I have said from the beginning I know what I don't know about disc 
reproduction and I'm not sure I have the time to learn...so that is why 
I keep drawing parallels from disc to tape.

Here's another one: In playing full-track mono tapes, a good friend told 
me "don't knock it until you try it." Well, I'm doing a 1951 full-track 
tape that is a home recording, but the person worked in a radio station 
(may have owned it). It's full track mono at 7.5 in/s and it is one of 
the cleanest recordings of this type I have heard. The only negative is 
some hum and a few harmonics, but RX4 should remove that without too 
much damage.

I redid a good percentage of the Mullin-Palmer tapes after installing 
the full-track head back in 2001-2002.

Anyway, while it is theoretical that the 45/45 cartridge can do 
everything just like summing an NAB stereo head can supposedly get most 
of the sounds. DIN stereo is even better. BUT the full-track head wins.

A lot of my azimuth investigations for summing two stereo channels 
revolves around trying to get the best reproduction possible from mono 
tapes when there are no really good mono cassette players (on the scale 
of a Nakamichi Dragon).

So, when I read Goran's article, I thought I'd investigate the mono 
Ortofon...and compare it to my Stanton 681s...which I really like and 
have for over 40 years.

Cheers,

Richard


On 2015-05-08 6:27 PM, Jamie Howarth wrote:
> I think what frustrates the discussion is that digital it is possible to exactly duplicate what you are achieving mechanically plus a whole lot more.
>
> It's not that the stylus is unyielding and gouges its way through pinch effect (one hopes). It's simply not wired to communicate what it's doing in that axis. There is nothing magical about 45/45 coil placement that makes it suck compared to 90/0... You want to use the GE? Terrific. It still moves vertically it just couples the entire mass of the tone arm and bearing to that motion rather than absorb it locally in the cantilever. Terrific.
> To each his own.
> Every iota of geometry in the groove/stylus interface can be deduced from 45/45. All of the mechanical noise cancellation or the facsimile thereof achieved via wiring for 90/0 can be achieved digitally, and then some.
> I'll bet Ortofon says nothing about doing the declick and cleanup from a non-de-emphasized digitization but it's a good idea before all the bass boost and treble rolloff. Do the RIAA or whatever curve afterward. Slap some on in the monitor so you know what you're listening to. But preserve and restore right off the cartridge. Don't bake in anything that loses information.
>
> Please pardon the misspellings and occassional insane word substitution I'm on an iPhone
>
>> On May 8, 2015, at 4:56 PM, "Goran Finnberg [log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Dough Pomeroy:
>>
>>> You are not the only responder to
>>> have stated that a mono mix should
>>> be made before de-clicking and other
>>> noise removal work is done.  I have
>>> heard this view stated in the past, but
>>> I can't agree.
>>
>> And now for the ultimate way to recover the most from any lateral cut mono disk record:
>>
>> http://ortofon.com/hifi/products/cartridges/2m-series/2m-mono-se
>>
>> "Why should you use a dedicated mono cartridge for playing vinyl mono records?
>>
>> On a mono record the signal is cut only in the lateral dimension whereas a stereo record is cut at +/- 45 degrees into the opposing groove-walls, see figure to the right.
>>
>> A stereo cartridge will be able to replay stereo and mono records, because mono is a special version of stereo where the right and left channels are identical.
>>
>> While a stereo cartridge can play mono records it can’t achieve the same signal precision between the two channels. A mono cartridge produces but one signal that is directed to both channels in the system. A mono cartridge playing a mono record produces a more forceful and stable image with a fuller, more impactful sound.
>>
>> Another big advantage in using a mono cartridge to play mono records is the absence of response to vertical movement. This means that a mono cartridge is basically immune to the pinching effect which comes into action when the stylus is pushed vertically upward in very narrow grooves. Also the response to dust, dirt and wear is reduced substantially. The final result will be a clean and noiseless reproduction of the mono record.
>>
>> The listening experience will be significantly improved when using a high quality true mono cartridge for the replay of your mono records."
>>
>> End Quote Ortofon.
>>
>> 1/ Complete removal of the pinch distortion that can reach up to 30 % second harmonic when played by a stereo cartridge.
>>
>> 2/ Free removal of dust dirt ticks and scratches and audible distortion caused by wear.
>>
>> 3/ Up to 20 dB less rumble by using an only horisontal sensing replay device that excludes the vertical component where all the rumble hides..
>>
>> Makes the uses of digital click/crackle/hiss removal tools much more effective.
>>
>> So ditch all your stereo catridges and play the disks as they were meant to be played !!!
>>
>> :-)
>>
>>
>>> I find the best contemporary digital
>>> de-clickers are so good that they
>>> fully remove the distortions caused
>>> by scratches. Once these and other
>>> defects are replaced by sound
>>> synthesized from surrounding audio,
>>> they effectively vanish and do not
>>> depend on mixing for removal.
>>
>> By using a true lateral responding device only then the digital noise removal tools work much faster since there is less to do.
>>
>>> As you have mentioned, the stereo
>>> transfer of a lateral recording allows
>>> distorted areas on only one groove
>>> wall to be manually replaced by a
>>> less distorted section from the
>>> corresponding section from the
>>> opposite wall, and this is indeed a
>>> powerful tool.
>>
>> And you have lost 3 dB S/N that is free when using a lateral responding device only.
>>
>>> A mono mix prior to de-clicking just
>>> combines the non-vertical noise from
>>> both channels. I find processing the
>>> stereo before making the mono to
>>> be a superior approach, but I understand
>>> there are those who disagree.
>>
>> Thus the noise increases 3 dB because it is not correlated ie is not in phase between L/R.
>>
>> The audio signal, is identical on the left or right track thus when combined increases by +6dB thus we always gain +3 dB net by using a lateral responding device which we get by summing L+R.
>>
>> It´s free. to do.
>>
>> But then the very best to get the most out of any lateral recorded disk is a lateral responding, mono only, cartridge as stated by Ortofon.
>>
>> Because then we remove all the imperfections in using a stereo cartridge trying to extract the audio from lateral cut disks.
>>
>> The EMT OFD65 with a truncated elliptical is very good for 78´s.
>>
>> And it is a lateral responding only device too.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Goran Finnberg
>> The Mastering Room AB
>> Goteborg
>> Sweden
>>
>> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> Learn from the mistakes of others, you can never live long enough to
>> make them all yourself.    -   John Luther
>>
>> (\__/)
>> (='.'=)
>> (")_(") Smurfen:RIP
>
-- 
Richard L. Hess                   email: [log in to unmask]
Aurora, Ontario, Canada                             647 479 2800
http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.