What happens when a stereo file is converted to a mono file?

RockNRoll · Post by **RockNRoll** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 2:29 am

Hello all,

I just had a very general question in regards to what actually is happening to a file that gets converted from stereo to mono. For example, you have a final stereo mix file of your song that has all kinds of sounds flying left to right in stereo and perhaps you even of elements of sounds that stay panned hard L and R throughout the mix......When you go to actually bounce a mono version of this stereo mix, what actually happens? Do all those sounds that were hard panned left and right or flying all over the place just get compiled directly on top of each other?

Thanks for the insight!

resolectric · Post by **resolectric** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:05 am

Yes, they are all added into a single channel of sound.
Hard L and hard R simply become "dead" Center.

Some sounds may even diappear because of summing to Mono, due to phase problems where the phase of one wave panned to one side is added to a same frequency wave with an opposite phase that may be panned to the opposite side. When added to Mono they simply disappear or, in cases, they attenuate each other.

That is why a sound that seems so wide and open, and even well equalized, in Stereo often sounds horrible in Mono (when it doesn't simply disappear completely).

That's also a good reason to check your mixes in Mono, often, during production.

splatterbass · Post by **splatterbass** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 2:34 pm

years ago i went to school and it kept getting rienforced, again and again.
when you mix make sure you mix through a crappy mono speaker.
auratone is one of the worst sounding speakers out there, but if you can get your mix sounding good through it, it will sound fantastic on everything else.
mono or stereo. thats why you still see them in high end studios.

if your mix is done right you dont lose anything.

resolectric · Post by **resolectric** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:27 am

That is correct. It's always recommended to check your mixes in Mono, but the recommendation is not necessarily related to Auratone or "crappy" monitors, because:

> Auratone were regularly used in Stereo pairs and served as a comparison between the studio sound and the Car Audio sound of the past. They were the "real world" sound. Still needed nowadays though i suggest you check your mixes on mp3 format through crappy iPod phones.
Auratones are a thing of the past and are no sound representation of anything used by anyone today. I would say that Auratones are one more of the early XXIst century hypes: SM57s, Ribbon microphones, Tube equalizers... Auratones...

> Mono can sound really good, so, a "crappy speaker" to check your mixes in Mono is an undermark goal. You can check your mixes through a single B&W 820D and have a much better idea of phase issues in Mono. So, use a good Monitor to check your mixes in Mono.

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:03 am

splatterbass wrote:years ago i went to school and it kept getting rienforced, again and again.
when you mix make sure you mix through a crappy mono speaker.

I'm a big proponent of mono acquisition -- The Trim plug gets a lot of play on my box -- but I'd adjust your good, general advice to say always check your mix in mono. It's a great way to safeguard against phase cancellation and for level balance. Still, you want to mix for the medium your track is intended. Usually, if it's a song, that means stereo playback, so that should be your final determinant.

I check in mono using iZotope Ozone's mono toggle and headphones. I find it works really well, as headphone playback seems more sensitive to cancellation to my ears than room monitor mono. Ozone also allows me to visually gauge phase correlation within stereo field which is equally useful, I think.

splatterbass · Post by **splatterbass** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:07 am

sweet, i will have to try it out.

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 10:33 pm

The thing I liked about Horrotones was the missing parts... by which I mean crossovers and multiple drivers. Honest midrange delivered without phase issues is instructive when mixing, hence the new Avantone speakers' utility. Just got me a pair.

resolectric · Post by **resolectric** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 1:35 am

HCMarkus wrote:The thing I liked about Horrotones was the missing parts... by which I mean crossovers and multiple drivers. Honest midrange delivered without phase issues is instructive when mixing, ...

Just like the four speakers in my 1987 FIAT.
Instructive.

EDIT: well, the missing parts, i guess, were to make the speakers compatible with the FIAT. It misses some parts too.