Mono vs stereo


Although I like stereo, often I find it contrived.  More fun than actually adding to the music realism.

I see the Beatles have a "mono" collection available.

Are there any "mono"  advocates out there? While I realize there is no "left / right" imaging, is there a sense of realism that isn't captured in stereo? 
jimspov

Showing 1 response by erik_squires

When you listen to mono, you should use a single speaker, in the center, not two speakers playing the same signal, it won't sound the same.

When you listen to stereo, one thing you will notice is instruments at the sides get brighter than those at the center, even when you have ideal imaging. This is caused by your head.  Neo:6 music mode and multi-channel playback gets rid of this.

I personally like the spatial illusions a great deal. I do think there is something about music not captured in mono. If you have ever seen a painting with texture and depth, and try to photograph it, the 2D image never captures the richness you have with the painting in front of you for this reason, in addition to issues of ink color matching. This 2-eyed perspective changes everything.

At the same time, recordings matter a lot. I'm not big on the wall of sound type productions. I rank that right up there with excessive compression and noise to fill time between commercials.

Best,

Erik