In monaural you would not get the binaural effect but you would get a frequency following response and entrainment. Much of the early research on FFR was done on cats using clicks. If the signals (typically sine waves) are combined into a single channel they have constructive and destructive interference and hence amplitude modulate.
Hearing phenomena occur in bands of frequencies and the use of low (50 Hz) carrier frequencies will give a different effect than higher (150 or 300 Hz) frequencies.
For example I tried your suggestion and set up 50 (0.3) but did not perceive the same effect as 150 (0.3). At 150 (0.3) I sensed the sound source moving "swirling" but at 50 (0.3) there was no sensation of movement. The sound source seemed static with a 50 Hz carrier. 72 Hz carrier was pretty neat.
I've done a lot of "tuning the dial" and found that the preception of consonance and disonance, single sound source, grating, etc. varies depending on carrier frequency and it is not a straight linear progression although higher carriers seem to support higher beat frequencies without sounding grating.
It tend to cycle so that 260 Hz will support a higher beat frequency than 310 Hz. I have only my perceptual data and have not done a large sample. Great research topic. Very time consuming.
As far as folks freaking out ... some people have a flare for the dramatic. I have never encountered any combination that caused me to freak out. There are some more pleasant and less pleasant combinations, more powerful combinations and less powerful combinations. There are combinations that "take me places" and combinations that help me "be present" and focus on mental tasks.
The tones merely accentuate what's there or help to encourage it if it is absent. They are "training wheels." The effects fade after you stop listening to them. There are days where I am more susceptable to entrainment and other days where I don't get much effect.
Fscinating stuff!
