Skip to main content

Mono vs Stereo Vinyl and how audio channels are used

Mono vs Stereo Vinyl
and how audio channels are used


Image by Lena Kudryavtseva
Image by Lena Kudryavtseva

What do stereo and mono mean and what are audio channels? Audio channels are a source for sound. A speaker is a channel, a microphone is a channel, two speakers are two audio channels. In the simplest terms, each single-point source of sound is a channel.

When audio is recorded, it can be recorded on multiple channels. This is where terms like mono and stereo come in. Mono is recorded in one channel and stereo in multiple channels.

Stereo records
Stereo sound systems can be divided into two forms: the first is true or natural stereo in which a live sound is captured, with any natural reverberation present, by an array of microphones. The signal is then reproduced over multiple channel to recreate the live sound.

The Second is artificial or pan stereo, in which a single-channel sound is reproduced over multiple channels. By varying the relative amplitude of the signal sent to each channel, an artificial direction can be suggested. By combining multiple panned mono signals together, a complete, yet entirely artificial, sound field can be created.

In technical usage, true stereo means sound recording and sound reproduction that uses stereographic projection to encode the relative positions of objects and events recorded.

Mono records
Monaural or monophonic or mono sound reproduction is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereo, which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sound from two microphones on the right and left side, which is reproduced with two separate channels to give a sense of the direction of sound sources. In mono, only one channel is necessary, but, when played through multiple channels, identical signals are fed to each channel, resulting in the perception of one-channel sound imaging. In the mastering stage, particularly in the days of mono records, the one- or two-track mono master tape was then transferred to a one-track lathe used to produce a master disc intended to be used in the pressing of a monophonic record. Today, however, monaural recordings are usually mastered to be played on stereo and multi-track formats, yet retain their center-panned mono soundstage characteristics.

Mono sound can sometimes simply refer to a merged pair of stereo channels. Over time some devices have used mono sound amplification circuitry with two or more speakers since it can cut the cost of the hardware.


Stereo rncoding

Stereo encoding on vinyl
A stereophonic phonograph provides two channels of audio, one left and one right. This is achieved by adding another vertical dimension of movement to the needle in addition to the horizontal one. As a result, the needle now moves not only left and right, but also up and down. But since those two dimensions do not have the same sensitivity to vibration, the difference needs to be evened out by having each channel take half its information from each direction by turning the channels 45 degrees from horizontal.

As a result of the 45-degree turn, it can be demonstrated that out of the new horizontal and vertical directions, one would represent the sum of the two channels, and the other representing the difference. Record makers decide to pick the directions such that the traditional horizontal direction codes for the sum. As a result, an ordinary mono disk will be decoded correctly as no difference between channels, and would play a stereophonic record without too much loss of information.

Labels:
Location: United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ry Cooder - Available Space

It all started with gospel music. After the American Civil War, in the mid 19th century, people moved north from the plantations to the cities, St Louis, Chicago and Memphis. By the end of the 19th century the syncopated rhythms of ragtime and the improvisational nature of jazz had arrived. Hard times in the great depression of the 1930s drove many swing jazz big bands out of business. Jump blues filled the gap. Patrons of dance halls needed small groups who could match the volume and atmosphere of the departed big bands. Singers would shout and saxophonists would honk. This gave performers names like shouters and honkers. Jump blues was an uptempo jazz tinged style of blues. Usually characterised by a vocalist in front of a large horn driven orchestra or medium sized combo with multiple horns. The style had a driving rhythm, intensely shouted vocal and honking tenor saxophone solos. There was also less reliance on the guitar as a lead instrument. It also had a hard, rhythmic drive and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lester Young - Ghost of a Chance (Take 1)

Philadelphia was well positioned to play a leading role in popular music. The city had long been one of the nation’s most important musical centers, with strong traditions in both European derived and African American music dating back to the eighteenth century. In the early twentieth century Philadelphia saw a dramatic increase in its Black population as a result of the Great Migration. By the 1940s, Philadelphia’s large and diverse Black population had created thriving scenes in jazz and gospel music. From these traditions a new kind of music emerged in the 1940s, in Philadelphia and across the nation. Usually played in small combos called jump bands, the music featured rollicking dance rhythms coupled with fairly simple blues based harmonies and melodies. The adaptation of this style, known as rhythm and blues or R&B, by white musicians essentially created rock and roll. In Philadelphia in the late 1940s and early 1950s, jump bands played dance halls, nightclubs, and corner bars...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Uncommon Vinyl Sizes & Speeds

The Uncommon Vinyl Sizes & Speeds The standard sizes and speed for vinyl records are 12" and 7" both played at 33 1/3 RPM or 45 RPM. RPM means revolution per minute, the number of times the record rotates a minute. Image by Mink Mingle Unusual Sizes for Vinyl 2 in (5.1 cm) Recorded at 10-20 seconds each side. 3 in (7.6 cm)   Also known as 8ban for 8cm Bandai, these were developed in Japan by record pressing company Toyokasei. Records in this format continue to be manufactured. 3 inch singles are made available exclusively. 4.7 in (12 cm)  Although dubbed a 5 inch record, to be usable in most compact disc players, the record can be no bigger than 120 mm. 5 in (13 cm) Children's records records were manufactured in this size from the early 1900s all the way up to the late 1950s and underground punk bands in the 1990s. 6 in (15 cm) From the late 1940s to the early 1960s. The 78 RPM speed was used for some children's records of this size well into the 1960s...
Post a Comment
Read more