’t look like a £1000 stage, my old Stageline was much better built, but the Accession sounds much better than the Stageline.
My own experience of playing 78s is that a phono stage with the various equalisation curves greatly enhanced my enjoyment of 78s. A reasonably priced phono stage with the different equalisation curves has, to me, been a clear omission from the market up until this Spartan stage.
I used to use the TC-778, it is ok as a starter stage for 78s, but nothing more. I has two equalisation curves, one is RIAA (boosts bass, cuts treble), the other boosts bass but has a flat treble (useful for some disks, for example His Master’s Voice 78s).
My current issue is that the sound isn’t enjoyable, mainly because it’s unbalanced between the speakers. Sometimes the left speaker stands out more clearly, and I suspect there might be an issue with the RCA connectors — and sometimes it’s the opposite, with the right speaker. In this house, 98% of my records are shellac 78 rpm. I’ll have to set aside the few stereo ones I have. At the same time, my Dual turntable allows me to easily switch to a stereo stylus. However, it could become cumbersome to switch both the phono preamp and stylus whenever I want to play vinyl.
It seems like the most practical solution is to invest in a dedicated phono preamp for 78 rpm and just stick with that setup.
