Q. What is the difference between mono with one speaker and mono with two?

By Hugh Robjohns

I read recently that when top engineers check their mixes in mono, they don't just hit a mono switch, but instead route the mix through a single speaker to hear it in true mono. What's the difference between the two?
 
A single speaker in a sealed enclosure is the classic means of monitoring in mono.

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Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: It's important to check the derived mono signal from a stereo mix to ensure that nothing unexpected or unacceptable will be heard by anyone listening in mono, as could be the case in poor FM radio reception areas, on portable radios, in clubs, on the Internet and so on. Mono compatibility, as it's called, is very important for commercial releases — the artist, producer and record company want the record to sound as good as possible in these less-than-ideal circumstances.

In addition to simply checking the finished product, mixing in mono — or regularly switching the monitoring to mono while mixing — is very useful and a good habit to get into. Summing to mono removes any misleading phasing between the left and right signals that can make a stereo mix sound artificially 'big'.

The crucial difference between auditioning the summed mono signal on a single speaker, as compared to a 'phantom' mono image between two speakers, relates to the perceived balance of the bass end of the frequency spectrum. When you listen to a mono signal on two speakers, you hear a false or 'phantom' image which seems to float midway between the speakers, but because both speakers are contributing to the sound, the impression is of a slightly over-inflated level of bass. Listening to mono via one speaker — the way everyone else will hear it — reveals the material in its true form!

Checking the derived mono is always best done in the monitoring section of the mixer or with a dedicated monitor controller. Although a mono signal can be derived in the output sections of a mixer (real or virtual), this is potentially dangerous — if you should forget to cancel the mono mixing, you'll end up with a very mono final mix. It does happen, believe me! Sadly, very few monitor controllers outside of broadcast desks and related equipment provide facilities to check mono on a single speaker. Most provide a phantom mono image, which is fine for checking imaging accuracy and phasing issues, but no good for checking the mono balance.

Published November 2005