What is it about Mono that gives some 'philes an orgasm? How diff/better than Stereo?

caesar · Oct 7, 2016

I am not an audiophile. I am not into analyzing - I just play music on my system or in my car to get into that transcendental state of flow. Yet when I put on a mono recording, it sounds very weird to me, and I turn it off right away, in a matter of seconds. Apparently, I am not alone, as they Stones are pressing only 10,000 copies of their mono remasters.

Why do folks like mono?

What does mono do better than stereo that so many people like it?

How different is mono from stereo?

Fiddle Faddle · Oct 7, 2016

It is phase-perfect because there was just one microphone at the recording session. The result in my opinion is as close as it gets to your own ears picking up the sound of an acoustic performance at a superb hall (except of course for the whole stereo bit). So I think it comes down to priority. For me phase-related / timing issues are one of the biggest reasons as to why recordings fail to satisfy me - and of course on the other hand that is why mono ones almost always satisfy me or stereo ones that are minimally-miked to a slightly lesser extend (i.e Mercury Living Presence, etc).

But if you listen, for example, to the recent Anthony Collins Sibelius Symphony cycle recorded in the early 1950s or the Respighi Church Windows mono remastering done last year, if coherence, clarity and a complete and utter lack of any time-smearing are what matter the most, you'd wonder why the world even ever bothered going to stereo.

I do honestly prefer mono, but then again as I said earlier, I am incredibly sensitive to the problems inherent in stereo-type recording setups. In any case, even when we are at an actual concert, it isn't really the "perfect" stereo we get on our systems - it is a sort of hybrid of stereo / mono - maybe more like a spatial sort of mono depending on where we are in the hall.

All that said, I think mono really shines with classical and other acoustic / jazz types of music. It isn't necessarily so much of an issue with pop music because of the way it is recorded - in other words if you have a pop session where each instrument is individually tracked - often not even at the same time or at least tracked in isolation - you will get a "processed" stereo and there won't necessarily be multiple microphones picking sound from different directions. But you can't get around that when recording an orchestra or a jazz ensemble which is why I think mono shines in these genres.

Anyway, had we stuck with mono this whole time, I could have twice as good gear for the same money!!

NorthStar · Oct 7, 2016

I have all the Stones SACDs, Stereo and Mono. I prefer Stereo. ...And same with the Beatles.
_____

Speaking of the Stones, they have a new album, in Stereo:

Album 'Blue & Lonesome'
New album featuring Eric Clapton recorded over three days in London
Rolling Stones Announce New Blues Cover Album 'Blue & Lonesome'

It's official: The Rolling Stones will put out their first studio record in over a decade on December 2nd with the release of new album Blue & Lonesome.
The 12 tracks, recorded in three days at London's British Grove Studios, all cover songs by classic bluesmen, including Howlin' Wolf ("Commit a Crime"), Little Walter ("I Gotta Go") and Jimmy Reed ("Little Rain"). Eric Clapton guests on the group's cover of Little Johnny Taylor's "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing" and Otis Rush's "I Can't Quit You Baby." The album doubles as a nod to the band's formative years, when the band would play covers by their favorite blues artists.
Keith Richards told Rolling Stone in September that the group had been recording in London, cutting several songs in a rapid period. "It was fun – always is," he said. At the time, he claimed the album would contain "a lot of Chicago blues."
Later in the month, Mick Jagger posted a photo of his harmonica case and some guitar picks on Twitter, using the hashtag #PlayingThe Blues. The group also posted a teaser video, showing images of their gear in a studio with the sound of guitar strumming and a voice counting in a song.

The next day, they posted another, showing them playing a swinging blues line punctuated by some harmonica.

