Stereo to Mono?

[waveydavey]

Hi all,
I'v recently moved on from my luxman pre/power to a trafomatic tube. Loving this thing, but missing switching to mono. Love the sound stage on earlier recordings.
Is there something out there i can switch to mono? I do worry about anything that's gonna fudge the sound.

 

[JoeESP9]

How do you get a soundstage from a mono signal? AFAIK that requires at least two speakers working in stereo.

 

[dmckean]

Check out the Monacor SMC-1.

 

[mhardy6647]

Hi all,
I'v recently moved on from my luxman pre/power to a trafomatic tube. Loving this thing, but missing switching to mono. Love the sound stage on earlier recordings.
Is there something out there i can switch to mono? I do worry about anything that's gonna fudge the sound.

Well, if you're handy and don't mind investing a little sweat equity, you can fashion a little 'mix to mono' box.
http://www.rane.com/note109.html
Rane's "unbalanced" recipe looks a little unfamiliar to consumer hifi eyes because the schematic shows three-conductor (shielded) "TRS" phone plugs, whereas we're used to two-conductor "RCA" plugs. The "shield" on the latter is is the signal return ("-", so to speak).


You can probably buy such things, too.

 

[twiiii]

In the early days 3 mics were always used for classical recordings. Two for Stereo and one for mono. with separate mixers and separate recorders. You can't combine stereo channels to get mono because the ambient part of the signal, ( L-R) will cancel ambience. Same holds true with the mono switch on the pre-amp. The only time you can use the mono switch is with a mono source or if you are using a stereo cartridge playing a Mono record and you want cancel out the error of any vertical component from the groove of the record.

 

[mhardy6647]

The "TRS" configuration in Fig. 1 of the Rane "Why not Wye" white paper isn't necessary if you don't want, or need, to accommodate either unbalanced or balanced line-level signals. Most workaday consumer hifi is based on unbalanced lines (inputs and outputs); some fancier 'audiophiles' do use balanced lines, but I'm guessing the OP's not one of them,

Here's what a "TRS" phone plug looks like when used for a (mono) balanced signal.

Note that this three-conductor, 1/4" "phone plug" is the same thing we're used to seeing as a hifi stereo "headphone plug". It is just wired differently for balanced line-level audio signals (as shown above).

For a standard, two conductor RCA jack/plug for home hifi, I think all you need to do is omit the shield connections and wire your RCA jacks on the box as y you normally would for the other two conductors in Fig. 1 of the Rane white paper.

 

[mhardy6647]

Check out the Monacor SMC-1.

Yes, by appearances, that gizmo will mix to mono with proper impedance (loading of the two stereo channels).

https://www.monacor.com/products/pa-technology/signal-processing/signal-optimisation/smc-1/

FWIW, it has two summed (mono) outputs.

 

[edwyun]

I use one of these in a pinch for vinyl.

 

[mfrench]