Your Opinion Please: Mono or Stereo?

[LG]

I never like the way anything sounds in mono. I like being able to listen separately to each instrument, hear it all spread out into a mental soundscape... mono just sounds like someone is hitting me in the face with music.

Indeed it was a massive step forward when stereo recordings took over from mono. Although when I was a kid our car only had one speaker and the TV too so we wouldn't have heard stereo anyway, not until we got our own hi-fi system.

Cosmic, I love that song but am used to the stereo cut it would probably sound strange to hear it in mono now.

 

[gcczep]

Inside...outside

Old 50's records by Berry, Little Richard, Elvis, Bill Haley, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly etc. sound good in mono but I equate that to their time period and the recording capabilities they had then. The simplicity of the music suited it. I agree with Cos that if the music isn't meant to be expansive like acoustic numbers by one person or even two, then mono is fine.

The early Beach Boys recordings though when Wilson was experimenting with layers as such had that huge sound to them even though they are in mono. Wasn't Spector's "wall of sound" recordings originally mono as well?

I tried the all channel approach on mono recordings it gave it width but it did not sound right to me. On a good two channel set-up properly toed in with enough room in between...the soundfield is locked in the center and is enjoyable. On multi-speaker rigs, with processors and receivers there is a DSP usually called Jazz Club though gimmicky in a sense gives mono recordings depth and size adding ambiance by bleeding it out to the surround speakers.

 

[Phil B.]

I still love the sound of mono on the early records (50's thru early 60's). The first Beatle albums I owned were all in mono (picked up from a garage sale). I still like listening to the Fab Four's stuff up through Revolver in mono.

Don't get me wrong, stereo was a wonderful development, but I have a nostalgic investment in mono as well. I will never forget hearing my first Chuck Berry album that was "re-recorded" in stereo. Compared to the 45's I owned, it sucked and sounded horrible, IMHO.

 

[LG]

^^That's understandable Phil, if the original was done in "mono" and you grew up listening to it the remixed version wouldn't sound right.

I've heard many Beatles fans say the same thing, they love the old mono versions. I just bought some of the new Beatles vinyl albums released by EMI, from Revolver to Let It Be and a copy of HELP!. They sound great to me and are stereo not mono.

 

[Dude111]

I never like the way anything sounds in mono.

Hmmmm I prefer MONO and always have.... THE SOUND IS BETTER

(The recordings havent been ripped apart for stereo)


I listen to my cassettes and 8 tracks in Mono