force mono audio?

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Maxor127
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 4:41 am

force mono audio?

Post by Maxor127 »

Is there already any way to force stereo audio to playback as mono in ScummVM? If not, it would be a useful feature to have as an option for IIgs games.

I personally think IIgs audio sounds better in mono. Stereo audio sounds awkward because it plays sound effects in one channel, and it splits music so that the distinct parts play in either the left or right channels without it ever sounding centered.

I think a stock IIgs computer had mono audio, but a stereo sound card was optional.

I've attached mp3 examples in zip files. It's easier to notice the difference with headphones on.
Attachments
pq-iigs-mono.zip
mono example
(133.24 KiB) Downloaded 108 times
pq-iigs-stereo.zip
stereo example
(204.47 KiB) Downloaded 77 times
ZvikaZ
Posts: 76
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:04 pm

Re: force mono audio?

Post by ZvikaZ »

Where is the mono sample from?
Have you created it yourself, or recorded it from some emulator?
Have you checked the behavior in some emulator (which one)? What is it?
Maxor127
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 4:41 am

Re: force mono audio?

Post by Maxor127 »

Yes, I created the mono sample myself. I mixed the stereo into mono with Audacity. It's consistent with what I remember it sounding like on an original IIgs.

The only IIgs emulator I can get working is KEGS or ActiveGS (which I think is just a fork of KEGS) for Windows. I think it only uses Stereo, but it's a barebones emulator that doesn't have a lot of options. It sounds the same as ScummVM's stereo.

The emulator I used to use decades ago was Bernie ][ The Rescue for pre-OS X Mac, which is by far the best IIgs emulator I've used, and that had an option for mono or stereo. It also supports something called Stereo Enhanced, which says "this mode reduces the stereo effect for more relaxed listening with headphones." It has lots of other interesting audio options that I don't know if a real IIgs ever supported, like Surround sound and 44.1khz audio.

I just tried to run Bernie emulator in Sheepshaver Mac emulator, and it was very slow. The mono audio sounded similar enough to the sample I made, but it played at half the speed, so I didn't bother recording it.

I think the Bernie emulator eventually evolved into Sweet16 for OS X. I don't know much about it, and I don't have OS X to run it. Glancing at the manual I found, I don't see any audio options for it.
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