Re: [ARSCLIST] stereo or double mono

[Aaron Z Snyder <azs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The best tool I've ever used to determine not just mono vs. stereo, but also
fake stereo vs real stereo, is Adobe Audition 2.0, which has both a
"Spectral Pan Display" and "Spectral Phase Display". These displays are vs.
time (the x-axis), and an entire file can be checked for such things quite
quickly!

For me personally, it came in handy while restoring an allegedly stereo
recording. I discovered a short segment in a one-hour program during which
the entire perspective of the sound field changed drastically. I had my
suspicions about the cause, but Adobe Audition 2.0 confirmed my worst fears:
this one section had been replaced with a fake stereo version of the
program! The two displays referred to above showed the fake stereo as if it
were really sloppy mono, i.e. much of the energy was centered on some spot
(not necessarily center), with the remainder of the energy spread
haphazardly from left to right.

Aaron Z

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List 
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dave Rice
> Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 12:28 PM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [ARSCLIST] stereo or double mono
> 
> Hi Arsc-L,
> 	Does anyone know any software or process where I could 
> quickly analyze a stereo audio file and find out if it has 
> two different tracks (stereo) or if it is just double mono. I 
> have a number of audio files that were recorded digitally 
> which I suspect are double mono but is there a way to make 
> sure. It seems like a piece of software could just subtract 
> left from right and if the difference is 0, then double mono.
> Thanks,
> 
> David Rice
> Archivist
> Democracy Now!
> 87 Lafayette St.
> New York, NY 10013
> Phone: (212) 431-9090 x811
> Fax: (212) 431-8858
> Email: dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>