Mono and stereo describe how many audio channels are present and how they are organized. Understanding the distinction helps avoid unnecessary conversions and accidental loss of spatial information.
Mono
A mono signal contains one channel. It is often sufficient for a single voice, a microphone feed or content where stereo space carries no useful information.
Stereo
Stereo contains two channels, conventionally left and right. They may contain a spatial mix, or they may carry two independent recordings.
That second case is common with interviews recorded using two microphones into the left and right inputs of a recorder.
Converting stereo to mono
A downmix combines the channels. This can simplify distribution and reduce data, but it removes the independent left/right structure.
Before downmixing, make sure the stereo image is not meaningful. Also listen for phase interactions: combining two related channels can sometimes change the resulting tone.
Use the audio channel converter when you need a mono or stereo output.
Separating left and right
If each stereo channel contains a different microphone, do not downmix first. Split the channels and process them independently.
The channel splitter creates separate outputs for left and right.
A typical interview workflow is:
Stereo recording → Split channels → Edit each voice → Normalize → Export
This is a good example of a workflow that benefits from Workspace pipelines.
For sample-rate questions, continue with Audio sample rate: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz and resampling.
