rediscovering music. Listening to the mono versions for the first time.

[pucho812]

Listening to an album I have owned on various formats over the years for the first time in Mono this morning... Whole different experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EC77D5HkNM&list=PLLfic2VU1UJn94_jHVrP0x43h0T1SCfKP

 

[emrr]

Oh yeah, true of many many albums.  Try it with only one speaker too.

 

[Gold]

One speaker with a mono cartridge is glorious. I have  Denon 102. My main cart is a Denon 103. My favorite cart is an Ortofon SPU. I'd love to get the mono SPU but that's really pricey for occasional use, and the 102 is no slouch.

 

[pucho812]

Oh yeah, true of many many albums.  Try it with only one speaker too.

that'a next...

 

[madswitcher]

Hi Pucho812,

To me, mono recording uses a different set of skills in the performing and recording :  to get a good end-result, it was necessary to have a good balance in both frequency (by the use of suitable instruments in the pop world) as well as  positioning and dynamics.  No fancy techniques such as panning during the performance to distract/entertain the listener.  Even in multitrack-land, I think that mixing down to a mono master requires greater effort to get the balance right.

As the other guys have said, try listening to mono from a single speaker: it is different to that from a pair of speakers with the mono image between them, but you may have to do so attentively.

Happy listening

Mike

 

[ubxf]

The same goes for movies

 

[JohnRoberts]

Some of us old guys remember when mono was all there was....

I watch a lot of old movies that are mono (from 30's 40s).

Modern movie sound is better, but modern movies not so much...

JR

 

[okgb]

At home as background or exercise music I often listen from another room and doesn't come off as stereo !
Reminds me of an interview where the engineer said he would pan things when in mono to listen for possible phase cancelation
and find a spot for the trk

 

[Rocinante]

Some of us old guys remember when mono was all there was....

I watch a lot of old movies that are mono (from 30's 40s).

Modern movie sound is better, but modern movies not so much...

JR

Ahh c'mon. Really? I mean yeah 'The Rock' is pretty laughable at 'acting' but there are a lot of great movies out there (and I'm not a TV person).
Off the top of my head;
'Life is Beautiful' was a great movie.
'The Red Violin'
'The Matrix' was a blast as well as the new 'Star Treks'
'Interstellar' is another (yeah I'm a sucker for scifi flicks)
Even TV shows like the first 'True Detective' 'Stranger Things' and 'Game of Thrones' are well acted, well produced, and well written (or rewritten for TV).
I could go on forever. 
And the sound production is quite amazing as well.  You can tell a lot was put in it by some incredibly talented engineers.
Hell even 'Toy Story' (for that matter any pixel creation) is amazing.
And the Star Wars soundtrack? Tell me that doesn't get caught in your head.

 

[okgb]

Other than fx in movies , none of the multi channel formats  " really " took off  ?

i remember am image of Johnny Winter with a T-shirt that said  " back to Mono "

there's some  video stuff where you can mix the stems, I know not the same

I think a key to what Pucho said is  " Listening  " in mono

If you have your head in a Grand Piano it's really stereo , If your 100ft back it's the room that's stereo

 

[ruffrecords]

Some of us old guys remember when mono was all there was....

JR

The first stereo record I bought was called A Journey Into Stereo Sound sometime late in the 60s. It had some very odd tracks to show off stereo - a motor race, steam trains and and a vaudeville shows as well as some music tracks. The best by far was the closing moments of Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique.

Cheers

Ian

 

[ricardo]

The first stereo record I bought was called A Journey Into Stereo Sound sometime late in the 60s. It had some very odd tracks to show off stereo - a motor race, steam trains and and a vaudeville shows as well as some music tracks. The best by far was the closing moments of Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique.

What !   You didn't have a copy of Ronnie Aldridge and his Two Pianos ??!  In superlative Decca Phase 4 STEREO

They don't make recordings like they used to 

 

[pucho812]

I always thought the stuff Esquivel did  as far as stereophonic was way ahead of it's time.

At one point was so complex it was 2 separate orchestras in two studios conducted via CCTV  with one orchestra in the left channel and one in the right channel. 

 

[alexc]

.... ah, Esquivel 

So, so good!