I would love to hear what people think about the mono vs. stereo thing. The dude over at Gizmodo seems to be extraordinarily interested in the mono releases, but I'd rather hear what people I trust (other than that whole Steely Dan adoration thing--blech) have to say about it.
I’ve only directly compared about 10 songs so far and in every case prefer the stereo over the mono. It may sound odd but in most cases the mono sounds more “natural” maybe original is a better word, however the stereo sounds “better.” And it’s not just the separation but they sound more dynamic and have more depth (front to back separation) not just wider. I’d bet if I never had heard the mono versions before the stereo would also sound more “natural” to me.
However, there is one exception to the stereo sounding better to me. That’s on the tracks like “Twist and Shout” where all the vocals are in the right channel. Sounds fine on speakers (maybe a bit of getting use to) however on headphones having the vocals in only the right channel is nerve-wracking.
I’ll update if I notice any anything different upon more listening.
