Can I tell if a track is in stereo?

Csound1 wrote:

Well, I don't agree at all, stereo requires 2 separate (and different) channels. Reverb is reverb, it can exist on a stereo recording or a mono one, but it doesn't change mono to stereo.

As I am simply a music fan I cannot answer you but I did play several of the tracks on the aforementioned CD (Catalog #R2 70086) and watch the meters very carefully with the software I have at my disposal. The output meters in SRS Labs iWOW Plugin v. 3.3.1 (these meters indicate audio signals leaving the SRS process) definitely show different content of the audio in each channel. The playback meter in Audacity v. 2.1.2 (this shows the current peak level of the audio in each channel) also shows different current peak levels of the audio in each channel. In Audacity I can pause the track to analyze the exact location of the current peak levels of the audio in each channel and I see a difference. That is all I can say.

hhgttg27 wrote:

Most people can't distinguish a genuine mono source to a stereo recording with very limited spatial information. When Dr. Feelgood released their debut album in the mid-70s it was marketing as being mono, part of their retro back-to-basics sound and image. However, when a 30th anniversary edition was being prepared for CD release it was discovered that the so-called "mono" recording was actually "slightly stereo" - not enough to be able to be able to place different instruments across the soundfield but just enough to give a better perception of separation.

My original question was referring to stereo sound and not stereo files with 2 channels. Since the audio files I was studying were from material released in the 1960s ( i.e., The Kinks, Johnny Rivers and Originals From The First Psychedelic Era) I believe these fall under the category of the Duophonic sound process:

SOURCE: Wikipedia

a monaural recording is reprocessed into fake stereo by splitting the signal into two channels, delaying left & right channels by means of delay lines & other circuits, desynchronizing the two channels by fractions of a second, & cutting the bass frequencies in one channel with a high-pass filter, then cutting the treble frequencies in the other channel with a low-pass filter. The result was an artificial stereo effect, without giving the listener the true directional sound characteristics of real stereo. In some cases, the effect was enhanced with reverberation & other technical tricks, sometimes adding stereo echo to mono tracks in an attempt to fool the listener.

Duophonic was used as a trade name for the process by Capitol Records for re-releases of mono recordings from June 1961 through the 1970s. Capitol employed this technique in order to increase their inventory of stereo LPs, to satisfy retailer demand for more stereo content (and help promote the sale of stereo receivers and turntables). For nearly ten years, Capitol used the banner "DUOPHONIC – For Stereo Phonographs Only" to differentiate their true stereo LPs from the Duophonic LPs.

The process was used for some of their biggest releases, including a variety of albums by The Beach Boys & Frank Sinatra. Over the years however, some Duophonic tapes were confused with true stereo recordings in Capitol Records' vaults, & wound up getting reissued on CD throughout the 1980s & 1990s. Capitol reissued some of The Beatles' Duophonic mixes on The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 & The Capitol Albums, Volume 2, in 2004 & 2006, respectively.

SOURCE: Wikipedia