I got this one because I have a few mono records and wanted to see if there was a difference in using a mono cartridge instead of my pricey stereo one. It is said that mono carts have the correct stylus size and configuration to play mono records well and not damage them. Since this cart is at the low end in price, I wasn’t expecting much, but I have to admit that it’s sounding pretty good for the short amount of time I’ve used it. For the few albums I have (some Beatles, Stones, and other 60’s artists), it’s fine; the trick is finding older mono records that people haven’t played Frisbee with and scratched them up. One thing that’s annoying and it’s something that A-T can fix easily: MAKE YOUR CARTRIDGES THREADED so no one has to juggle the tiny bolts and risk the danger of dropping them and losing them. With this cart you can thread the bolts onto one of the longer screws before you mount the cart and then get it into place and tighten up the screws, but it’s unnecessary to make people do this in the first place. The hardware is stashed behind the interior packing material.
I got this one because I have a few mono records and wanted to see if there was a difference in using a mono cartridge instead of my pricey stereo one. It is said that mono carts have the correct stylus size and configuration to play mono records well and not damage them. Since this cart is at the low end in price, I wasn’t expecting much, and can’t say I’m overwhelmed by the difference even though it sounds OK. Maybe if I bought one that was a little bit higher in quality I would appreciate it more, but for the few albums I have (some Beatles, Stones, and other 60’s artists) I’ll keep it. One thing that’s annoying and it’s something that A-T can fix easily: MAKE YOUR CARTRIDGES THREADED so no one has to juggle the tiny bolts and risk the danger of dropping them and losing them. With this cart you can thread the bolts onto one of the longer screws before you mount the cart and then get it into place and tighten up the screws, but it’s unnecessary to make people do this in the first place.
Improved signal to noise ratio on both original and modern monaural reissues.This cart and stylus combination yields results that are well worth the investment.I am using VM610MONO on my LP120 and many of my mono records sound as if I am listening to them for the very first time.Furthermore,I must say that I have been extremely pleased with every VM series cart and stylus that I have tried thus far.By the way,I am not sure if this makes any difference but I selected the AT-HS10BK head shell when I mounted my mono cart and stylus and made sure to adjust the counterweight accordingly.Would buy again.
The cartridge came included with setup instructions and was packaged very safely, and was easy to set up. It included plenty of hardware to mount it with. I paired this with an Audio-Technica head shell for s-shaped tonearms, which also included mounting hardware. After testing this out on a variety of older mono records that I had, I can say I am very impressed with the results and the sound quality. There is full bass and clear highs, all in all the playback is very smooth. It was worth it to purchase a dedicated cartridge for mono records.
A couple people complained there was only one screw/washer/nut attaching the cartridge to the dummy shell. True, but that’s not the mounting hardware. It’s a “puzzle box.” The underside of the top of the interior box has a tab with an arrow that says “Pull.” Do so and that opens up the bottom “matchbox” size compartment (with the words “audio-technica” on the front) where you’ll find a plastic bag with several sets of screws of various lengths plus washers and nuts. I admit it wasn’t obvious but I was suspicious of that bottom part of the box interior and suspected the complained about “missing” hardware might be sequestered there. I hope this helps future buyers.
Yo llevo buscando agujas que aporten algo distinto a la escucha (Ortofon bronze, VM540 de Audio tcnica,…) y me pill esta para los discos en mono. Bueno, pues la profundidad de sonido que saca en HIFI esta cpsula, no la saca ninguna de las anteriores… super recomendada para los que tengis discos en mono. Les saca todo el partido.
I recently bought this as I have many classical recordings from the 1950s. I make digital transfers and post them on YT. This process requires reformatting the stereo that I record back into mono. My thought was to record in mono to save a step. I was, however, not prepared for the tremendous improvement in sound of this cartridge on these mono recordings. The music is clearer and cleaner than what I had used (stereo cartridges). Surface noise (hiss and crackle) was cut at least 75%. The sound is bright and punchy, which has been my experience generally with AT cartridges. It has a great deal of gain, and I in fact had to turn down the volume from what I normally listen at. The cartridges I have been using (Grado Platinum, AT, Shure) are wonderful for stereo but this one beats them hands-down on mono records. Honestly, I had no expectation that it would make such a big difference – and am now thinking of digitizing some of my favorite vinyl again with this cartridge.
My only quibble is that it came with just one mounting screw/washer/nut. Luckily I have extras of these around and was able to attach the cartridge to the tonearm head shell.
If you are playing mono records, and want to hear them the way they were meant to be heard, I highly recommend this cartridge.
Installe sur une audio technica LP5. C’est absolument parfait et le changement entre stro et mono est super rapide si chaque cellule a son porte cellule.
I purchased this secondary cart not long after I acquired a new 3-speed turntable specifically for playback of my (rather) large collection of mono LPs. For the price, they’re well-worth the money spent.
Sin lugar a dudas es la calidad de audio de audiotechnica encapsulada en una pastilla complementamente monoaural. Mis discos suenan tan bien como fueron grabados. Obvio no puede extraerse sonido HiFi si este no est previamente en la grabacin.
Excelente artculo
First off, the cartridge sounds amazing on modern mono reissues (Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Miles Davis, etc.) Just great clarity, low noise, everything I wanted at a reasonable price.
But I was pretty disappointed that I needed to go rooting around my junk drawer for screws… The AT Website for this cart says:
Accessories Included Four cartridge installation screws (5 mm x 2, 10 mm x 2), two washers, two hexagon nuts
Nope! One screw. One nut. No washers. It came mounted on a very cheap demo “headshell” with only one screw and one nut.
