Am I totally nuts or just a bit off?

Yrs ago I was at a flea market on the Ohio/PA border. I bought a stereo copy of Ellington's 'Indigos' from one dealer and a mono copy from another (SCORE!;)! I always preferred the mono version. Later on I read that they're actually 2 different recordings as Duke decided to re-record it in stereo. Hmmm, haven't played them back-to-back since I got them, and always leaned towards the mono, think it's time to re-visit!;)

Tonywinsc, by your own calculation, you're 44 drivers behind schedule! ;-)

I was once ahead of it. Back in 1973 I had 18 drivers in my 2-ch setup... a pair of Bose 901s. In those days, Bose was pushing 901 owners to add a second pair, facing outward toward the side walls. They were advocating a surround field (from just two channels) decades before multi-channel became popular.

Of course the phase confusion from even two 901s was pretty awful. They were pleasant, midrangy speakers with a huge sound field, but very muddy. I can just imagine how murky four of them would have sounded. I'm now down to 10 drivers for 2 channel, and they're all facing the right direction!

For a mono source, Jeff Catalano's single channel amplification and speaker must sound sublime. Wish I'd heard that.

Schubert,

Just wanted to point out that OHM Walsh speaker sound quality has been refined considerably over the last 20 years or so since the Walsh 2s and 2XOs, keeping up with overall "higher end" speaker technology and sound quality quite well in general and for very attractive cost. All models sound similar and size and cost needed depends mainly on room size and need/desire for full extended bass accordingly. Definitely something to keep in mind for anyone looking for good full range sound on a modest budget. And those mono recordings to die for.....

I remember walking into the Record Collector on South Highland in Hollywood years ago (i think this was the 'old' store) and seeing these behemoth speakers (old Electovoice, if memory serves, about the size and 3/4's the height of a Sub-Zero refrigerator); one in the front room, and one in the side room. I commented to the owner that his stereo image must suck; his reply: 'stereo is a gimmick.'
Since then, I have collected at least 500 or more vintage mono records. Some sound spectacular. The Starker Kol Nidre on Mercury Living Presence is one. The cello just stands out from the mix in a way that the stereo version doesn't.
I am seriously contemplating a second arm with a mono cartridge to serve up these records.
The (relatively) new reissue of the Julie London record is mono and pretty remarkable sounding. Ditto, if memory serves, that old warhorse of the first Nina Simone record that has stayed in print all these years. (on the Bethlehem label).

I wonder if anyone out there has what could be considered a true mono high end system? Mono source, 1 amp 1 speaker, etc? Stereo gear should not be needed if the source is mono, right?

Also I wonder if there are any digital front ends that do a good job of taking a digital stereo source and producing one or two channels of mono output effectively?