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Is listening to a Mono record only for the pleasure of one listener?
Listening to mono records on a typical two channel stereo system while sitting in the sweet spot as a single listener is an exceptional experience. Yes.
Listening to mono records on a typical two channel stereo system while sitting off to one side of the sweet spot with another person (my wife) on the couch with me is an equally exceptional experience but in a different way.
Until I finally uprooted my butt from the sweet spot I didn't realize something. That "something" is due to the nature of a mono recording and when you sit off to say the right side of center, you mostly hear the right loudspeaker (makes sense, yes?... and off to the left the opposite is true) however, the image is spectacularly different. What I hear when I sit off to the right hand side of center by a couple of feet is an image identical as if I were sitting audience-left of center stage (stage right). What I hear when I sit off to the left hand side of center by a couple of feet is an image identical as if I were sitting audience-right of center stage (stage left). In addition, the stage has a height and depth equal to if not more robust than when I sit in the sweet spot where I get the fuller center image. Sitting on my couch off to one side or the other is more like sitting at the concert venue with the stage a few feet higher than my seating position. It's like I'm 4th or 5th row audience-left or audience-right of the center stage and listening to the full depth / breadth / layers of the artists "across them" as they sit distance wise from me to them. Does that make sense or am I delusional? LOL.
With two people (or more I suppose) sitting and listening to a mono recording with neither person sitting in the sweet spot it would appear that each "side" receives a little different presentation to the show.
This is not only a new experience for me but also one that is very fascinating! Perhaps to the initiated, this is old hat but to me it's a new thing. I had no idea this kind of mono sound stage / image could be created with a center focused image. Very cool indeed.
Listening to mono records on a typical two channel stereo system while sitting in the sweet spot as a single listener is an exceptional experience. Yes.
Listening to mono records on a typical two channel stereo system while sitting off to one side of the sweet spot with another person (my wife) on the couch with me is an equally exceptional experience but in a different way.
Until I finally uprooted my butt from the sweet spot I didn't realize something. That "something" is due to the nature of a mono recording and when you sit off to say the right side of center, you mostly hear the right loudspeaker (makes sense, yes?... and off to the left the opposite is true) however, the image is spectacularly different. What I hear when I sit off to the right hand side of center by a couple of feet is an image identical as if I were sitting audience-left of center stage (stage right). What I hear when I sit off to the left hand side of center by a couple of feet is an image identical as if I were sitting audience-right of center stage (stage left). In addition, the stage has a height and depth equal to if not more robust than when I sit in the sweet spot where I get the fuller center image. Sitting on my couch off to one side or the other is more like sitting at the concert venue with the stage a few feet higher than my seating position. It's like I'm 4th or 5th row audience-left or audience-right of the center stage and listening to the full depth / breadth / layers of the artists "across them" as they sit distance wise from me to them. Does that make sense or am I delusional? LOL.
With two people (or more I suppose) sitting and listening to a mono recording with neither person sitting in the sweet spot it would appear that each "side" receives a little different presentation to the show.
This is not only a new experience for me but also one that is very fascinating! Perhaps to the initiated, this is old hat but to me it's a new thing. I had no idea this kind of mono sound stage / image could be created with a center focused image. Very cool indeed.