I’ve been cleaning and assessing my record collection and this cartridge/stylus for mono records has really delighted me. I was astounded at how much great sound was still available on 50+ year old LPs. If you have a substantial mono coll. I heartily recommend this.
I got this one because I have a few mono records and wanted to see if there was a difference in using a mono cartridge instead of my pricey stereo one. It is said that mono carts have the correct stylus size and configuration to play mono records well and not damage them. Since this cart is at the low end in price, I wasn’t expecting much, but I have to admit that it’s sounding pretty good for the short amount of time I’ve used it. For the few albums I have (some Beatles, Stones, and other 60’s artists), it’s fine; the trick is finding older mono records that people haven’t played Frisbee with and scratched them up. One thing that’s annoying and it’s something that A-T can fix easily: MAKE YOUR CARTRIDGES THREADED so no one has to juggle the tiny bolts and risk the danger of dropping them and losing them. With this cart you can thread the bolts onto one of the longer screws before you mount the cart and then get it into place and tighten up the screws, but it’s unnecessary to make people do this in the first place. The hardware is stashed behind the interior packing material.
I got this one because I have a few mono records and wanted to see if there was a difference in using a mono cartridge instead of my pricey stereo one. It is said that mono carts have the correct stylus size and configuration to play mono records well and not damage them. Since this cart is at the low end in price, I wasn’t expecting much, and can’t say I’m overwhelmed by the difference even though it sounds OK. Maybe if I bought one that was a little bit higher in quality I would appreciate it more, but for the few albums I have (some Beatles, Stones, and other 60’s artists) I’ll keep it. One thing that’s annoying and it’s something that A-T can fix easily: MAKE YOUR CARTRIDGES THREADED so no one has to juggle the tiny bolts and risk the danger of dropping them and losing them. With this cart you can thread the bolts onto one of the longer screws before you mount the cart and then get it into place and tighten up the screws, but it’s unnecessary to make people do this in the first place.
Great so far, only issues are related to mounting, setting balance and tracking of any cartridge and tone arm. Sounds great so far.
Improved signal to noise ratio on both original and modern monaural reissues.This cart and stylus combination yields results that are well worth the investment.I am using VM610MONO on my LP120 and many of my mono records sound as if I am listening to them for the very first time.Furthermore,I must say that I have been extremely pleased with every VM series cart and stylus that I have tried thus far.By the way,I am not sure if this makes any difference but I selected the AT-HS10BK head shell when I mounted my mono cart and stylus and made sure to adjust the counterweight accordingly.Would buy again.
The cartridge came included with setup instructions and was packaged very safely, and was easy to set up. It included plenty of hardware to mount it with. I paired this with an Audio-Technica head shell for s-shaped tonearms, which also included mounting hardware. After testing this out on a variety of older mono records that I had, I can say I am very impressed with the results and the sound quality. There is full bass and clear highs, all in all the playback is very smooth. It was worth it to purchase a dedicated cartridge for mono records.
Yo llevo buscando agujas que aporten algo distinto a la escucha (Ortofon bronze, VM540 de Audio tcnica,…) y me pill esta para los discos en mono. Bueno, pues la profundidad de sonido que saca en HIFI esta cpsula, no la saca ninguna de las anteriores… super recomendada para los que tengis discos en mono. Les saca todo el partido.
I recently bought this as I have many classical recordings from the 1950s. I make digital transfers and post them on YT. This process requires reformatting the stereo that I record back into mono. My thought was to record in mono to save a step. I was, however, not prepared for the tremendous improvement in sound of this cartridge on these mono recordings. The music is clearer and cleaner than what I had used (stereo cartridges). Surface noise (hiss and crackle) was cut at least 75%. The sound is bright and punchy, which has been my experience generally with AT cartridges. It has a great deal of gain, and I in fact had to turn down the volume from what I normally listen at. The cartridges I have been using (Grado Platinum, AT, Shure) are wonderful for stereo but this one beats them hands-down on mono records. Honestly, I had no expectation that it would make such a big difference – and am now thinking of digitizing some of my favorite vinyl again with this cartridge.
My only quibble is that it came with just one mounting screw/washer/nut. Luckily I have extras of these around and was able to attach the cartridge to the tonearm head shell.
If you are playing mono records, and want to hear them the way they were meant to be heard, I highly recommend this cartridge.
il disco sta girando, un 33 giri da 10 pollici….sembra rivivere, un piacere sentirlo. direi che questa testina fa ottimamente il suo lavoro.
Installe sur une audio technica LP5. C’est absolument parfait et le changement entre stro et mono est super rapide si chaque cellule a son porte cellule.
I put this on my Denon DP45f turntable and the cartridge track like a champ and plays mono records beautifully.
Take your time getting the cartridge set correctly…
I purchased this secondary cart not long after I acquired a new 3-speed turntable specifically for playback of my (rather) large collection of mono LPs. For the price, they’re well-worth the money spent.
Sin lugar a dudas es la calidad de audio de audiotechnica encapsulada en una pastilla complementamente monoaural. Mis discos suenan tan bien como fueron grabados. Obvio no puede extraerse sonido HiFi si este no est previamente en la grabacin.
Excelente artculo
But I was pretty disappointed that I needed to go rooting around my junk drawer for screws… The AT Website for this cart says:
Accessories Included Four cartridge installation screws (5 mm x 2, 10 mm x 2), two washers, two hexagon nuts
Nope! One screw. One nut. No washers. It came mounted on a very cheap demo “headshell” with only one screw and one nut.