Co-producer Don Was revealed in an interview with the French publication Le Figaro (via Ultimate Classic Rock) that the Stones had recorded the LP live in the studio with the musicians in a circle surrounding microphones. "The record sounds very crude, very authentic," he said. "It captures the essence of what they are."
"This album is manifest testament to the purity of their love for making music, and the blues is, for the Stones, the fountainhead of everything they do," Was said in a statement.
Blue Lonesome Album Cover Rolling Stones
Ron Wood first discussed the group's blues angle in an April interview with The Associated Press. "We went in to cut some new songs, which we did," he said. "But we got on a blues streak. We cut 11 blues in two days. They are extremely great cover versions of Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter, among other blues people. But they really sound authentic. ... When we heard them back after not hearing them for a couple of months, we were, 'Who's that? It's you,' It sounded so authentic."
Was revealed that the group had recorded Little Walter's "Blue and Lonesome" in the sessions in an April radio interview. "It was just magnificent," he said, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. "When they play that music, they become something very true to who they are and something really unique as well."
Blue & Lonesome Track List
1. "Just Your Fool" (Originally written and recorded in 1960 by Little Walter)
2. "Commit a Crime" (Originally written and recorded in 1966 by Howlin’ Wolf - Chester Burnett)
3. "Blue and Lonesome" (Originally written and recorded in 1959 by Little Walter)
4. "All of Your Love" (Originally written and recorded in 1967 by Magic Sam - Samuel Maghett)
5. "I Gotta Go" (Originally written and recorded in 1955 by Little Walter)
6. "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing" (Originally recorded in 1971 by Little Johnny Taylor, composed by Miles Grayson & Lermon Horton)
7. "Ride ‘Em On Down" (Originally written and recorded in 1955 by Eddie Taylor)
8. "Hate To See You Go" (Originally written and recorded in 1955 by Little Walter)
9. "Hoo Doo Blues" (Originally recorded in 1958 by Lightnin’ Slim, composed by Otis Hicks & Jerry West)
10. "Little Rain" (Originally recorded in 1957 by Jimmy Reed, composed by Ewart.G.Abner Jr. and Jimmy Reed)
11. "Just Like I Treat You" (Originally written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin’ Wolf in December 1961)
12. "I Can’t Quit You Baby" (Originally written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Otis Rush in 1956)
________

I am very excited by this; the Stones are my favorite Rock&Roll band of all time, and it's been over a decade since their last album ('A Bigger Bang' - 2005).
And it's a "Stereo" music recording, with original new Blues material (I didn't see anywhere any mention of being in "orgasmic Mono").
And 'Blues' music is part of my roots, music evolution. I'll get a stereo orgasm from their new coming up CD. :b

christensenleif@msn.com · Oct 7, 2016

I´ve just recently entered the mono scene and I totally agree
got myself an EMT938 with the 929 arm, the TMD25 mono cartridge and the original mc card
refurbished and recapped the whole thing and it utterly sings !
present a much more solid and 3D image than any stereo recording
totally free of the ping pong stereo image we´ve all been accustomed to

NorthStar · Oct 7, 2016

Cool. How many mono recordings do you have compared to stereo recordings...in percentage?

And true; with mono you don't have the 'pong', only the 'ping'.

ack · Oct 7, 2016

Someone should make the case for stereo recording of a voice. Come again?

Mike Lavigne · Oct 7, 2016

I have about 350 mono Lp's, almost all from the 50's and 60's. I have 2 separate phono stages inside my darTZeel preamp, one set up for mono. I have a separate 12" Durand Telos tone arm (composite arm wand) with a Miyajima Premium Be mono cartridge. so I have a fairly strong commitment to listening to mono Lps.

I prefer stereo, except....when I prefer mono.

why can mono touch something deep in our soul and connect so well to the humanity in us when all the stars align?

