Lately, I've been interested in buying the Presonus Central Station to incorporate a real world reference monitor such as the Avantone Mixcube. Initially, I had thought about buying a stereo set of the Avantones, but after reading Mike Senior's book, "Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio," I have learned that it may just be better to use 1 MixCube in mono to kill two birds with one stone (checking mono compatibility, as well as, getting a real world small speaker reference). Some sites still sell the single "MONO Block" version.
My concern with using the single MixCube, is that on the Central Station, you have to use both the left and right channel on the speaker outputs. Does anyone know a way around this? Additionally, I'd like to not have to press the Mono button whenever I switched to the MixCube. Is there a device that I can plug into the stereo speaker output on the B channel that sums those outputs to mono? If that we're the case I could just plug the MixCube into that.
FWIW, I use my mono button all the time on every monitor controller I have. Whether it's to check mono-compatibility on mixdown or to check phase coherence during a recording session or even to feel balance when I'm provided with a single-side of a stereo input (like when dealing with documentary video) the mono button is probably the second most-used after mute.
I also think it's more important to check mono on full-range speakers, as you can hear everything that's going on rather than just a restricted frequency band. AND there're plenty of (cheaper) alternatives to the Avantones. I use a bunch of speakers to reference check both at my home and work studios. From integrated LCD monitor/TV speakers to iPod docks with line inputs, most of this stuff I just accumulated over the years from garage sales, helping friends move, or from Goodwill/Salvation Army store hunts. If you want to know what your mix sounds like on a crap playback system, spend the small bucks (or don't!) and get a crap playback system .
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