The Beatles in Mono > 1-Channel FLAC?

2010-03-26 14:27:00

I'm thinking to save space I'll use foobar2000 to rip and "downmix to mono" these CDs.

Is there any reason why that is a bad idea?

Thanks.

The Beatles in Mono > 1-Channel FLAC?

Reply #1 – 2010-03-26 14:31:09

I'd be surprised if this saved any significant space.  I'm sure the FLAC encoder is smart enough to switch to Mid+Side for these files and essential just store one channel.

The Beatles in Mono > 1-Channel FLAC?

Reply #2 – 2010-03-26 14:39:17

You probably save more space by switching to a higher compression setting, and it'd probably take about the same amount of time.  And take less thinking.

The Beatles in Mono > 1-Channel FLAC?

Reply #3 – 2010-03-26 14:44:31

Ripping the set in "true" mono was already discussed [a href='index.php?showtopic=77599']here[/a].

The Beatles in Mono > 1-Channel FLAC?

Reply #4 – 2010-03-26 16:14:45

Thanks for your replies; I'd hadn't found that link.

@shakey, you are probably right about not overthinking it!

The Beatles in Mono > 1-Channel FLAC?

Reply #5 – 2010-03-26 17:09:37

One more minor consideration...  Your mono FLACs will be flagged as stereo. 

By default, I use Joint Stereo on my MP3s.  Since I didn't change anything when I ripped mono CDs, the mono tracks show-up as "Joint Stereo" when I play them.

The Beatles in Mono > 1-Channel FLAC?

Reply #6 – 2010-03-26 21:20:07

FYI, FLAC figured out something was going on...

The folder for "A Hard Day's Night" in mono is 130MB vs. 202MB in stereo at same compression setting (36% reduction).

The Beatles in Mono > 1-Channel FLAC?

Reply #7 – 2010-03-26 21:38:58

We don't need a parallel discussion on this topic.  Thread closed.