[Pat_TL]

Unfortunately, and especially now with the recent purchase of the "Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan" box set, I have a good deal of DVDs in my collection that feature just mono soundtracks --- 2.0 mono tracks, to be more precise. When I play one of these through my 5.1 system, the Pro Logic II circuits engage and feed everything just to the center channel. I have experimented with this, by switching the DVD player to PCM so I could use the different DSPs on my receiver, but none of them are satisfying at all....the only way mono DVDs even sound decent is just playing through the center channel, to be honest.

Is this normal? Should 2.0 mono tracks be played just through the center? What do you guys run your mono discs in? Many have suggested that "2.0 MONO" means that my two main speakers should be getting the signal, and playing the mono tracks that way....but Pro Logic II sends everything to the center on 2.0 mono discs. Should mono just be played through the center and then call it a day?

[Elinor]

I have a setting on my preamp called "Matrix." It sends mono info. to L+R front, and a L-R difference signal to the rear for ambience. I like it quite a bit.

[Pat_TL]

Wow.....wish I had that setting....unfortunately, my Onkyo doesnt have any mode for a mono soundtrack...and my PLII circuits send the whole track into the center channel.

[JohnSmith]

Some mono titles do just have sound from the centre, some others are just duplicated dual-mono (left & right)

Purists would output mono from the centre. Some processors can spread mono sound from all speakers. Mono Logic on my processor does a good with this. However I usually just playback from the centre or L/R, and sometimes use Mono Logic mode.

You don't want the DSP to create a badly expanded soundfield (ie Pro-Logic ontop of non surround encoded PCM from CD)

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Yes, mono is the way to go for these discs, IMO. It just sounds weird to do them in two-channel (i.e., L/R speakers).

My Yamaha front end has a DSP-based mono movie mode that I like to use for these. In its stock configuration it was a bit “echoey,” so I tweaked the parameters to tone it down. Now it gives a fuller sound without distracting, and everything is still firmly anchored in the center channel.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

[Nathan Stohler]

Hi Wayne,

Out of curiosity, I tried to view your equipment list, but it looks like the link is broken. I just thought I'd let you know...

--Nathan

[Pat_TL]

Wow, thanks for the replies, guys....

See, the thing is, after experimenting A LOT with soundfields and DSPs when playing these 2.0 mono discs, it just seems like, on MY system, the mono audio sounds strange and actually worse than playing the signal right from the center channel, where it automatically gets sent through Pro Logic II. I have tried playing the 2.0 track in stereo, and that sounds strange and "unbalanced" to me...I have tried in All Channel Stereo, but this sounded awkward too with all the dialogue coming from every channel...is the best way just to leave mono DVDs play through the center?

And whats the deal anyway with "2.0 mono"? Why have the same track repeated on two channels, when the PLII processing is just going to collapse it into center anyway? What is the benefit of playing the track through two stereo speakers (2.0) aside from allowing people with only stereo speakers to hear the track?

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Thanks for the heads-up, Nathan – It should be fixed now.

Pat,

Quote:

whats the deal anyway with "2.0 mono"? Why have the same track repeated on two channels, when the PLII processing is just going to collapse it into center anyway?

It has to be that way in order for the DPL processing to work. Pro-Logic looks for identical right and left signals, and that’s what gets sent to the center channel. Anything specific to one channel or the other gets routed to the appropriate channel. That’s why if you engage DPL for say, a music CD, the lead vocal gets sent to the center channel, while the piano or guitar stays on the left or right.

But getting back to DVD’s if they did 1.0, it would only show up in the left or right front channel.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

[Pat_TL]

"It has to be that way in order for the DPL processing to work. Pro-Logic looks for identical right and left signals, and that’s what gets sent to the center channel. Anything specific to one channel or the other gets routed to the appropriate channel. That’s why if you engage DPL for say, a music CD, the lead vocal gets sent to the center channel, while the piano or guitar stays on the left or right.

But getting back to DVD’s if they did 1.0, it would only show up in the left or right front channel."

Thanks Very Much Wayne,

Much appreciated....I understand what you are saying about the way 2.0 mono works, that the two identical signals are identified and then fed to the center....but I always wondered WHY studios do this....if you're going to mix a mono track, why not just make it 1.0 already? What's the deal with "2.0" mono? It is misleading DVD packaging because when I look at something like that, I automatically think "2.0 --- oh, well, that must mean the DVD should play back through TWO speakers, not one..."

But I am finding I just dont like the way 2.0 tracks sound from anywhere other than the center channel...playing them back in stereo has a weird "separation" that makes the film sound awkward...and All Channel Stereo mode, which makes score open up a bit from every speaker, sounds terrible with regard to the dialogue in a film...dialogue comes from EVERY channel in that mode, and ruins the whole balance of the 5.1 system IMO.

Do you think its best to leave 2.0 mono tracks collapsed in the center channel?

[Michael Reuben]

Quote:

But getting back to DVD’s if they did 1.0, it would only show up in the left or right front channel.

Not true at all. If the 1.0 signal is properly encoded, it will be sent to the center channel. I have played many mono tracks encoded as 1.0 -- in fact, I commented on this specifically in my HTF review of the Criterion Videodrome -- and I prefer it, because my processor has an excellent "mono logic" setting.

The reason for 2.0 mono encoding is because many people do prefer what Pat has said sounds wrong to him: the identical signal from the left and right front channels. If the speakers are properly positioned and the levels properly adjusted, there should be a sweet spot where the two speakers create a "phantom" center that, to many people, sounds better than having all of the sound directed to the center speaker. I suspect this has something to do with the fact that front mains are often the best quality speakers in a system.

M.

[Pat_TL]

"Not true at all. If the 1.0 signal is properly encoded, it will be sent to the center channel. I have played many mono tracks encoded as 1.0 -- in fact, I commented on this specifically in HTF review of the Criterion Videodrome -- and I prefer it, because my processor has an excellent "mono logic" setting.

The reason for 2.0 mono encoding is because many people do prefer what Pat has said sounds wrong to him: the identical signal from the left and right front channels. If the speakers are properly positioned and the levels properly adjusted, there should be a sweet spot where the two speakers create a "phantom" center that, to many people, sounds better than having all of the sound directed to the actual center channel. I suspect this has something to do with the fact that front mains are often the best quality speakers in a system."


Thanks Michael,

That's what I thought, that even a 1.0 mono track would show up in the center---the only way to get 1.0 or 2.0 tracks into the left and right mains would be to force them into STEREO mode on the receiver.

And I have heard many times before the theory you speak of --- that if speakers are properly placed, there is a center phantom image that is created when playing back mono tracks in stereo...unfortunately, I am not getting this experience from my Polk Audio front mains, and Im finding mono just sounds better from the cente