Mono CDs (double the time?)

Actually, I do.

For an extended mono listening session in the car, I will switch back and forth every song or 2.

At home, I pan to the right side which is closer to my subwoofer. I swap the L&R speakers every couple months to give them equal time.

It really does sound better coming from one source ( as it was intended).

For headphones - no. There are no phase cancellation issues with headphones.

 

You have left/right isolation for the stereo in your car?

 

Mono is likely to sound better from one point (unless listening on headphones) as having it come from two points can create phase issues.

I run it through the center speaker in my 6.1 set up

 

I have often wondered about this. Why didn't Philips/Sony include mono double length capability in the original CD spec. From a hardware POV it was easy to do. From a user POV, the player could automatically switch or the user could switch, you would just need a toggle button, easy peasy!

 

The only CD I know of like this was a Sony issue of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, with Bernstein's talk about the symphony in 4 languages - the symphony is in stereo, the talk is in this sort of dual mono: Leonard Bernstein, Beethoven*, New York Philharmonic* - Leonard Bernstein Conducts Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 & Talks About "How A Great Symphony Was Written"

 

Maybe marketing considerations? Record companies don't actually want excessively long playing time because they couldn't really justify an elevated price for them. They'd much rather sell you two separate CDs for double the revenue. These days they could even fit 50 albums on a single SD card or USB stick, but they're not doing it because they can make much more money by selling you 50 separate albums ...

 

Is that uncommon? My stock Jeep receiver can do that.

 

In 1999/2000 I made a lot of CDs like this, transfers of cassettes I'd made of mono radio shows, getting up to 5 half hour shows on one disc! Very convenient.

 

I think someone mentioned Harmonia Mundi and I remember them being involved. I never actually had any, IIRC, but they had more than one Shostakovich recording. I think they were vintage recordings of the man himself playing the Preludes And Fugues. As the recordings were in Mono in the first place it probably seemed a good idea, and bear in mind that these are from the mid-80's (?) and at that time CDs were very expensive (£14-15 ), and that was a lot back then, so it made sense. I don't recall the idea catching on (Harmonia Mundi may have been the only company who did it) and back in the day I never really fancied just listening through one channel/speaker myself.

 

I think I have a couple of classical CDs like this, but also an Emerson, Lake & Palmer one, with sound on one side, and maybe a video on the other--the disc itself is plain silver on both sides.

 

Not sure what you mean by “isolation”, exactly.

I do have balance and fader controls, though.

My Sony head unit plays 5.1 dvd-audio and sacd (but unfortunately I dont have a sub or center channel).

I can listen to Alan Parsons’ mix of Dark Side in quadraphonic one minute, and Beatles’ mono or one of Steve’s excellent mono masters the next ( in one speaker). It’s great!

 

I’ve had that one for 30 years now..haven’t played in forever as it’s kinda goofy

 

Anything to report?

 

Funny you should ask, I just got the disc today. I listened to some of it in the car at lunch. It starts off with dialogue, first in German, then in English. Since there is different dialogue and music coming each of the L & R speakers, but I guess that's what I expected.
Now I've experienced the double-the-length CD!