Source: Press Release, Last Accessed: 2014/06/17

Thanks to a cooperative effort between Universal Music Group and Ortofon, Beatles fans can maximize their Beatles Mono Box Set listening experience with Ortofon's new 2M Mono Special Edition cartridge specifically created as a tribute to the new mono Beatles albums set.
In an audiophile-minded undertaking, The Beatles’ acclaimed mono albums have been newly mastered for vinyl from quarter-inch master tapes at Abbey Road Studios by engineer Sean Magee and mastering supervisor Steve Berkowitz (both Grammy award winners). While The Beatles In Mono CD boxed set released in 2009 was created from digital remasters, for this new vinyl project, Magee and Berkowitz cut the records without using any digital technology. Instead, they employed the same procedures used in the 1960s, guided by the original albums and by detailed transfer notes made by the original cutting engineers.
Working in the same room at Abbey Road where most of The Beatles’ albums were initially cut, the pair first dedicated weeks to concentrated listening, fastidiously comparing the master tapes with first pressings of the mono records made in the 1960s. Using a rigorously tested Studer A80 machine to play back the precious tapes, the new vinyl was cut on a 1980s-era VMS80 lathe.
Manufactured for the world at Optimal Media in Germany, The Beatles’ albums are presented in their original glory, both sonically and in their packaging. The boxed collection’s exclusive 12-inch by 12-inch hardbound book features new essays and a detailed history of the mastering process by award-winning radio producer and author Kevin Howlett. The book is illustrated with many rare studio photos of The Beatles, fascinating archive documents, and articles and advertisements sourced from 1960s publications.
The Beatles In Mono will be available individually or in a limited 14-LP boxed edition, accompanied by an exclusive 108-page hardbound book and will include the albums “Please Please Me”, “With The Beatles”, “A Hard Day's Night”, “Beatles For Sale”, “Help!”, “Rubber Soul”, “Revolver”, “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”, “Magical Mystery Tour”, “The Beatles” (2-LP) and the “Mono Masters” (3-LP).
Guy Hayden, VP at Universal Music Group: “Apple Corps Ltd and Universal Music Group have been paying great attention to the re-mastering of the original mono master tape to keep the original sound, as experienced by The Beatles back in the studio. Therefore, it was important to us to ensure that the first interaction with the vinyl, being the cartridge, provides the best possible replay. During our dialogue with Ortofon we realised the importance of using a mono cartridge for the full listening experience and we are pleased that they have decided to develop the 2M Mono Special Edition”.
Ortofon’s Leif Johannsen, CO Acoustics and Technology, explains the importance of a mono cartridge: “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.”
The 2M Mono Special Edition will be available only from Ortofon’s web shop.

For more information: http://www.ortofon.com/, http://www.thebeatles.com/

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