Mono or stereo?

[jimmyrules712]

im copying some cassettes to MP3s, by recording off a stereo onto my computer using goldwave. When i save them it gives me the option of saving them Mono or Stereo, which should I use, and why?

[Force Flow]

Stereo allows you to have audio mixed in Right and Left channels, while with mono, the audio channels are blended into one.

Music usually sounds better in Stereo, but coming from a casette, it may not have stereo chanels.

[jimmyrules712]

well the cassettes aren't even music, they are recordings of people speaking.

[flanzig1]

Well, it depends on how the recordings were orginally made. I would guess that the speakers talked into a single microphone and probably was recorded one channel, so using mono should be ok.

[Force Flow]

If it's just a person speaking, mono is fine. It'll be a smaller file because of doing that too.

[jimmyrules712]

sounds good, thanks for helpin me clear that up guys

[TwoRails]

I don't think there is such a thing as a commercial music cassette that is mono. Cassettes have always been two tracks. (Technically they are 4 track, but 2 in each direction if used normally.)

As far as homemade cassesttes go, yes, there may be "data" on only one track, making it mono, but in reality, you really want to make that one track playback on two tracks. Upon playback, hearing *anything" out of only 1/2 of your speakers is quite alarming. Not only is your first instinct to think something is wrong, but it just doesn't sound right.