Setting sound to monaural?

Say my friend is listening to web radio from a radio station's web
page (which is all he wants to do, the local classical radio station
which his actual radios won't get, except the Bose and the car
radios.)

He wants to put ONE speaker in the kitchen and run the wire through
the wall to where his laptop usually sits.

Is there a setting in win7 on a laptop that will turn stereo into
monaural, send both channels to each (or maybe just one) speaker?

That way he can put one speaker in the kitchen and one in his spare
bedroom/office. (I suggested he put 2 in the kitchen but he wasn't
interested.)


FWIW, one of my speakers isn't working right now, and I listen to a
lot of 50's and 60's music, and once in a while I can barely hear the
singer. One song out of 50. But maybe he's so clever he can tell if
the timpani are not loud enough, or the clarinets.

Micky wrote:
Say my friend is listening to web radio from a radio station's web
page (which is all he wants to do, the local classical radio station
which his actual radios won't get, except the Bose and the car
radios.)

He wants to put ONE speaker in the kitchen and run the wire through
the wall to where his laptop usually sits.

Is there a setting in win7 on a laptop that will turn stereo into
monaural, send both channels to each (or maybe just one) speaker?

That way he can put one speaker in the kitchen and one in his spare
bedroom/office. (I suggested he put 2 in the kitchen but he wasn't
interested.)


FWIW, one of my speakers isn't working right now, and I listen to a
lot of 50's and 60's music, and once in a while I can barely hear the
singer. One song out of 50. But maybe he's so clever he can tell if
the timpani are not loud enough, or the clarinets.

Mono (and many other settings) should be a function of the player and not windows.
Just checked 4 of my players and 3 have a mono setting.

On 23 May 2016, Micky wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

Is there a setting in win7 on a laptop that will turn stereo into
monaural, send both channels to each (or maybe just one) speaker?

No, not built into the OS. Your audio driver might possibly have such a
function, but you're more likely to find that feature in your audio
player. Foobar2000, for one, can do it.

On Mon, 23 May 2016 01:01:01 -0400, Micky wrote:
Say my friend is listening to web radio from a radio station's web
page (which is all he wants to do, the local classical radio station
which his actual radios won't get, except the Bose and the car
radios.)

He wants to put ONE speaker in the kitchen and run the wire through
the wall to where his laptop usually sits.

Is there a setting in win7 on a laptop that will turn stereo into
monaural, send both channels to each (or maybe just one) speaker?

That way he can put one speaker in the kitchen and one in his spare
bedroom/office. (I suggested he put 2 in the kitchen but he wasn't
interested.)

FWIW, one of my speakers isn't working right now, and I listen to a
lot of 50's and 60's music, and once in a while I can barely hear the
singer. One song out of 50. But maybe he's so clever he can tell if
the timpani are not loud enough, or the clarinets.

I think Jack can do this. But it's a complicated program.

http://jackaudio.org/

On 23.05.16 7:01, Micky wrote:
Say my friend is listening to web radio from a radio station's web
page (which is all he wants to do, the local classical radio station
which his actual radios won't get, except the Bose and the car
radios.)

He wants to put ONE speaker in the kitchen and run the wire through
the wall to where his laptop usually sits.

Is there a setting in win7 on a laptop that will turn stereo into
monaural, send both channels to each (or maybe just one) speaker?

That way he can put one speaker in the kitchen and one in his spare
bedroom/office. (I suggested he put 2 in the kitchen but he wasn't
interested.)


FWIW, one of my speakers isn't working right now, and I listen to a
lot of 50's and 60's music, and once in a while I can barely hear the
singer. One song out of 50. But maybe he's so clever he can tell if
the timpani are not loud enough, or the clarinets.

If you can use a soldering iron, connect both audio outputs
with two 1Kohm resistors to a single audiocable,
and that gives you mono. you can even connect two stereo sources
to one amplifier and put the speakers in differnt locations.

On Mon, 23 May 2016 17:21:38 +0700, JJ wrote:

On Mon, 23 May 2016 01:01:01 -0400, Micky wrote:
Say my friend is listening to web radio from a radio station's web
page (which is all he wants to do, the local classical radio station
which his actual radios won't get, except the Bose and the car
radios.)

He wants to put ONE speaker in the kitchen and run the wire through
the wall to where his laptop usually sits.

Is there a setting in win7 on a laptop that will turn stereo into
monaural, send both channels to each (or maybe just one) speaker?

That way he can put one speaker in the kitchen and one in his spare
bedroom/office. (I suggested he put 2 in the kitchen but he wasn't
interested.)

FWIW, one of my speakers isn't working right now, and I listen to a
lot of 50's and 60's music, and once in a while I can barely hear the
singer. One song out of 50. But maybe he's so clever he can tell if
the timpani are not loud enough, or the clarinets.

