TPU139 – Mono Vs Stereo Podcast Audio Quality – What is better in Podcasting?

The Podcasting University – Podcasting Tips to Start a Podcast

Looking for information on Starting a Podcast?

Every Tuesday, join Podcaster, Blogger, and Affiliate Marketer, Dilip Kumar on The Podcasting University, as he brings to you implementable Podcasting tips about starting your own podcast so that, irrespective of who you are and what your knowledge about podcasting is, you can start a podcast.

The difference between a successful podcast and a failed podcast is about starting right. Here you will learn how to start your podcast the right way in simple and understandable language. Listen to fellow podcasters who have been through the grind and learn from their experiences. The Podcasting University is your complete guide to starting a podcast.

Visit https://thepodcastinguniversity.com for more information.

If you want to start a podcast but aren’t sure how to, then join the FREE 10-day eCourse on “Starting a Podcast with Purpose”. Visit https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/free-guide to join.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen OnExternalListen OnExternalListen OnExternal

Mono Vs Stereo Podcast Audio Quality – What is better in Podcasting?

byDilip Kumar

Mono Vs Stereo podcast audio quality – which is better and why?

If you are confused on how to record your podcast episodes – in stereo or, in mono, then this episode is for you.

By the end of this episode you are sure to have learn the difference and which one to choose!

More Information

You can find more information including the show notes and the resources at https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/139

Use my special link – https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/go/zencastr-new/ to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. 

You can follow me on social media at –

Instagram – https://instagram.com/podcastinguniversity

Twitter – https://twitter.com/thepodversity

Join my FREE 10-day eCourse to learn how to start a podcast at https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/free-guide

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Show Podcast Information

Recording in mono vs stereo!

Which is better and why?

That’s what we will discuss in this episode today!

This episode is a response to a question I had received on one of my YouTube videos where I recommended keeping the Audacity settings to “Stereo” when recording your podcast episodes.

So what is better – mono vs stereo and why?

While I recommend recording in Stereo (there is a reason why I do that and I will explain it in a while), the choice can be based on a lot of things that are important for your to consider and understand.

Some of it might sound technical but even if you don’t understand the technicalities of it, it is ok.

Because by the end of this episode you should be able to decide which out of these is good for you.

So let us get started!

Mono Vs Stereo Podcast Audio – Which is better?

To understand the difference between stereo and mono, in a layman’s language, stereo basically uses two audio channels – the left and the right one, whereas mono uses only one audio channel.

While you might not necessarily be able to notice the difference in an audio that was recorded in mono, the listening experience is something you will be able to know when you are listening to it in stereo vs mono.

Stereo sound gives you more of an immersive and a realistic experience, especially when you are listening to music.

But then, when it comes to podcasting there are a few advantages and disadvantages of both these options.

And you might want to consider these when deciding on which way to go

Here are the most important of these in Stereo Vs Mono audio.

File Sizes

Podcast hosting companies have limits on the file sizes that you can upload.

Some hosting companies even have plans that allow only an x amount of data upload per month.

In both these situations it becomes extremely important to keep the file sizes within limit.

And the easiest way to do that is to record in mono. Because mono file sizes are much smaller than stereo file sizes.

So if you are publishing an episode every week or, more than that, then it makes sense to either record in mono or, split your stereo file to mono before you upload your episode.

Bitrates

Bitrates are another restriction that a lot of podcast hosts put on uploading audio files.

So if you have such a limitation with your podcast hosting company, then you might want to record in mono.

Because mono files have the capability to going low on bitrate like up to 64kbps or, even 32kbps. But going that low could make your audio quality bad. So it is recommend that you either keep your bitrate to 64kbps or, 96kbps.

Those are the usual bitrates used in podcasting.

If your episode uses background music, then it is recommended that you keep it to either 96kbps or, 128kbps.

Stereo audio cannot go lower than 128kbps, because then it will sound real bad.

So the decision to go with mono vs stereo should be based on the bitrate too.

Remote interview recordings

Podcasts that host guests and record remote interviews use some kind of online recording software like Zencastr, Riverside, Squadcast etc.

All of these software record interviews in such a way that every speaker is assigned a single channel.

When you export this audio and import it into your DAW (audio editors), it is imported as a mono file, since it is in a single channel.

In such a scenario, it doesn’t really make sense to change everything to stereo format and export it as a stereo audio unless you are mixing the interviews with a lot of background music etc.

So keep your audio files in mono format in all such cases.

Usage of Music and Effects

If your podcast uses a lot of music and effects and you want to give your audience an immersive experience like in the case of crime thrillers or, horror podcasts, then I would always recommend using the stereo option.

While file size could be a concern, in most cases it should be okay because such podcast episodes aren’t too long and the file size should be well within the restrictions of your podcast hosting company.

Technical Challenges

A lot of podcasters, especially the ones who are just getting started wouldn’t prefer fiddling with the settings in their audio editor like Audacity.

Audio editors default to stereo recording. So if you want to change to mono, you will have to do that in the settings which could be too much for these podcasters.

And since most of these beginners record solo episodes or, interviews that are not more than 30 minutes, the size of the audio files are usually within the required limits of the podcast hosting companies, even if they keep it to stereo.

In these cases, I would recommend keeping it to stereo instead of changing it to mono.

Conclusion – Stereo Vs Mono

I understand that a lot of the things in podcasting can be extremely confusing, especially with the many advices available online.

But, don’t fret over all of these things.

Instead, I would recommend that you pick the advice that most suits you and get started. Ignore everything else.

So, if you are using stereo to record your podcast episodes and everything seems to be working fine for you, then just continue using stereo.

At the same time, if you have been recording and exporting in mono, then continue to do that.

There is very little difference that you or, your audience will observe in the audio recording in Stereo Vs Mono, unless you have a high production value podcast that uses a lot of background music and effects, which isn’t the case in usual podcasts.

I hope you found value in this episode.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Show Notes:

Here’s what we discussed in the episode on how to make your podcast sound better –

1. The importance of giving your audience a good podcast listening experience
2. 11 simple tips for improving podcast audio quality
3. What is the best way of embedding a podcast episode

This episode is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link here to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.