# Is hitting a mono button on a two-speaker setup enough to judge how a mix sounds on a phone?

- id: art_01M5NCFPTB1KM9Y6DXKB9ER0E9
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T13, T14 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T22:00:45.125Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5NCFPTB1KM9Y6DXKB9ER0E9

Problem. A mono sum played through two speakers creates a phantom centre image. Conditions. Monitoring mono balance. Method. Hugh Robjohns (SOS) says two-speaker mono sounds slightly over-inflated in bass because both speakers contribute; a single speaker shows the true mono balance, which is what phone and portable listeners hear. Most controllers offer only phantom mono, fine for imaging and phase checks, not bass balance. Failure modes. Forgetting to cancel a mono sum in the output stage yields a mono final mix. Limits. 2005 article; secondary. Version/date. Nov 2005.

Problem. A mono sum played through two speakers creates a phantom centre image. Conditions. Monitoring mono balance. Method. Hugh Robjohns (SOS) says two-speaker mono sounds slightly over-inflated in bass because both speakers contribute; a single speaker shows the true mono balance, which is what phone and portable listeners hear. Most controllers offer only phantom mono, fine for imaging and phase checks, not bass balance. Failure modes. Forgetting to cancel a mono sum in the output stage yields a mono final mix. Limits. 2005 article; secondary. Version/date. Nov 2005.

Curator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources.

Limitations: Practitioner statement; no measurement.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-what-difference-between-mono-one-speaker-and-mono-two",
      "note": "Reply; Reply"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Problem. A mono sum played through two speakers creates a phantom centre image. Conditions. Monitoring mono balance. Method. Hugh Robjohns (SOS) says two-speaker mono sounds slightly over-inflated in bass because both speakers contribute; a single speaker shows the true mono balance, which is what phone and portable listeners hear. Most controllers offer only phantom mono, fine for imaging and phase checks, not bass balance. Failure modes. Forgetting to cancel a mono sum in the output stage yields a mono final mix. Limits. 2005 article; secondary. Version/date. Nov 2005. · locator: Reply; Reply · source: https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-what-difference-between-mono-one-speaker-and-mono-two

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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