Is Stereo Sound Twice As Good As Mono?

[xorbe]

Sometimes I do prefer mono, or to filter out the bass/treble, especially when working. It depends, it sound different not better. *shrug*

 

[Caffeinated]

Except for the occasional gimmick, most amplified live music is mixed mono so everyone hears the same thing and makes covering large audiences easier.

No audiophile.

Clearly also haven't worked as a mixer in the last 25 years, either.

 

[krotch]

You mean like BABYMETAL??

I've listened to them and have gone to a local concert they were putting on, but I'm not a huge fan of metal. I'm pretty much listening to the Hello! Project idol groups. Their music falls into different genres, but they are tossed into the idol genre, cause there's no way to actually classify the music itself into one genre.

I've also been into these Hatsune Miku songs that random people create.

 

[krotch]

What I'm not is an asshole about it. There are plenty of off the shelf solutions that sound as good or better than things I've put together. Sound quality is also a matter of taste - I *detest Grados* I bought a pair, and to my ears, even after burn in, they didn't hold a candle to Sennheiser.

That's how I felt about my old AKGs when I compared them to my Audio Technica and Sennheiser. It was probably due to the price gap. The AKGs were 1/2 the price at like $100. Been wanting to try out the AKG Q701 though.

Sadly no place has audiophile gear sitting there for a short test trial. At least the places I go.

 

[Retronym]

Beatles sounds better in mono on headphones because they panned everything to the extremes. In my opinion.

 

[Dr. Righteous]

I've listened to them and have gone to a local concert they were putting on, but I'm not a huge fan of metal.

I was just yanking your chain.

The screeching of those tweeny girls is worse than fingers on a chalkboard to me. Makes me want to plead for waterboarding.

 

[krotch]

I was just yanking your chain.

The screeching of those tweeny girls is worse than fingers on a chalkboard to me. Makes me want to plead for waterboarding.

Ya, not everyone is going to like their high pitched voices. I like the music, cause it's different from what's in the west.

 

[Caffeinated]

That's how I felt about my old AKGs when I compared them to my Audio Technica and Sennheiser. It was probably due to the price gap. The AKGs were 1/2 the price at like $100. Been wanting to try out the AKG Q701 though.

Sadly no place has audiophile gear sitting there for a short test trial. At least the places I go.

I know. It appears they've done away with those. There was a shop in Clearwater, FL that had one, but it went the way of the dodo, too.

If your are going to bust out the bucks on audio hardware, you should at least be able to take a listen to it before you buy something you can't stand. Everybody has probably already done it though - lord knows I have a headphone graveyard.

 

[lostinseganet]

That sounds like nonchalanta talking. Its how they remember it.

 

[Jagger100]

Depends on the target listening experience the music was created for. For the longest time, radios were mostly mono especially at the low end and this was true for car radios for a very long time. The target was mono and they may have employed stereo only because it was the latest gimmick to market to. because of the different proportions of certain sounds on each channel/ear your brain mentally seperates different sounds that could have been meant to blend as a single sound. This alters the artist's intention especially if the stereo was post-post production from when stereo wasn't even being considered. Because stereo was a marketing hook, there was also pressure to overdo it. Sort of like those scenes in 3D movies that you know are there to explicitly exploit 3D and look odd or dumb in 2D.

 

[Sycraft]

Stereo can be done badly, as can anything, but that doesn't mean mono is better. Well done stereo is way better than mono.

 

[jshaw42]

Lots of fun stuff here. I started in radio in the 60s on an AM station. For the first few years, I had no idea what stereo was except at certain friends' houses. When the Beatles opened the door to experimental stereo, I got excited. I can't listen to Chicago in mono, it just hurts my senses. IMHO, stereo is the only way to get the sense of being there with the band. Surround sound is even better.

 

[krotch]

I know. It appears they've done away with those. There was a shop in Clearwater, FL that had one, but it went the way of the dodo, too.

If your are going to bust out the bucks on audio hardware, you should at least be able to take a listen to it before you buy something you can't stand. Everybody has probably already done it though - lord knows I have a headphone graveyard.

Ya, when you're dropping $200+ on something, you kind of want to hear them. Well I just read about an E-Earphone place in Tokyo. Looking at picture, it just might be a nice try before you buy kind of place. Next time, gotta stop there.