Testing in Mono

gregsmith

Has anyone got any tips on how to test in mono. I’ve found a mono setting in iOS accessibility settings. Do I need to test with one speaker somehow? Is headphones still ok?

Also what am I looking for? Just phasing issues?

I’m nearly ready to upload my ep to distrokid but want to test a few more scenarios. I’ve done car test, 2 types of headphones (good and average), and speakers at low volume. Think that’s about as good as I can do

gregsmith

I’ve just done a listen through in mono with one headphone in and it sounds fine. I can definitely hear the difference if I switch from mono to stereo (obviously) but nothing disappears in the mix and I can’t hear any phase issues that I know of. Everything is still punchy - in fact some bits sound slightly better!

I did notice reverb is slightly diminished in mono but I gather this is uncontrollable so not going to worry, and it doesn’t affect things too much.

So I think I’ve answered my own question, but any advice from someone more experienced than me would be appreciated!

db909

I use the mono audio setting a lot, just with two headphone speakers, so technically not true mono but it’s definitely enough to hear phasing issues. I like to actually compose and do sound design in mono too, if it sounds great that way, it will always sound amazing flipping back to stereo, with a few adjustments perhaps but still great. Basically i treat it as a way to put the audio under a microscope so to speak, to have a closer look/listen

icsleepers

Agreed with all above and on iOS yes, that’s the setting you’re looking for. I’ll usually switch between mono and stereo while putting a track together, then once I believe I’m done I listen in mono to check levels (basses are usually much too loud) and then level set / EQ accordingly. I’m no mix guru but I’ve been complimented and it seems to help!

gregsmith

@db909 said:
I use the mono audio setting a lot, just with two headphone speakers, so technically not true mono but it’s definitely enough to hear phasing issues. I like to actually compose and do sound design in mono too, if it sounds great that way, it will always sound amazing flipping back to stereo, with a few adjustments perhaps but still great. Basically i treat it as a way to put the audio under a microscope so to speak, to have a closer look/listen

Thanks. That’s useful. I’m going to use it much earlier in the process on future tracks

db909

@gregsmith said:

@db909 said:
I use the mono audio setting a lot, just with two headphone speakers, so technically not true mono but it’s definitely enough to hear phasing issues. I like to actually compose and do sound design in mono too, if it sounds great that way, it will always sound amazing flipping back to stereo, with a few adjustments perhaps but still great. Basically i treat it as a way to put the audio under a microscope so to speak, to have a closer look/listen

Thanks. That’s useful. I’m going to use it much earlier in the process on future tracks

Yeah give it a try, see how it works for you. A lot of the time, I just keep the settings open in the background so I can flip back and forth whenever