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[Jonathan Johnson]

We are currently mixing with a Roland VM-7000 into a Soundweb/amp stack that is running as summed mono.  The question has arisen several times, "Why don't we send a stereo mix into the sanctuary?"

Are the people asking the question your sound techs, the worship team, or the congregation?

It's important to realize (as I'm sure you do) that the experience in a live sound venue is going to be very different than listening to recorded media.

In recorded or broadcast media, stereo provides some apparent separation between voices* as well as room ambiance, making the recording more intelligible and creating a mental image of the sound stage. A video recording enhances this by providing some degree of visual cues, though in most cases the relatively small size of the screen limits the effect. Besides, the listening area for a broadcast or recorded performance tends to be physically small with few audience members, allowing the audience to find the "sweet spot" of even coverage.

In a live performance in a large venue, giving everyone the same experience with a stereo system is nearly impossible due to the difficulty in providing distinct channels to all areas of seating. This can be compensated for by the fact that the visual field of the stage is quite large, giving the listener appropriate visual cues that fool the brain into deciphering where the sound is coming from and what voices are speaking. The natural ambiance of the room further enhances the "presence" of the sound. So a mono system in a live venue is not unreasonable.

I think the question stems from the popular experience of listening to recorded or broadcast media on personal listening devices... certainly mono will not give the best experience in this situation. So the listener is taking this experience and reaching the erroneous conclusion that stereo is always better than mono, without taking into consideration the factors that can make mono better than stereo in some situations.

There are always exceptions... if you can give your audience a better experience with stereo and you have the means to do so, by all means do it. Just be aware that there may be very real reasons why it is impossible.

*P.S. -- by "voices" I mean instruments and other audio sources as well as the human voice.

[Michael Williams]

The question has arisen several times, "Why don't we send a stereo mix into the sanctuary?"

As others have mentioned, to do this properly you need to have a true stereo system (i.e. complete coverage from each speaker location, not just two independent signals).  But even if you have a properly designed stereo system, consider what you are sending to it.  It has been my experience that the vast majority of the signals that I am mixing need to be equal in both speaker clusters (ie centered).  For example, the pastor, lead vocals, lead instruments, etc.  So in effect a majority of the mix is mono, making a stereo system counter-productive to a clean sound for the audience. 

In the absence of an LCR system that allows me to pan center for the vast majority of the channels, I much prefer either a mono system from a center cluster, or a L&R that simply covers each side with as little overlap as possible (essentially two zones).

There are a lot of factors in such a decision, so take my comments for what they might be worth in your unique situation.

[ProSoundWeb Community]