I love mono

[olds1959special]

Since I have a center channel setup with a subwoofer and two speakers for my pseudo 5.1 setup, I sometimes I like to play just the center only. I love how to stereo down mixes to mono. Since the sound has a single source (at least on the vertical plane) it feels easy for the brain to process and it sounds very good with vocals.

 

[BJL]

I love listening to older mono recordings played back through the center channel speaker. To me, it sounds much better than playing a mono recording through the left and right speakers. Using a dts Neural:X or Dolby surround setting with a mono signal directs it to the center channel speaker, unless you are lucky enough to have a processor with a real mono switch that sends mono audio to the center channel.

If you enjoy 1950s-1960s R&B, soul etc. (e.g. Stax, Motown) the original mono mixes played through the center channel is just great. Same for the Beatles original mono albums, and much else from that period.