Dan,

I agree with Scott. Whenever possible, when I play keyboards I try to do it in stereo - at least my own keyboard monitoring is done through stereo despite a mono in-house PA system at church. Stereo mode gives much more intended atmosphere than mono, mono mode usually gives us the feel of GM sounds from cheaper keyboards. I started initially with a power amp that drives 2 PA speakers in stereo mode with my fist synth. Then I bought a Roland KC-500 when it first came out for its thicker sounds and rich connectivity. When I practice I felt the mono sounds a bit compressed, without the airy mood of stereo mode. So after saving some money for a long time I got the second KC-500 unit to meet my need two years later. I like the X-1's in-your-face stereo mode much better than just mono mode. When I helped designing the PA system of my church I had to choose mono configuraton to resolve some room characteristics, sound distribution timing and placement problems. Otherwise I definitely prefer stereo sounds.

Paul Ip
from Texas