I think Jack can do this. But it's a complicated program.

http://jackaudio.org/

It definitely looks complicated.

This page is a nice list of audio software, mostly or entirely by
other authors: http://jackaudio.org/applications/

It reminds me that I saw a pair of Bose pc speakers for sale that
accepted PC and CD player input, and the speakers alone could mix them
at different proportions. It didn't say and I don't know how you would
even get them synchonized, unless the PC is just a place to plug in
the microphone.

Sjouke Burry wrote:
On 23.05.16 7:01, Micky wrote:
Say my friend is listening to web radio from a radio station's web
page (which is all he wants to do, the local classical radio station
which his actual radios won't get, except the Bose and the car
radios.)

He wants to put ONE speaker in the kitchen and run the wire through
the wall to where his laptop usually sits.

Is there a setting in win7 on a laptop that will turn stereo into
monaural, send both channels to each (or maybe just one) speaker?

That way he can put one speaker in the kitchen and one in his spare
bedroom/office. (I suggested he put 2 in the kitchen but he wasn't
interested.)


FWIW, one of my speakers isn't working right now, and I listen to a
lot of 50's and 60's music, and once in a while I can barely hear the
singer. One song out of 50. But maybe he's so clever he can tell if
the timpani are not loud enough, or the clarinets.

If you can use a soldering iron, connect both audio outputs
with two 1Kohm resistors to a single audiocable,
and that gives you mono. you can even connect two stereo sources
to one amplifier and put the speakers in differnt locations.

Figure 1

https://brashleraudio.wordpress.com/...o-conversions/

That is suitable for computer audio out on the left,
and 10K input impedance amplified computer speakers
on the right. So the left hand side uses a male 1/8"
plug, while the right hand side uses a female 1/8"
jack.

Such an adapter plug is not intended for 32 ohm headphones.
It is a single-purpose stereo to mono adapter for driving
a high input impedance amplifier.

Paul

On Mon, 23 May 2016 00:42:58 -0500, Paul in Houston TX
wrote:

Micky wrote:
Say my friend is listening to web radio from a radio station's web
page (which is all he wants to do, the local classical radio station
which his actual radios won't get, except the Bose and the car
radios.)

He wants to put ONE speaker in the kitchen and run the wire through
the wall to where his laptop usually sits.

Is there a setting in win7 on a laptop that will turn stereo into
monaural, send both channels to each (or maybe just one) speaker?

That way he can put one speaker in the kitchen and one in his spare
bedroom/office. (I suggested he put 2 in the kitchen but he wasn't
interested.)


FWIW, one of my speakers isn't working right now, and I listen to a
lot of 50's and 60's music, and once in a while I can barely hear the
singer. One song out of 50. But maybe he's so clever he can tell if
the timpani are not loud enough, or the clarinets.

Mono (and many other settings) should be a function of the player and not windows.
Just checked 4 of my players and 3 have a mono setting.

I figured he was using the player that's part of the webpage, but I
checked and it also gives urls for .asx, .m3u, and .pls streams.

So.... What are the 3 you have with the mono setting?


Details:
I also installed Foobar2000 that Nil recommended, and though I found
in it an "available DSP" called Downmix Channels to Mono, and I put it
in the active list, I don't have any good way to test if it is really
mono. The line at the bottom of screen still says stereo and there's
no help file to speak of. Maybe I can find something to play more
than once like the original stereo demonstration sound, the train
moving from left to right. YES, I found it, dl'd it, and played it
through one speaker, and it started low, got louder, then started loud
and got softer. If it were really combining the two channels, I
think the sound would have been much more constant in volume. So it
doesn't work yet.

On Mon, 23 May 2016 17:21:38 +0700, JJ wrote:

I think Jack can do this. But it's a complicated program.

http://jackaudio.org/

Found a probable alternative:

http://www.virtualaudiostreaming.net/

I haven't actually tested it, but it's seems that it can do the task; and
more easily.

On 24 May 2016, Micky wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

I also installed Foobar2000 that Nil recommended, and though I
found in it an "available DSP" called Downmix Channels to Mono,
and I put it in the active list, I don't have any good way to test
if it is really mono. The line at the bottom of screen still says
stereo and there's no help file to speak of. Maybe I can find
something to play more than once like the original stereo
demonstration sound, the train moving from left to right. YES, I
found it, dl'd it, and played it through one speaker, and it
started low, got louder, then started loud and got softer. If it
were really combining the two channels, I think the sound would
have been much more constant in volume. So it doesn't work yet.

When you mix stereo to mono, the centermost content will be some dB
louder (don't know the exact figure) than the extreme side channel
info. That's just the way it works. Folded down stereo music will often
sound like the vocals and bass are exaggerated, since they are usually
mixed in the center.

