It isn't difficult to tell if you're listening with headphones. Not Long ago I bought a bargain recording of Rachmaninoff's Symphony no. 2 from iTunes, and as soon as I started to listen I realized it was monaural. We're so used to stereo these days it comes as a surprise when the music sounds so one-dimensional, playing in the middle of your head instead of in both ears
Misha Schutt Lead Cataloger Burbank (Calif.) Public Library (818) 238-5570 msch...@burbankca.gov www.burbanklibrary.com From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Kevin M Randall Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2013 3:02 PM To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA Subject: Re: [RDA-L] Use of "stereo" for description of compact discs Technically, a CD made according to Red Book specifications is probably most often going to be "stereo" in that it has data assigned to both left and right channels. But if it's just a mono track being duplicated in those channels, then that really wouldn't be "stereo" as far as what the RDA element is describing. If the labelling doesn't say, you'd probably have to listen to the recording or look at the audio waveforms, I guess. Probably safest to leave that element blank if you can't determine it for sure. Kevin M. Randall Principal Serials Cataloger Northwestern University Library k...@northwestern.edu<mailto:k...@northwestern.edu> (847) 491-2939