I have a theory.......I think.....that since your brain does not need to do it's 'location thing' and process the differences between what your left ear hears and what your right ear hears that the music connects in a deeper way......bypassing the processing. when all the stars align with the right early mono pressing, it's like you are mainlining with the purest possible musical nuance. I am conscious that my brain is less a part of the enjoyment, I'm not thinking about it, but my body is happier....my shoulders relax.....I breathe deeply.

objectively I do think that a good mono recording is a bit more micro-dynamically alive, and as others mentioned, more phase perfect.

there is a particular mono recording that seems to demonstrate this very clearly. it's 'Body and Soul' by Billie Holliday. I have a later mono, and an early mono, and the 45 reissue mono. the early mono slaughters the other two pressings. it is dramatically more expressive and real. but the other 2 sound great and then when the first note from the early pressing hits you are in a different place. something spiritual happens. if I have visitors it's like a spell comes over the room.

another advantage to early mono pressings is that surface noise gets almost completely eliminated.....due to the physics of how the groove is read. the pressing can look terrible but it can play pure.....maybe a bit of groove noise but can sound sublime.

another aspect of why we can connect so well was the super simple recording and mastering chain compared to later recordings. fewer decisions to make, less intrusion on the creative process and all that.

asiufy · Oct 7, 2016

Plus there's always those LPs who were really recorded/mixed to mono, and the stereo version was an afterthought. There's plenty of that beyond the obvious (Stones, Beatles, Beach Boys, etc).

I also find some early jazz better in mono, than with those fake stereo mixes (drums on the left, everything else on the right, etc.)

RayDunzl · Oct 7, 2016

Do you mono listeners listen to your mono recordings through a single speaker?

16hz lover · Oct 7, 2016

I'm with Northstar on this one.

I went last weekend to audition a friends system. I told him it sounded like the sound was coming from behind the speakers and that there was no depth or imaging going on. He was sitting against the LH wall and couldn't hear it. Later that evening I got a text from him saying he found out that the mono switch was engaged, apologizing for the poor sound.

NorthStar · Oct 8, 2016

RayDunzl said:
Do you mono listeners listen to your mono recordings through a single speaker?

I like that Ray. :b

I have some mono recordings (not a whole lot) on LPs and CD/SACDs (The Beatles, Mary O'Hara, The Stones, Billie Holiday, ...) and I've never played them through a single mono loudspeaker. Except, for some on Blu-ray (mono movies) through the center channel speaker only (Criterion Collection and few others).

I am conditioned (like most of us), musically, to stereo...and also to multichannel (classical operas and orchestral works).

* But Mike in his previous post has brought up something of great value, in particular from the analog record/album side, that I cannot find any reason to disagree with.
I'm sure he listen/ed to Billie Holiday mono LP through two loudspeakers though. I've never seen a mono center speaker in his room's state-of-the-art stereo sound system.

And in perfect honesty I got a thrill from The Beatles in mono, except that I have never used a mono cartridge...so I wasn't set optimally, and I was always using two speakers...left and right. Our 'ancestors' though from the 78s days, some had only one speaker. And our radios when we were kids, portable and @ home...were transistor and tube AM mono radios. Some older consoles were mono, from our parents time. Our older tube 'round' TVs...were also mono.
________

Mono or stereo orgasm? One or two...or more women in bed...@ the same time? :b

Johnny Vinyl · Oct 8, 2016

caesar said:
I am not an audiophile. I am not into analyzing - I just play music on my system or in my car to get into that transcendental state of flow. Yet when I put on a mono recording, it sounds very weird to me, and I turn it off right away, in a matter of seconds. Apparently, I am not alone, as they Stones are pressing only 10,000 copies of their mono remasters.

Why do folks like mono?

What does mono do better than stereo that so many people like it?

How different is mono from stereo?

10,000 units of a 16LP Mono Boxset is nothing to sneeze at. Also remember, these are not produced for the mainstream market, but rather the more dedicated Rolling Stones fan.

treitz3 · Oct 8, 2016

Mike Lavigne said:
I prefer stereo, except....when I prefer mono.

Hehe....thanks for the chuckle Mike. Sounds like me with Vinyl and CD's.

Tom

APP · Oct 8, 2016

I"ve read that Rudy van Gelder of Blue Note fame, mixed in mono and then reluctantly spread it out to stereo when the mix was finished.
and those old blue note albums sounds great through one speaker, preferably and old suitcase record player, that's not very audiophile but that is were the RVG albums really sounds better than the rest.
The Beatles participated in the mono mixes but did not think stereo was worth it to spend time on.
Radio was the thing I´m sure some of you remember.....
Some modern recordings do not sound so good in mono, maybe some of the younger engineers do not know about phase.

