Stereo, for those of you with home systems (got those? ) can easily be shown to be effective in a very wide area of a room. In fact, the only places that stereo is NOT heard is when you are right next and to the side of one of the speakers.

Now, before you all get in a tizzy, let me point out that PERFECT stereo IS only perceived in the 'sweet spot' equidistant from the speakers. But it's effects can be heard in most areas of the room to one degree or another. Don't believe me...? Here's a simple test you can do.

Put on a CD in stereo on your home speakers. Move about the room. Get a feel for the soundfield. Does it collapse just because you are not in the sweet spot? No... it changes, but it doesn't collapse to mono anywhere in the room. In fact, it doesn't collapse to mono even when you are right next to one of the speakers, just the volume from one side overwhelms the other, so you are not hearing mono, just one side of the stereo.

Want a more elaborate demo? Use your computer to rip the track you just listened to, and collapse it to mono (select 'export' as a mono 16/44 .wav). Burn that and the stereo version to an audio disk. Play the mono version first. Stand ANYWHERE in the room (except for right next to one of the speakers). Get used to the sound. Now listen when the stereo version comes on. I guarantee that you WILL hear a difference, and a sense of space and openness that you didn't hear in the mono cut.

Think about it for a minute... if the ONLY spot you could hear stereo from was the 'sweet spot', stereo would never have become as popular as it has. Just because it's not PERFECT doesn't mean that it can't be perceived.

For the live arranger performer, stereo gives the audience the sonic impression that the 'band' has a three dimensionality about it, just like they would get from a real band. Even if they had a mono PA, the sounds of the live instruments always adds a stereo perspective - drums in the middle, bass to one side, guitar to the other, etc., unless in the largest of rooms, towards the back.

So for those of us that strive to achieve the closest to a 'real' band as we can, stereo speaker systems add back just one MORE degree of realism. And it CAN be heard a LOT more than some say. Test it for yourself before you jump on the 'stereo can't be heard by most of the audience' bandwagon...

I guess stereo would make a big difference to those who wanted their full acc canned backgrounds to sound more realistic, and add to their appeal as "one-man-bands". For those who use mostly kb alone, or w/drum track, or with bass/drum tracks, or play duo/trio gigs without using full acc backgrounds, stereo may be a marginally nice effect, but would hardly make a significant difference in the quality of the performance and the enjoyment of the audience.

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Miami Mo

Amazing how popular stereo has become this last 60 years or so, considering that it adds so little 'significant difference in the quality of the performance and the enjoyment of the audience'...

Diki,

I agree with your hypothesis for stereo reproduction in a small room. However, the same configuration in a large hall will not work--I've tried it many times, and with really high quality gear.

As for it's popularity over these many decades, I sincerely believe the reason behind this is because of its unique sounds. Somewhere about 1960 I purchased a Motorola stereo that cost about $300, which at the time was a couple months pay. Then I purchased some records, which I still have, recorded by Ferante and Tischer (spelling), and a few other artists, folks that provided the most incredible piano performances I've heard at any time in my life. The stereo effects they used were fantastic, far beyond anything I could have imagined. I loved they way they ping-ponged the sound during the song "Flight Of The Bumble Bee." It was just incredible. That said, they could have only achieved this effect while playing live with two pianos spaced about 50 feet apart.

Most of the larger bands I heard, and one that comes immediately to mind is The Hubcaps , perform with a vast array of speakers, and it's all in mono--not stereo. Their sax player plays through a mic that is fired through a mixer, then the sound comes out of all their speakers at the same time. Same with the guitars, keyboards, trumpets, singers, etc.. You would think that if stereo was beneficial to their performances, which are quite expensive, they would be using it in a heartbeat. I've seen their system, talked with their soundman, been to three of their performances, and they really rock the house with a MONO system.

Jimsax's main issue with his Bose L1 was the pianos. He just didn't like the way they sounded, even when I tuned the system for him and made it sound exactly like his other system's piano. It's not for everyone, but then again, no system is.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

best comeback you can muster? stereo in a home audio is much different from stereo added to a performance that's already live. do people play carnegie hall for the stereo effect? and a lot of things have become popular that are inferior-sounding: digitial is inferior to analog tape, good LP played on a great turntable superior to CD. VHS was inferior to betamax...etc etc..