Nil was thinking very hard :
On 24 May 2016, Micky wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

I also installed Foobar2000 that Nil recommended, and though I
found in it an "available DSP" called Downmix Channels to Mono,
and I put it in the active list, I don't have any good way to test
if it is really mono. The line at the bottom of screen still says
stereo and there's no help file to speak of. Maybe I can find
something to play more than once like the original stereo
demonstration sound, the train moving from left to right. YES, I
found it, dl'd it, and played it through one speaker, and it
started low, got louder, then started loud and got softer. If it
were really combining the two channels, I think the sound would
have been much more constant in volume. So it doesn't work yet.

When you mix stereo to mono, the centermost content will be some dB
louder (don't know the exact figure) than the extreme side channel
info. That's just the way it works. Folded down stereo music will often
sound like the vocals and bass are exaggerated, since they are usually
mixed in the center.

True. I think it is 3 db (twice as loud) when centered. Some older
audio equipment referred to this as 'Presence' as opposed to 'Ambience'
and had a continuously variable control for it. The terminology has
changed and now they only use an algorithm for "Wide" and it just an
on/off switch. Maybe wide stereo converted to mono, or inverting (or
phase shifting) one channel would achieve the desired effect.

A dual channel oscilloscope set to x-y would really help to determine
what is actually happening to the sound, but not very many people have
one of those handy.

On 24 May 2016, FromTheRafters wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

True. I think it is 3 db (twice as loud) when centered. Some older
audio equipment referred to this as 'Presence' as opposed to
'Ambience' and had a continuously variable control for it. The
terminology has changed and now they only use an algorithm for
"Wide" and it just an on/off switch. Maybe wide stereo converted
to mono, or inverting (or phase shifting) one channel would
achieve the desired effect.

I think the Presence control had a different function, which was to
compensate for the ear's different reaction to frequencies heard when
at low volume compared to high. The Presence control exaggerated the
highest and lowest frequencies and suppressed the midrange. A smile-
shaped EQ curve. You were supposed to turn it up when listening quietly
and turn it down when you cranked it. We used to leave it cranked all
the time - back then we liked the unnatural boom and sizzle.

In message , FromTheRafters
writes:
[]
A dual channel oscilloscope set to x-y would really help to determine
what is actually happening to the sound, but not very many people have
one of those handy.

Software equivalents must exist, though. GoldWave has one, though I
think that's only for files (either already-existing, or ones you're
about to save from GoldWave itself), but surely there must be something
like an X-Y (or, more ideally, offset by 45 degrees) for what is coming
out of the speakers from any source.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

.... some language may be offensive to younger viewers. Like "please" and
"thank you". (Intro to /Off Their Rockers/, quoted in RT 25-31 May 2013 by
Sarah Millican.)

Nil used his keyboard to write :
On 24 May 2016, FromTheRafters wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

True. I think it is 3 db (twice as loud) when centered. Some older
audio equipment referred to this as 'Presence' as opposed to
'Ambience' and had a continuously variable control for it. The
terminology has changed and now they only use an algorithm for
"Wide" and it just an on/off switch. Maybe wide stereo converted
to mono, or inverting (or phase shifting) one channel would
achieve the desired effect.

I think the Presence control had a different function, which was to
compensate for the ear's different reaction to frequencies heard when
at low volume compared to high. The Presence control exaggerated the
highest and lowest frequencies and suppressed the midrange. A smile-
shaped EQ curve. You were supposed to turn it up when listening quietly
and turn it down when you cranked it. We used to leave it cranked all
the time - back then we liked the unnatural boom and sizzle.

Yes. You are referring of course to switches like "Loud" or "Loudness"
or "Boost" or "Bass Boost" which is as you said just sort of preset EQ
settings to compensate for non-linearity of hearing at different volume
levels.

I was referring to some more like what today is another switch like
"Wide" which diddles with phase relationships. The closest I could find
to what I was talking about is in these Wikipedia articles about
recordings of background "Silence" for the film industry.

Mono:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presen...d_recording%29

Stereo:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambien...d_recording%29

J. P. Gilliver (John) formulated on Tuesday :
In message , FromTheRafters
writes:
[]
A dual channel oscilloscope set to x-y would really help to determine what
is actually happening to the sound, but not very many people have one of
those handy.

Software equivalents must exist, though. GoldWave has one, though I think
that's only for files (either already-existing, or ones you're about to save
from GoldWave itself), but surely there must be something like an X-Y (or,
more ideally, offset by 45 degrees) for what is coming out of the speakers
from any source.

I'm sure that you are correct. I got out of the industry many years ago
and even then they had digital storage scopes which I assumed had to be
software based.

Why would 45 degrees be better than 90 degrees? White noise in stereo
with X-Y at 90 degrees would seem 'round' and any flattening would
indicate poor separation between channels.