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Mono VS Stereo

Hello,

For the last few years I stopped listening to my system in stereo mode and now only listen in mono. As soon as I started listening in mono my listening enjoyment went up about 300%. No longer did I become fatigued by the (Man made) stereo (Effects) created by the engineers in the studio. I grew to hate following these effects from the left speaker to the right speaker and back again with some recordings. When you attend a live performance be it Rock, Jazz, synphony or whatever, the sound comes at you in mono not stereo (Unless of course the sound man has other ideas. But as far as the band and the actual instruments are concerned there is no such thing as "Playing" in stereo. Give it a try, listen to your records or CD's in mono ( I hope you all have a mono selector on your preamps) it will be hard going back to stereo listening plus the soundstage and the way the "Band" comes across will be really cool.
nocaster

Showing 6 responses by shadorne

shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
FWIW at 8 or 9 feet apart and sitting at a close near-field position (3 to 6 feet I presume) then I fear that you will indeed over-exaggerate some stereo effects to a degree that it becomes annoying on many recordings. Sounds will be to your left and right to such a degree that you may feel that you are sitting within the orchestra (a very unusual seat for a concert goer).

I'd suggest to try placing the speakers 4 feet apart (tweeter to tweeter) if you sit 6 feet back from the plane of the speakers. If you sit at 3 feet then place the speakers 2 feet apart.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Oh dear. I am not sure what to say. You may have an issue with your system or
room acoustics - this is absolutely not a normal conclusion. Get some help with
your system. I would also have your hearing tested.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
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For example, are your speakers perhaps way too far apart ( I prefer them close together and much less than an equilateral triangle in order to preserve a more realistic concert like performance). I also prefer Telarc recordings that are not multi-miked but are done with careful care to preserve the proper stereo balance. My speakers are 8 feet apart and I sit 12 feet back in order to get a proper balanced far-field presentation.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Good news. Perhaps you should keep the system constant for a while (wait a while before doing the breath of life" mod on the Sony 777ES.. I mean going from mono for all those years and finally to stereo is already quite a leap, IMHO.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
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I'm learning something new here (Single loudspeaker configurations and mono cartridges) really cool.

Not to sound like a broken record but I really would investigate further the reason for your preference - you might learn/discover something else. If you had a radioshack system then I might understand your unusual preference but with Sonus Faber Guaneri driven by Mcintosh preamp and power amp...I reckon you ought to get a fantastic stereo sound.

FWIW: Stereo recordings are meant to be heard that way. Certain effects are specific and unique to stereo and are used extensively in the industry. It is not just simple panning that is done but adjustments to phase which are made on most recordings to create soundstage width/depth/ambiance. If you convert them to mono then you will get some unintended effects.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Yeah I'm with Gregm - the Guarneri is the most neutral and transparent of SF speakers and a real gem.
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