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Miami Mo

Politest one I could Mo...

How could I have been so stupid as to hold a contrary opinion to you? You have your OPINION, so it must be right...

Yes, in VERY large halls, towards the back, you can't tell stereo from mono. You play those, much of the time? Didn't think so...

Carnegie Hall was designed as an acoustic venue. No PA's at all. Sometimes they are added nowadays, but a large proportion of the music played there has no PA at all. But every single recording from the 50's onwards has been recorded in stereo. Why capture it, if it is so unnecessary?

Because it has been discovered that people like a sense of sonic spaciousness to what they listen to, to recreate the experience of listening to MULTIPLE people play in an acoustic environment. We, with our arrangers (and don't kid yourselves, ONE auto track is as much a cop out as a whole backing) try to sound like a live performance (or, some of us, at least!), and to achieve that, the drums, the bass, whatever you DO use sounds better if it occupies the same sonic space as a real one.

In all but the largest, liveliest rooms, stereo sounds different to mono. MANY of us here like the sound of it, and our audiences do too (not to mention that the arranger's stereo sounds are designed to be used that way)... Forgive us for not agreeing with your opinion....

diki, i don't understand why you feel I am trying to jam my opinion down anyone's throat..because clearly i am not..but since that is what you always try to do, then it must seem that when anyone says anything that does not meet YOUR opinion, a snide long-winded reply is called for, a cannonade, a broadside,etc. and your opinion can jump from one side of a fence to the other depending on the target that angers you on any particular day. weren't you the guy who has been browbeating everyone about how they should spend more time on their performance and not worry so much about the latest equipment? apparently you don't appreciate it when i hold somewhat the SAME position as you, (if not as dogmatically,) so now you are all for the absolutely essential benefits of stereo p.a.'s. Go back to what i wrote that set you off so..all i was saying was agreeing with you about making the strict "arranger-play"more realistic, and then agreeing with you that if you have no great need fro that effect, the quality of your performance is much more important, and any stereo effect a minor benefit in comparison. If you are going to attack me when I AGREE with you, what are you going to do, have APOPLEXY if i disagree??

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Miami Mo

Well, let's just say that, if that is you AGREEING with me, no wonder you keep butting heads with so many...!

Stereo PA's been around several decades. This isn't me proposing the latest and greatest. And I honestly don't care whether anyone else uses stereo or not. But when blanket statements like "Stereo--no one hears it other than the performer" and "Stereo can only be heard by those individuals positioned within an equalateral triangular area between the speakers" are made, I think a differing opinion, and a way to FACT check it are in order.

It's pretty easy to check... Use your arranger's mono out into one speaker. Kick off the demo. Walk to the middle, then back of the room. Now hook it up to two speakers in stereo, and repeat. You ARE going to hear a difference...

Whether you want to use it, is up to you, but (others) saying that it does not exist is simply not true. Of course, Mo, this is me agreeing with you, eh?

I'M NOT the one who made those statements, in fact i asked if they were true. I'm not aware that i have "butted heads" with so many..i can barely count the head-buuts other than with you, and not only is it you that is the head-butter, you are the champ on SZ of head-butting. I drew a conclusion from what i read here that led me to conclude that stereo is much more than those those deny its existence say it is, but that in many ways it is not all that important as others make it out to be. That's an opinion that can't be empirically proven or unproven, it's my take from my point of view. Why you have such a violent reaction to it says more about you than i have ever said. I hardly pretend to be an expert, i have always said here that my purpose is to learn and to contribute what i can from what i know. I would really appreciate it if you would please BACK OFF!

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Miami Mo

I truly believe that stereo can make a big difference in large rooms too..As I mentioned earlier a 180 degree audience makes stereo tough..
But there are large venues that stereo definitely works..There are rooms we play..on stage with speakers 20-25 feet apart and a 100 feet deep room..the audience is all in front of us...You will hear the movement of the drums and other instruments as well as stereo effects...It may get reduced but not eliminated...When I have the choice ..it is always stereo..
Also mentioned was the Carnegie hall and orchestras..a natural stereo field..You will hear the different sections...that is stereo..location of different instrument groups with in a stereo field..