Fiddle Faddle · Oct 8, 2016

Mike Lavigne said:
I have a theory.......I think.....that since your brain does not need to do it's 'location thing' and process the differences between what your left ear hears and what your right ear hears that the music connects in a deeper way......bypassing the processing.

Very interesting theory. I had never thought of it like that. There might be some merit to this. I know listening to those mono Collins Sibelius recordings I mentioned earlier that my brain does indeed seem to be more relaxed and I can literally focus upon musical nuances and details. Whereas listening to a stereo version I seem to somehow be "distracted". As I intimated earlier too, I'd argue that a typical live performance experience is more akin to mono (via a stereo speaker setup) than it is the true "audiophile" type of stereo we are so accustomed to.

APP · Oct 8, 2016

I guess that is why I like albums with a clear placement so much, like albums of the ´50 and early ´60. Nowadays oftentimes drums are from left to right, piano to and guitars are spread out with some wired stereo effect, actually very confusing indeed. Mike has a very good point.

astrotoy · Oct 8, 2016

If you are a music lover and not an audiophile, there is a whole great world of artists whose recordings were only in mono, and many whose best work was in mono only that you will miss if you dismiss all mono recordings. In the classical world, both Toscanini and Furtwangler died before the stereo recordings, and Callas' best work (before she developed that broad vibrato) was in mono. So too with Lipatti and Neveu. There are wonderful jazz albums, like Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus and many earlier Miles Davis, as well as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald that are mono only. It is well known that the early Beatles albums were mixed for mono and the stereos were afterthoughts (note the hard right and hard left nature of the early albums - where the boys must have had very long arms to sing from the right speaker and play their instruments from the left speaker.

Larry

jazdoc · Oct 8, 2016

astrotoy said:
If you are a music lover and not an audiophile, there is a whole great world of artists whose recordings were only in mono, and many whose best work was in mono only that you will miss if you dismiss all mono recordings. In the classical world, both Toscanini and Furtwangler died before the stereo recordings, and Callas' best work (before she developed that broad vibrato) was in mono. So too with Lipatti and Neveu. There are wonderful jazz albums, like Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus and many earlier Miles Davis, as well as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald that are mono only. It is well known that the early Beatles albums were mixed for mono and the stereos were afterthoughts (note the hard right and hard left nature of the early albums - where the boys must have had very long arms to sing from the right speaker and play their instruments from the left speaker.

Larry

Perfect! This post should be bookmarked for posterity.

accwai · Oct 9, 2016

RayDunzl said:
Do you mono listeners listen to your mono recordings through a single speaker?

Still no direct answer to the question above. Is there any consensus on how to listen to mono on a 2 channel system?

Just ran a quick test yesterday with a small handful mono big band tracks through stereo vs turning off the power amp on one side. I believe I like single speaker better. Does anybody have a more reasoned preference?

FrantzM · Oct 9, 2016

astrotoy said:
If you are a music lover and not an audiophile, there is a whole great world of artists whose recordings were only in mono, and many whose best work was in mono only that you will miss if you dismiss all mono recordings. In the classical world, both Toscanini and Furtwangler died before the stereo recordings, and Callas' best work (before she developed that broad vibrato) was in mono. So too with Lipatti and Neveu. There are wonderful jazz albums, like Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus and many earlier Miles Davis, as well as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald that are mono only. It is well known that the early Beatles albums were mixed for mono and the stereos were afterthoughts (note the hard right and hard left nature of the early albums - where the boys must have had very long arms to sing from the right speaker and play their instruments from the left speaker.

Larry

Excellent post!!

But that put one in the situation of what works best one speakers or two? for mono. I would think one but ...
I listen to mono when that is what is only available. ELse I don't seek it.

What is it about Mono that gives some 'philes an orgasm? How diff/better than Stereo?

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