Is it really necessary to mix in Mono?
Will you get a better sound when played on devices like car stereos, out door speakers, headphones?
Old school thinking and not much since these days. If you are worried about Mono incompatibility I would (and I do) check the mix in Mono. Most DAWs have a way to do this either right on the master buss or a plugin that allows you to sum in Mono. But mixing in mono? No.
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I try and keep everything under at least 150Hz in mono.
Whilst a surprising amount of music was mixed in mono late last century these days it’s all about how wide can you go. As @jamieh mentions, listen in mono to be sure and also a good way to check instrument levels.
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This thread has prompted me to post a link to the Sound On Sound Mastering Essentials videos.
Some time ago I read that it is a good idea to listen to the final mix on several different types of speaker including mobile phone or tablet, car stereo, and good quality Hi Fi, as these will have different frequency characteristics.
It is worth noting that because monitor speakers and headphones tend to have a very flat frequency response they may not be the best for assessing your final mix. It all depends on what your target audience is. I believe that the music industry used to produce several different final mixes for different media: broadcast, CD, vinyl, mp3, etc. because of the different spectra.
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