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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
commcat
79 posts
 
In a correct stereo set-up there are instruments on the right and left and in the CENTER. That is the stereo effect. Since you prefer a "close-field" sweet spot with the speakers 8 or 9 feet apart and the music in Mono it seems there is a "hearing problem" or a neurological problem which prevents you from hearing seamless music in a stereo presentation. If you have to sit so close to the speakers to hear the music then mono might be necessary to avoid the ping-pong effect of incorrect stereo separation unless you place the speakers further apart and toe them in to create a close field position. Have you tried headphones and what result did you have?
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
FWIW...In the late 1940s I listened (was made to sit down and listen) to a SOTA system, Mono of course. It utilized two loudspeakers, positioned just as we do today for stereo.
It also had a phono pickup which used wooden "needles" that had a triangular cross section, and were sharpened using a special clipper.

The main reason to get a Mono cartridge is to get the proper (large) stylus. Many "Mono" cartridges are simply stereo models with a jumper to eliminate sensitivity to vertical groove modulation. This jumper is in preamps that have a Mono switch.
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.
nocaster OP
52 posts
 
All very interesting observations. I always have like headphones, even the cheap ones! I do agree with the gentleman that the depth of fied does indeed improve when in mono. Interestingly i too prefer old jazz in mono in particular. In a perfect world I guess all our systems should image and create a soundstage as it were like headphones. But headphones have an unfair advantage in that they do not have to deal with the room or envirement they're in. My system in stereo does have great seperation, imaging, soundstage etc...Right or wrong there is just something about listening in mono that moves me more for the material I listen to.
gregm
3,405 posts
 
I too like mono sound. However, not to detract from your sonic joys, but do try repositioning your spkrs, as Shadorne suggests or even a bit further away (¬5'); the experience will be better for both mono & stereo material.
Keep in mind that "mono" is often sound re-channelled through the right (stereo) channel. It could be you're enjoying an artefact -- albeit a welcome one!
As ELdartford notes there are few mono cartridges around, some of them being just modded stereos. But it's worth trying out, I think, especially on mono recordings.
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