Beatles Mono Box - best way to listen?

I interpret the quote from Emerick as meaning that a single speaker was used for monitoring everything – basic recording sessions, overdubs, and mono mixing – that is, everything except for stereo mixing sessions.

As for moving speakers around, I don’t believe it was physically possible for an engineer to move those speaker cabinets. (And when I listen to mono, I will always turn the balance knob to the right, as a nod to the Abbey Road engineers …)

 

And don't forget to listen on one of those Altec 605A squawk boxes that they used.

Nothing else will do!

 

If God had intended people to listen to 5.1 he'd of given us 6 ears!

 

They didn't, they merely switched the left speaker in and out (thus creating a non-trivial physical difference between the Altecs over time). At the end of the relevant remarks Emerick says that "as a luxury at the end of the night, we might play it mono through two speakers", so I imagine he'll be getting a clip round the ear (only one ear, mind) from one-speaker-zealots at some point.

 

...says the Vincent Van Gogh Guide to Audiophile Listening!

 

Thanks to this thread I have a new segment for my sig. It's pure gold and I hope you don't mind AudioGirl.

 

Whoa! Someone from Elmira, NY??? That's where I'm from originally. Good to meet you Bldg blok!!!! How is it up there these days? PM me if need be. Anyway, mono has always been a two speaker thing for me mostly out of convenience. I don't want to move a speaker every time I put on a mono LP! This is a strange but interesting thread!

Frank R.

 

Make sure you're in the mono sweet spot..................

 

Cool indeed. Thanks.

 

haha...good one!!

 

Thanks a million. I'll leave the button well alone.

 

imarcq,

I did not intend to sound like I was berating you, or intend to make you feel bad for asking your question. It simply seemed very, very odd that anyone would ask it.

Now, everybody, let it go.

 

That's alright! I'm probably a bid odd anyway! Hey its Friday morning here in Sydeny Already the weekend! No worries

 

You have a lot of people on this thread trying to be smart*****. Ignore all that and pay attention to AudioGirl. She knows what she's talking about:

 

Huh? Just listen to them as you would any other recording!!

 

And one ear for mono?

 

I know that some elephants only have one ear.

On a serious note "Do elephants like music?

Ever see a one eared elephant?

 

Lest someone get the wrong impression from the humor, mono has nothing to do with one ear or two, and neither does stereo. You can hear stereo recordings just fine with one ear and you can hear mono recordings just fine with two.

One speaker can fill a room with sound just like two speakers, or even better: Just turn up the volume a little.

You don't have to move a speaker to listen to one-speaker mono. If you're hard-core, maybe you'll adjust your listening position a little on your seat.

I think the problem a lot of ya'll are having is thinking outside the box that you have been conditioned to. You're trying to make mono into duo-mono for some reason I don't comprehend; maybe to simulate stereo?

 

I know for a fact they like The Beatles.

 

I don't think its so weird. I have wondered myself. With a Robert Johnson CD I don't expect exceptional hi fidelity but do the the Beatles mono box. Unless sitting in the sweet spot directly between two speaker I would think there might be some lag in the two signals reaching the ear. I am going to experiment, even try piping the signal through my JBL center channel speaker.

 

That's seven ears.

 

Someone got their button pushed.

 

..and I make three. 3 Elmirans in one thread.....whoa, no wonder it's weird....