Karaoke Forums

whats the difference between mono and stereo when i comes to karaoke

Actually it isn't a silly question at all. I didn't know when I came here, either.

Stereo is nice -- it sounds better when you can have it. But face it, the sweet spot for stereo is small. If you have speakers that can be pointed to give the majority of your audience a real stereo experience, then it is better.

In practice, most venues don't fit that. They are going to sound better in mono, because you might only be able to hear one speaker and it is better if that includes all the music.

The other advantage of mono for cost is that you can put two 8 ohm speakers in parallel on one channel of a power amp, and a subwoofer or two on the other channel. This maximizes the amount of power that your amp puts out, giving you the most bang for the buck.

Mono is both channels receive the exact same signal in an speaker you listen to - this is ideal in most live music/karaoke situations as many clubs can't benefit from stereo set-ups.  
Stereo is more spatial sounding as it is trying to set up a 'soundstage' illusion by panning out instruments to one channel or the other or mixed somewhere in both.  Why it's not great for a karaoke setting simply because one side of the room may only hear some instruments while the other side will hear something completely different.  Unless you have you speakers placed in such a way that you ENTIRE audience can hear both speakers - which is rare, stereo just isn't a great option.  It's more for recording, controlled environments like living rooms, etc..

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ha ha, not trying to be jerky, but mcky, you didnt even answer his Q!  ha ha, reminds me of the words "synergy" and "paradigm"

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????

I thought I answered his question nicely. In what way is my answer defective?

- you explained why one is better for Karaoke but not the difference

But between you an Lonnie - I think the complete question was answered  :hi5:  :hi5:  :hi5:

I thought I did. Maybe I didn't explicitly say "the difference is that stereo sounds better in a small area but is difficult to hear everywhere, and mono is intelligible everywhere but doesn't sound as good in some places". But I thought I made it clear.

mckyj57, I thought you explained it quit well and believe the question was answered with your explanation.

I am willing to bet the poster already knows the difference between stereo and mono.

to jam & ham  ..........

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Mono is both channels receive the exact same signal in an speaker you listen to - this is ideal in most live music/karaoke situations as many clubs can't benefit from stereo set-ups. - lonman

this is the actually answer to the basic question, i think.  mono is the same EXACT sound going thru all channels, right? where as stereo is just a mixture of the same music but different pieces of the music come out of different channels at times.  i read what micky wrote, where does it say this?

i just dont want the guy to read all this stuff and scratch his head.  if i didnt already have a farily good idea what the diff is, it would be hard to pick between all the "help"

mono ababababab
                        abababababab
mono ababababab


stereo aaaaaaaaa
                        abababababab
stereo bbbbbbbbb

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Since the question was "what is the difference between mono and stereo when it comes to karaoke", that implies that the OP knows the difference in general. Or at least that is how I read the question.

nicely demonstrated Ham

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Yes, that is how I read the posters question as well.

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

Though I know/knew the answer, I appreciated reading everyone's comments.  

BTW, on another forum I had to explain to a (now, twice banned) former member here that you don't run karaoke in stereo.  Only after many other members of that forum converged on the thread did the "big one" quit trying to defend that he runs his show in stereo.

At the same time, in different thread on that other forum, the former member was forced to reveal the actual equipment he had. One piece was a stereo "something or other" which several people noted he didn't even need for karaoke.  His (lame) response is that some karaoke discs today are made in stereo.

Karaoke discs are stereo, unless multiplex.

Actually all (well maybe 90% or higher) karaoke discs are recorded in stereo.  Just no real benefit running in stereo in a club.
Ooop, just seen Jian response, don't know alot about the multiplex so can't comment on those.

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Most any of the with-vocal tracks from Pop Hits, Chartbuster, and others are multiplex. If you have ripped those to Hoster, you should be able to demonstrate the vocal being removed by clicking the Vocal-L or Vocal-R button. The remaining track is in mono, and has the music but not the vocal.

While it is true they are recorded in stereo I dont notice as much stereo or channel separation that was  prevalent when stereo hit the scene. In those days bass might be more prevalent on the left and highs on the right. The balance was adjusted for equal vocals on both midway between the speakers. Play Duane Eddy's Rebel Rouser in stereo then covert to mono. It dies....

Also some FX does not work in mono. Take the old reel/reel flange for example. It effects both tracks in different ways. Digital flange actually pans between channels. In mono this is lost. I havnt proved it but I suspect audio procs like stereo better with some tracks. So I do like to run stereo when possible and probably run stereo at times when it should be mono.

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Yeah those 'learning' tracks I don't usually even import, no point.

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I met a KJ in Buffalo who had some bizarre speaker placement. Up against the wall, pointing toward the wall.

He said he felt stereo sounded better, and that in some rooms he could place the speakers such that most of the room got the benefit. So he says he finds that place if he can, and runs in stereo.

The sound was very good. If it was bad, I would have dismissed it, but it really did sound great.